Victory over Pumas ties boys lacrosse school record for consecutive wins

Fallbrook High School's boys lacrosse team tied the Warriors' school record of five consecutive victories with a 7-2 home win March 27 against Chaparral High School.

The Warriors, whose 2014 season ended with a loss to Valley Center in the CIF Division II quarterfinals, improved their 2015 record to 5-0 with their triumph over the Pumas.

"It's been nice to see the program have some success that we haven't had," said Fallbrook coach Paul Morgan.

Fallbrook's season began March 11 with a 16-1 home victory against Vista Murrieta, which is fielding a varsity team for the first time. "We just kind of wanted to focus on running our offense and running it the right way," Morgan said. "They played really well."

When the halftime whistle blew, the Warriors held an 8-1 lead. Fallbrook goalkeeper Matt Sandoval only needed to make three saves during the game. Cortland Mangio scored seven goals against the Broncos and also had one assist. Isaac Mattecheck added three goals and an assist. Two goals were scored by freshman Nathan Chalut, whose first high school game also included an assist. Andrew Akman had one goal and two assists. The first high school game for freshman Tyler Jenkins included one goal and one assist from his stick. Zach Kuran and Matt Reynolds scored a goal apiece.

"It was a good opening win for the program," Morgan said. "It was a good win for the boys."

Olympian traveled to Fallbrook for a March 20 match. "Olympian was actually pretty intense," Morgan said. "Olympian jumped out to a quick lead on us."

The Eagles scored the game's first three goals. "We ended up having to battle back," Morgan said. "For a while there I was a little bit nervous."

The Warriors led by a 5-4 margin at halftime and ended the game on the preferred end of the 11-5 score. "Our freshmen definitely stepped up in that game," Morgan said. "It was good to see them kind of battle through adversity and rally back to get the win."

Mattecheck led the Warriors with three goals scored. Fallbrook freshman Arron Weis scored two goals within a minute of each other.

Fallbrook's first road game of 2015 took place March 23 at The Preuss School. The Warriors returned home with a 7-6 victory; the game was tied at six goals apiece in the fourth period before Mattecheck scored the winning goal with about four minutes remaining.

The first quarter ended with Fallbrook holding a 4-1 lead. "We came out on fire," Morgan said. "We ended up getting a little too confident."

The Tritons scored the second period's only two goals. Sandoval made nine saves in the contest. "Matt actually had to really bail us out," Morgan said.

The game-winning goal was one of two for Mattecheck. Weis also placed two shots into the net. Akman, Chalut, and Jenkins each scored once.

"It was a great test for us to have to battle back," Morgan said. "Any team can beat us if we don't play the way we are supposed to play team ball."

This year Fallbrook is in the Valley League along with El Camino, Valley Center, and San Dieguito Academy. "It could give our kids an opportunity to push for the league title and give more exposure for lacrosse in Fallbrook," Morgan said.

Fallbrook traveled to El Camino for a March 25 league match. The score was 1-1 at halftime with Mattecheck scoring the Warriors' goal. "They have some good young players," Morgan said of the Wildcats. "They played up."

Mattecheck had the assist on Chalut's third-quarter goal which gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead, and fourth-period goals by Akman, Chalut, and Reynolds gave Fallbrook a 5-2 victory over the Wildcats.

"The difference at the end was the goalie play. Matt had some notable saves," Morgan said.

Sandoval made 11 saves against El Camino.

"It was just a physical game going back and forth," Morgan said.

The Warriors were 0-5 in Avocado League competition in 2014. Fallbrook's previous league victory was on April 16, 2010, when there was only a single North County league and the Warriors prevailed in an 8-7 contest at Mount Carmel.

"It was awesome," Morgan said. "It was a good start to hopefully what's going to be a great rivalry between the two programs."

Although Fallbrook and El Camino are CIF opponents, players from both teams participate in club competition with the 395 Starz program Morgan coaches. "It was nice to see the competitiveness and how much these players have progressed on both sides," Morgan said.

The win over Chaparral was Fallbrook's first over the Pumas since a 14-2 road victory on March 23, 2011, when the current Warrior seniors were in eighth grade. In 2014, Fallbrook lost to Chaparral by 5-4 and 10-9 margins. The 2013 Pumas won 10-8 and 12-2 games against Fallbrook. The only 2012 match between the two teams ended as an 11-10 Chaparral victory. "I didn't really need to motivate my players for that game," Morgan said. "They responded pretty well."

The Warriors had a 4-1 halftime advantage. "That was a good one for us," Morgan said.

Akman, Chalut, Mangio, Jenkins, Mattecheck, Walker Moran, and Weis each scored a goal. Sandoval recorded 11 saves against the Pumas.

"If we really put it all together and keep continuing to grow, I think we're going to be pretty formidable," Morgan said.