Water polo splits first two league games

Fallbrook High School’s boys water polo team split its first two Avocado League games.

The Warriors traveled to Rancho Buena Vista for an October 4 match which was won by the Longhorns in overtime but earned the victory October 6 when Fallbrook hosted Vista.

“The league opener was very disappointing to lose like that, but they came back on Friday, so they were pretty resilient. I was pleased to see that. They took that loss and they learned from it,” said Fallbrook coach Bob Lamont.

Fallbrook led for much of the game against Rancho Buena Vista before the Longhorns tied the game with six seconds left in regulation. The Warriors led 5-4 at halftime and 8-6 after three periods, and they had a 9-6 lead with 4:21 left in the game. A series of ejections was then called on Fallbrook players, and the Longhorns scored all three of their fourth-period goals on man-up situations.

“They used those ejections well,” Lamont said of the Longhorns. “I salute them.”

Unless tournament rules specify otherwise, the first overtime period and the second overtime if necessary are not sudden death. Rancho Buena Vista scored two goals in overtime while Fallbrook scored once, giving the Longhorns the 11-10 victory.

Jacob Pril led the Warriors with three goals, and he also had an assist. Steve Reichel scored two goals and led the team with six steals, and Stott Bushnell also scored two goals.

The overtime loss was the third consecutive for Fallbrook. They had closed out the AFC Tournament, which utilizes a sudden-death format for the initial overtime periods, with an overtime loss September 23 to Elmo High School from the Bay Area. Fallbrook’s final game prior to league play was at Rancho Bernardo September 27; that game was still tied after two overtime periods and the Broncos converted a penalty shot in the third overtime to win that match.

The 9-8 win over Vista was thus the fourth consecutive one-goal game for Fallbrook, although no overtime was needed and the result was reversed. “We got behind early and then we came back in the second,” Lamont said.

The Panthers had a 4-3 lead after one period, but Fallbrook was up 8-5 at halftime and 8-6 after the third quarter. Fallbrook led 9-7 before the Panthers scored with one second left. “I’m glad we were up by two,” Lamont said.

Trent Kirby had three goals against Vista while Reichel and Garrett Bishop scored two goals apiece.