Warriors open water polo season 4-1 at Poway Invitational

It has become traditional for Fallbrook High School’s boys water polo team to open its season at the Poway Invitational tournament. What differed from previous seasons in this year’s Sept. 4-6 tournament was that the Warriors had their highest finish since Bill Richardson became Fallbrook’s coach in 2011.

“We played very well,” Richardson said.

The Warriors won their first two games of the tournament and four of their five matches overall, giving Fallbrook fifth place in the tournament. The official finishes are based on brackets after each round of play rather than on overall record; in 2012 the Warriors were also 4-1 but lost their second-round match and placed ninth.

Richardson’s 2011 and 2013 squads had 3-2 tournament records and first-round losses. The 2008 Warriors coached by Bob Lamont finished third after losing only in the semifinal round, and the 2007 Warriors coached by Michael Hatcher were 3-2 but won their first three matches and placed fourth.

All of Fallbrook’s games in the 2014 tournament were played at The Bishop’s School. The Warriors began the tournament Sept. 4 with a 15-8 victory over Rancho Bernardo. The Warriors and Broncos are both in Division II for CIF playoff purposes. “It’s nice to start off with a win against one of the tougher teams in that division,” Richardson said.

Rancho Bernardo defeated the Warriors in an Aug. 30 scrimmage, although three Fallbrook players were unavailable. Although those players competed in the tournament, the Warriors lost their practice and home match facility when a pump at the Fallbrook High School pool broke the morning of Sept. 2. “We probably have lost our pool for the entire season,” Richardson said.

Two scheduled home matches the week after the Poway Invitational were casualties of the unusable pool. Richardson is hoping to make arrangements for the Warriors to practice on Camp Pendleton, but the team has been able to spend approximately three hours a week practicing in the Boys and Girls Club pool. “It’s definitely not what we’re used to, but we’re trying to make the most of it,” Richardson said.

The Warriors did not practice Sept. 2 or Sept. 3, and Sept. 1 was Labor Day, so the team’s first practice that week was the warm-up prior to the tournament opener.

Chaz Sommer led the Warriors with six goals against Rancho Bernardo, and the junior also had three assists. Two goals apiece were scored by seniors Connor Kuhn and Tristan Curnow and by junior Toby Fast. Fallbrook senior Bobby Guerra and Warrior sophomore Declan Harrison also each contributed three assists, and Guerra led the team with four steals. Senior goalkeeper Shaun Kilcrease made six saves, including one on a five-meter penalty shot.

“It was a well-played game,” Richardson said.

Fallbrook played two Sept. 4 games, concluding the day with an 11-4 victory over University City. Sommer led the team with four goals and Guerra placed three shots into the net. Kuhn and Harrison each had four steals. Kilcrease had six saves.

Fallbrook’s only Sept. 5 game was a 10-3 loss to Bishop’s. “That’s a great team, a great program,” Richardson said.

The Knights led 5-1 after the first period and 6-2 at halftime. “After the first quarter the guys settled down and played them pretty evenly,” Richardson said.

Fallbrook took 25 shots against the Knights. Richardson attributes the skill of the Bishop’s goalie rather than poor shot selection to the failure of those shots to produce more goals. “We had an offense,” Richardson said.

Eli Foli, a senior, led the Warriors with five steals against the Knights. Kilcrease played three quarters in the nets, making four saves and adding four steals. John Morales was Fallbrook’s fourth-quarter goalkeeper and had two saves.

The first of two Sept. 6 games was a 9-8 Fallbrook win over Granite Hills. Sommer scored four goals and recorded four steals; Foli also had four steals, and Kilcrease had seven saves and two steals.

The Warriors concluded the tournament Sept. 6 with a 7-6 victory over Westview. Sommer placed three balls into the net while Kuhn and Foli each scored twice. Fast led the team with six steals; Curnow contributed three assists, and Kilcrease recorded seven saves.

“We learned that we can play in close games. We learned that we can play when we’re tired,” Richardson said of the two Saturday victories.

Rancho Bernardo was Fallbrook’s only Division II opponent during the tournament. The other four teams, against whom the Warriors were 3-1, are in Division I.

Richardson has 12 players on this year’s varsity. The Warriors lost only two senior starters from 2013. “We pretty much have a returning team,” Richardson said.

All seven starters were on last year’s varsity. “The whole varsity group we have this year had considerable playing time,” Richardson said. “We have a very experienced team.”