Roman to play lacrosse at Lourdes University

In the absence of unexpected circumstances, Jose Roman will be playing collegiate lacrosse at Lourdes University in Ohio.

"It's like a pretty exciting experience. I never thought I'd be able to play collegiate lacrosse," Roman said.

Roman played two seasons of varsity lacrosse for Fallbrook High School – including the 2020 season which consisted of three games before the coronavirus outbreak cancelled the remainder of the season. He was not involved in organized lacrosse until joining the Fallbrook High School program as a freshman.

"He came out as a freshman, never handled a stick before, picked it up really fast," said Fallbrook coach Mike Zinniger.

Roman was on the junior varsity squad as a freshman and sophomore. When he was a sophomore in 2019, he was a captain for the junior varsity team. In 2021, he was a varsity captain.

"He was a solid leader," Zinniger said. "He was really helping out the underclassmen."

The ascension from junior varsity to varsity wasn't the only transition Roman made for 2020. He was a midfielder while on the junior varsity team but played as an attacker for his final two years.

Roman will return to the midfield position at Lourdes University, although he will add his experience as an attacker to his perspective. "Playing as an attacker, it gave me a different view," he said. "I feel like my game as a midfielder will give me an advantage."

He added that his experience as an attacker will aid his "lacrosse IQ." The 5'11" Roman is likely more physically suited for the midfielder position than as an attacker at the collegiate level.

Lourdes University is in the northwest Ohio town of Sylvania. The Gray Wolves play in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

"I had a few offers from other schools," Roman said. "I committed to Lourdes because it helped a lot financially; it had what I wanted to major in."

Roman will pursue a criminal justice major. He plans to become a detective, although his major would give him other options. "It kind of opens a lot of different possibilities," he said.

A friend in his ninth-grade math class encouraged Roman to play lacrosse. "I never knew what lacrosse was. I just decided to go with it because I wanted to join a sport in high school," he said.

"I ended up liking it a lot," Roman said. "I started to develop more as my sophomore year progressed."

Roman was born in Escondido. He lived in Poway until moving to Fallbrook when he was in third grade and attended Pomerado Elementary School in Poway before transferring to Live Oak Elementary School. He was at Potter Junior High School for two years prior to becoming a Fallbrook High School student in 2017.

His favorite high school memories involve being with his friends. Roman's favorite Fallbrook High School lacrosse memory was scoring his first goal. "It just gave me a mentality like I'm able to score; I'm able to make plays," he said. "It just gave me that boosted confidence."

Although the coronavirus shutdown cancelled summer 2020 play, Roman played in a summer league between his sophomore and junior seasons.

"He is one of those kids who shows up to every single practice, every single game," Zinniger said.

"He's really going to excel at playing college lacrosse," Zinniger said. "I really think he has the dedication and the work ethic to succeed there at that level."

Roman did not play any other sport at Fallbrook High School, nor did he play any organized sports prior to ninth grade.

"I'm pretty excited for the opportunity and to be able to go and play for a college," Roman said.

"He definitely earned it," Zinniger said. "I'm just really proud of him."