FHS lacrosse reaches second round playoffs

Fallbrook High School’s boys lacrosse team had a 15-3 regular-season record, including a 4-1 Valley League mark to place second in the six-team standings. The Warriors won their first CIF playoff game before losing in the Division II quarterfinals.

“We actually had a very good season,” Fallbrook coach Mike Zinniger said. “Record wise it was pretty successful, and I think individually a lot of the players overachieved this year. They just came together as a team.”

This year’s team included 13 seniors. “A lot of these kids have been playing together since seventh grade,” Zinniger said.

Three of the Warriors’ four losses, including the playoff defeat, were by one or two goals. The exception was a 12-5 home game April 30 at Valley Center High School, which was also the only blemish on the Warriors’ league record.

“They’re just a very talented team,” Zinniger said of the Jaguars. “We played them really hard, but we were just overmatched.”

The game decided the league championship, but Valley Center needed a strong finish to prevail over the Warriors.

“It was pretty close at halftime,” Zinniger said.

Including the playoffs, Fallbrook outscored opponents by a cumulative 266-95 margin, and the margin was 239-66 during the regular season.

Two of the Warriors’ victories were by shutout with the Warriors winning 16-0 both in the March 12 contest at home against Classical Academy and March 27 at Otay Ranch High School.

In two other games, the Warriors allowed only one goal, and the Warriors also allowed two goals twice and three goals two times. Fallbrook allowed five goals or fewer 15 times.

“That kind of says a lot about our defense,” Zinniger said. “They were just a solid, solid defensive unit.”

An April 6 non-league home game against Hilltop High School was a 17-4 Fallbrook victory. Fallbrook was given the fourth seed in the Division II playoffs and Hilltop had the 13th seed, so the Lancers returned to Fallbrook for a May 8 playoff game. This time the Warriors were on the winning end of the 14-4 final score.

“Just from the outset we just kind of set the tone in the first quarter,” Zinniger said. “They just came together quickly.”

A large enough lead during the third period allowed Zinniger to play seniors who were not starters.

The Francis Parker Lancers were the fifth seed and traveled to Fallbrook for the May 11 quarterfinal. The Warriors held leads of 9-8 at halftime and 11-10 after the third quarter, but the Lancers rallied for a 15-13 triumph.

“Kind of disappointing. We blew a fourth-quarter lead,” Zinniger said. “It was one of those games. That’s lacrosse. It’s never over ‘til it’s over.”

The loss finalized Fallbrook’s record at 16-4. Francis Parker subsequently defeated top-seeded Eastlake in the semifinals and lost to second-seeded Granite Hills by one goal in the championship game.

Zinniger was the Warriors’ junior varsity coach from 2016 to 2018 before replacing Brian Kimmell this year.

“I just really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun and am looking forward to coming back next year,” Zinniger said of his first season as head coach. “I look forward to 2020.”