Warriors win girls lacrosse league title

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

For the first time in the program’s history, Fallbrook High School’s girls lacrosse team won a league championship.

The Warriors were 5-0 in Valley League play this year. Fallbrook finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-2. The May 6 CIF playoff selection and seeding meeting gave the Warriors the second seed in the Division II playoffs, so the Warriors received a first-round bye and will have a quarterfinals home game Saturday, May 13.

“We did exactly what we set out to do,” said Fallbrook coach Debbie Berg.

After a March 14 home loss to Mount Carmel gave Fallbrook a 3-2 record for the season, with a March 9 home game against Chaparral accounting for the other loss, the Warriors won their final 13 games of the regular season.

The Warriors ended March with a 16-6 victory March 31 at Ramona in which junior Shea Morgan had seven goals and five ground balls and senior Taylor Sanchez scored five goals.

Berg coaches field hockey as well as girls lacrosse for the Warriors and her former field hockey goalie, Alex Farquhar, transferred to Ramona High School after Farquhar’s family moved to Ramona. Myah Pack took over as the field hockey goalie (Farquhar never played lacrosse for the Warriors and Ramona does not have field hockey) and Pack faced her field hockey goalkeeping predecessor March 31.

Farquhar, who is now a senior, saved 11 of the 27 shots Fallbrook took against the Bulldogs. Pack, who is a junior, had 10 saves.

Due to Spring Break, the Warriors didn’t play again until April 13, when they hosted Mira Mesa and won by a 13-6 margin. Morgan and senior Erica Garcia each scored five times. Garcia had four ground balls. Pack made 10 saves.

A 16-7 home victory April 14 against Mission Hills closed out pre-league play. The March 31 game at Ramona was not a league contest, but the two teams opened Valley League play against each other April 20 in Fallbrook. The Warriors leveraged a 12-0 halftime lead into a 16-2 victory.

Sanchez had five goals with Garcia and Morgan scoring three apiece. The Warriors had 18 ground balls including six by junior Jasmine Uresti and four by sophomore Gianna Alvarez‑Lindenmayer. Pack made two saves. Farquhar had 13 saves in her return to Fallbrook.

The Warriors traveled to Valley Center for an April 22 league game and returned home with an 11-8 triumph. Morgan and Sanchez each scored four goals while freshman Aylin Ramirez led the team with four ground balls. Pack saved nine shots.

Fallbrook’s April 25 game at Rancho Buena Vista was a 19-7 Warriors win. The May 2 home game against El Camino ended with Fallbrook on the desired end of the 16-7 final score. League and regular season play for Fallbrook ended May 5 with a 14-4 triumph at Vista.

During the five league games, the Warriors outscored their opposition by a 76-28 margin. “We dominated,” Berg said.

Ranking criteria includes goal differential but limits that differential to 10 goals in a game. “We won by 10 many, many times,” Berg said.

“There were a few teams that gave us a run for their money,” Berg said. “The league is actually getting a bit stronger.”

Ramona qualified for the CIF playoffs for the first time since 2018. Fallbrook reached the playoffs for the first time in 2021 and returned to the post-season last year. The 2022 Warriors were 17-4 overall including a playoff win and a playoff loss, and a 4-2 Valley League record gave Fallbrook second in the final standings.

One difference between 2022 and 2023 is that 2022 league champion Sage Creek was moved to the Palomar League. Fallbrook’s other league loss in 2022 was to El Camino, and this year the Warriors defeated the Wildcats both in league play and in a non-league game.

“We have a number of girls who are playing club and have come back very, very strong,” Berg said.

Garcia and Sanchez, who are team captains, are the only seniors.

The two non-league losses reflect a schedule of high-quality competition. “We set up our schedule so we had a nice mix,” Berg said.

Five of the six Valley League teams were selected for the CIF playoffs with El Camino being the exception. Mount Carmel received the top Division II seed with Fallbrook being placed immediately behind.

“That’s exactly where we should be. We did lose to Mount Carmel,” Berg said.

University City was given the third seed. Valley Center was the seventh seed and earned a first-round home game against 10th-seeded Point Loma for the right to play at Fallbrook in the quarterfinals.