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Lady Warriors drop water polo opener

The first match of the 2017-18 season for Fallbrook High School's girls water polo team was tied at seven goals apiece before Rancho Buena Vista scored to give the Longhorns an 8-7 victory Nov. 28 at The Wave in Vista.

"We ended up losing a close one," said Fallbrook coach Sean Redmond.

The Warriors trailed by a 3-0 margin at the end of the first quarter, and the Longhorns increased their lead to 4-0 during the second period. Between the final two minutes of the second quarter and the end of the third quarter, Fallbrook scored seven straight goals for a 7-4 lead.

The Longhorns, however, staged their own comeback, scoring all four of the fourth-period goals.

"They had a couple of quick goals and we just weren't able to recover from it," Redmond said.

Only six of this season's 14 varsity players were on the 2016-17 Warriors team that won its third consecutive Valley League championship and had an overall record of 16-13, including a first-round win and a quarterfinals loss in the CIF Division I playoffs. Only three of last season's starters are on the current team.

"They definitely learned a lot from it," said Redmond of the season opener.

Although the Warriors allowed the Longhorns to overcome a three-goal deficit, Redmond noted that his team overcame an early four-goal deficit.

"Overall I was happy with it," said Redmond of his team's performance. "I thought we did a great job. We can compete with them."

Rancho Buena Vista's previous game was also a loss in the CIF Division I quarterfinals, and the 2016-17 Longhorns had a 16-11 overall record.

Redmond considers pre-league games and tournaments to be preparation for Valley League and CIF playoff competition.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us but fortunately we've got a lot of time between now and the end of February," said Redmond. "I'm looking forward to it."

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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