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Warriors share Avocado League girls water polo championship

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

After Fallbrook High School’s girls water polo team won six Valley League championships in seven years, the North County Conference assigned Fallbrook to a more competitive league. The 2021-22 Warriors had a 1-4 Palomar League record, and Fallbrook joined the Avocado League for 2023.

The Warriors’ regular season ended Feb. 3 with a victory over San Pasqual, giving Fallbrook a 4-1 league record and a share of the Avocado League championship.

“We did well,” said Fallbrook coach Sean Redmond.

Fallbrook’s only league loss was at Del Norte, and that game went into overtime. The Warriors overcame a deficit to send the game to the extra periods. “We actually tied it up,” Redmond said.

If a game is tied at the end of regulation two mandatory three-minute overtime periods are played. “They just outplayed us in the overtime,” Redmond said

The Nighthawks had two goals early in the first overtime. “We weren’t able to respond quickly enough,” Redmond said

That allowed Del Norte to utilize clock control during the second overtime. “They did a very good job of holding on to the ball,” Redmond said.

San Marcos also had a 4-1 Avocado League record. The Knights traveled to Fallbrook for a Jan. 4 game which ended as a 12-8 Warriors victory. “We came out extremely strong and aggressive,” Redmond said.

“It was still a close game at the half,” Redmond said. “We were only up by two.”

A 4-2 scoring advantage in the third quarter gave Fallbrook enough of a lead to defeat the Knights.

The CIF playoff selection and seeding meeting Feb. 4 gave Fallbrook the seventh seed in the Division II playoffs. Seeding is based primarily on power rankings which reflect strength of schedule as well as win-loss record. Fallbrook was 12-10 during the regular season.

“We definitely played competitive games and competitive teams,” Redmond said. “There were times that it was a learning process.”

Nine of Fallbrook’s opponents were Division I teams. “It was a situation that allowed us to learn and grow and try to be competitive,” Redmond said. “It set us up well for the playoffs.”

 

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