Peterson’s Two Goals Propel Fallbrook to Field Hockey Title

ENCINITAS — Familiarity bred a cliff-hanger in the championship game of San Diego Section field hockey playoffs.

No. 4 Fallbrook and No. 3 Rancho Buena Vista split two previous games this season.

Behind senior Dawn Peterson’s two goals, Fallbrook won the rubber game and the title, 2-1, Saturday at Diegueno Junior High School.

Peterson scored the game’s first goal, 16:40 into the first half, on a dazzling unassisted breakaway drive. Fallbrook (14-7) maintained that 1-0 advantage until halftime.

RBV (16-4), the North County Conference champion, took advantage of Fallbrook’s “defensive mode,” when Coach Maria Guerra inserted her speediest players into the lineup. RBV consistently kept the ball near the Fallbrook goal, with the fleet trio of Diane Gaines, Christine Brayton and Autumn Miner leading the way.

The strategy paid off when Brayton tipped a loose ball in from six feet out. Brayton’s goal, 11:30 into the second half, tied the score at 1-1.

Fallbrook answered with only 7:50 left in the game, when Peterson scored her second goal of the game on a short-corner shot.

It was the kind of shot, Peterson said, “I’ve been missing all year, I’m glad I made it this time.”

Fallbrook goalie Stacey Small preserved the victory, kicking away two shots on goal in the final minutes. RBV’s final shot, with less than 30 seconds left, ricocheted off the post.