Lady Warriors win soccer opener

Fallbrook High School's girls soccer team was victorious in the Lady Warriors' 2015-16 season opener.

The high school soccer debut of Fallbrook freshman Hannah Diverde included a goal in the final 15 minutes to give the Warriors a 2-1 victory over Tahquitz High School of Hemet in the Dec. 1 game played on Fallbrook's field.

"It was a good step forward," said Fallbrook coach Miguel Trejo. "We were able to come through and fight."

Diverde, who is a striker, is one of three freshmen who started for the Warriors. Audrey Petersen played left defender and Karina Bulli began the game as Fallbrook's right midfielder before being shifted to a defender position for the latter part of the game.

Tahquitz was awarded a penalty kick in the game's third minute but missed the shot. "That was a relief," Trejo said.

The Titans scored from the field in the eighth minute to take a 1-0 lead. Approximately 15 minutes into the game, Jocelyn Urbina, who is one of 12 seniors on the Fallbrook roster, had the ball in the box. "She took the ball into open space and then she saw a gap," Trejo said.

Urbana's shot into the bottom of the net created a 1-1 score which allowed the two teams to be even when the coaches gave their halftime talks.

"Tahquitz High School came in extremely aggressive," Trejo said. "That threw us off a little."

That was a topic of Trejo's halftime discussion. "We were able to adjust from there," he said.

The adjustments kept the Titans from any additional scoring, although the Tahquitz defense kept the score static prior to Diverde's goal. "It was a really well-balanced hard-fought match," Trejo said.

Diverde tilted the balance towards Fallbrook. "Hannah made a run down the line," Trejo said. "She created an opportunity."

Diverde shot from outside the box to the opposite side and was able to place the ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the net.

"I was really impressed. I knew it was going to be a tough challenge going into the game because we've only been playing together for the past two weeks," Trejo said.

The Fallbrook and Tahquitz junior varsity teams played to a 2-2 tie. Fallbrook's freshman team defeated the Titans by a 2-0 score.