Warriors lose by one goal in water polo playoff semifinal

Fallbrook High School's boys water polo team reached the CIF Division I semifinals before a 6-5 loss to top-seeded Valhalla.

The Warriors, who were seeded fourth in the playoffs and had a first-round bye, began their post-season Nov. 14 with a 9-8 overtime win over Granite Hills. Both that quarterfinal victory and the Nov. 18 semifinal were played at La Jolla High School's Coggan Pool.

"We didn't shoot particularly well the last few games," said Fallbrook coach Bill Richardson.

(The Warriors closed out their regular season Nov. 6 with a 12-7 loss against San Marcos at the Palomar College pool.)

Fallbrook won the CIF Division II championship last year, but nine of the 13 players on that team were seniors so the game against Granite Hills was the first playoff competition for many of Fallbrook's current players. "We definitely had some jitters in that game," Richardson said.

Granite Hills had the fifth seed in the Division I playoffs. The Warriors had a fourth-quarter lead before the Eagles scored the final goal of regulation to create a 7-7 tie entering two mandatory three-minute overtime periods.

Fallbrook scored in the first overtime, and Granite Hills tied the game in the second overtime. The contest then went to sudden-death overtime, and sophomore Anthony Vazzana scored the winning goal to advance Fallbrook to the semifinals.

"That was good to get that win against a good program like Granite Hills," Richardson said.

Fallbrook scored the first goal against Valhalla, but the Norsemen scored the remaining three goals during the first half. Valhalla held a 6-3 lead after three periods. The Warriors scored twice in the fourth quarter to narrow the deficit to a single goal, but the Norsemen did not allow the tying goal. "They were able to kill the clock and win the game," Richardson said.

"I felt like we were pretty much in control the whole game. We were shooting far more frequently than they were," Richardson said. "We played well enough defensively to win. Just couldn't score."

The two playoff games finalized Fallbrook's season record at 17-14. "I'm pretty proud of the boys and the way they played this season after losing nine seniors," Richardson said.

Richardson started three seniors, one junior, and three sophomores in the semifinal against Valhalla. "The future's bright for the program," he said.

In 2013, the CIF transitioned from playoff divisions based on school enrollment to divisions based on competitive ranking. The ranking includes a weighted five-year history with the previous season accounting for 35 percent of that, so Fallbrook was placed in Division I for this year's playoffs.

"We had a good run this year to make it to the semifinals in Division I," Richardson said. "I think it's a good accomplishment."