Warriors boys win SoCal High School Classic soccer tournament

Fallbrook High School's boys soccer team won the SoCal High School Classic tournament's Boys Premier Division championship.

The Warriors, who also hosted that division's games, tied their first two round-robin games before a win in Fallbrook's third match gave the Warriors second place in the division and sent Fallbrook to the championship game against St. Margaret's of San Juan Capistrano. That game was tied in regulation and in field overtime, and the Warriors prevailed in the penalty kick shootout.

"To come out with a win was gratifying," said Fallbrook coach Jorge Rojas.

The results from the Dec. 27-28 tournament gave Fallbrook a 2-0-7 record for the 2019 portion of the 2019-20 season. "Overall I'm very pleased. It's a rather new team," Rojas said.

The 18 varsity players include seven who were on last year's varsity. Three of those were starters during the 2018-19 season.

"I'm very pleased with the way the boys have been coachable," Rojas said. "I couldn't be happier with the way things started."

The Warriors' season started Dec. 6 with a scoreless tie at Carlsbad. Fallbrook goalkeeper Cristian Franco, who is a junior, recorded five saves. Rojas rotates the Warriors' outside wing back, so five Fallbrook starting defenders assisted Franco's four shutouts during the Warriors' first nine games. Outside left back Joseph Bell and outside right back Michael Lopez are seniors, inside left back Ricardo Acosta and inside right back Charlie Paez are juniors, and wing Jeff Leeman is a sophomore.

Fallbrook traveled to Rancho Bernardo for a Dec. 10 game. The Broncos held a 2-1 halftime lead before Fallbrook scored the only goal of the second half and salvaged a 2-2 draw. Both of the Warriors' goals were scored by junior Bryan Rodriguez while seniors Andres Martinez and Ever Morales had one assist apiece.

The Warriors' first home game of the season took place Dec. 14 against Vista. The game ended in a scoreless tie, and Franco made five saves.

Sage Creek traveled to Fallbrook for a Dec. 17 contest. The Warriors scored the only goal of the first half with Rodriguez placing the ball into the net and Martinez obtaining the assist. The Bobcats tied the game with a second-half goal and the score remained 1-1 through the final whistle.

Another scoreless tie was played Dec. 19 when Fallbrook was at Rancho Buena Vista. Franco had five saves.

"I was very pleased with some of those ties," Rojas said. "They're strong programs."

Both of Fallbrook's Dec. 27 round-robin games in the SoCal High School Classic were ties to give the Warriors a season record to that point of 0-0-7. The 2-2 game against St. Margaret's included a 2-1 halftime lead for the Tartans, Fallbrook goals by Lopez and Rodriguez, and an assist by Acosta. Southwest High School of El Centro overcame a 1-0 Warriors halftime lead in that 1-1 game; senior Daniel Jimenez Duran scored Fallbrook's goal on an assist from Martinez.

Fallbrook's first victory of the season was in the Warriors' final round-robin game of the tournament. The Dec. 28 win over Yorba Linda had a 2-0 final score and a 1-0 halftime score. Franco made six saves, Martinez and Bell scored a goal apiece, and Morales contributed an assist.

"It was definitely gratifying to see the boys get past that challenge of acquiring ties," Rojas said.

The Tartans' other two round-robin games were a 3-2 victory over Yorba Linda and a 2-1 triumph against Southwest. St. Margaret's thus had the best pool play record with Fallbrook posting the second-best result to qualify for the final. The championship game had a 1-1 halftime score as well as a 1-1 score at the end of regulation and after the completion of the field overtime period. Rodriguez scored Fallbrook's goal. The game then went into a penalty kick shootout with Fallbrook making all five shots and St. Margaret's converting four shots. Franco ended the game with seven saves.

"The difference is really putting away the opportunities we have in front of us," Rojas said Fallbrook's two wins.

The Boys Premier Division was one of four boys varsity divisions in the SoCal High School Classic. Los Alamitos defeated Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the Showcase National Division final, Oceanside won the Showcase West Division championship by defeating Kofa (Yuma, Arizona) in the championship match, and Escondido prevailed over El Camino in the Boys Elite Division final.

Mater Dei and Fallbrook were both in the Junior Varsity Elite Division in which the Warriors posted a record of 0-2-1. Fallbrook lost 1-0 games to Torrey Pines and Mater Dei while obtaining a 1-1 tie against Downey.

"They competed well in the tournament," Rojas said.

The boys freshman division matches were played Dec. 26-28. Fallbrook's Dec. 26 competition at Oceanside High School ended as a 2-0 win over Oceanside.

The Warriors' other three games were at San Dieguito Academy. Fallbrook's 3-0 victory over San Dieguito Academy in the Dec. 27 round-robin game not only gave the Mustangs their only loss in round-robin play but also accounted for all goals scored against the Mustangs prior to the final. San Dieguito played two Dec. 27 matches with the other game ending as a 2-0 victory over El Camino, and the Mustangs' Dec. 28 round-robin game was a 3-0 triumph against Oceanside.

Fallbrook's Dec. 28 round-robin game was against El Camino and was a 3-0 Fallbrook victory. That put the Warriors into the championship game against San Dieguito, and the score of that was also 3-0 in Fallbrook's favor to give the Warriors a second division championship for the tournament.

"We have a very optimistic perspective on this group of young men," Rojas said.

This season's varsity squad includes nine seniors.