Rancho Bernardo Faire Wood got to make history — twice.
First, she was a member of the 2016 field hockey team that won the school’s first section title. Then Saturday she coached the Broncos to their first girls’ lacrosse crown.
Very apropos considering, she its, “I bleed blue.”
The 13-6 lacrosse win over Canyon Crest Academy for the section Division 2 title helped make up for the disappointment she felt as a player on the 2018 team that lost to Del Norte, 16-8.
“I was devastated when we lost that game,” said Wood of the setback.
Going back even farther, her older sister Cassidy was a member of the 2011 RB team that made the Division 1 finals against Torrey Pines, only to lose 18-5.
But when Wood was named as the head coach in 2022, she promptly ed two of her teammates on that 2018 team — defender Brooke Tyler and goalie Leilani Miyasaki — who she knew were just as dedicated as she was.
“We knew from the start of this season we could be the team to make history,” Wood said. “It had been 14 years since we beat Poway, so when we beat them (10-9), we knew.
“We only had three seniors, so it took us a while to get comfortable playing zone defense instead of man-to-man, but when we did, we took off.”
The Broncos went 17-5, and all but one of the losses were by three or fewer goals.
“Some of it was mental,” Wood said. “We had lost to Carlsbad by like 20 goals (it was 18-0) last year and we lost to them 11-8. Del Norte was the only team to really beat us (15-3) but that was the game where our zone defense really started to click after they got a big lead early.
“Our losses to Mt. Carmel (10-9), La Jolla (12-10) and Temecula Valley (6-5) in the first game of the season could have gone either way.”
Wood and her assistants knew exactly what they had to do to beat Canyon Crest Academy in the title game — they just had to do it.
“Canyon Crest had lost to Fallbrook in the championship last year and we knew they’d want to make up for that,” said Wood. “But our coaches all knew about losing in 2018, so were just as determined.
“In any sport, when you get behind it’s harder to catch up. We knew Canyon Crest only had a couple of drivers and that our zone would work against them. The key was getting on top from the start.”
Freshman Rebecca Johnson set the tone, when 83 seconds into the match she found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. It only got better for the Broncos as a 3-0 first quarter lead ballooned to 10-1 by halftime.
When the margin was 13-2, Wood knew it was time for some of the other players to get that feeling of what it’s like to be part of a championship team.
“We have a strong attack, 80 percent of the players are on a club team,” she said. “The first three games we put in plays like a pick-and-roll and a draw-and-dump and as the season went on, they just got more and more comfortable as a team.
“Our philosophy is ‘Love to Play’ and we do. We give 100 percent and we really bonded. The morning of the game we had breakfast together at school and we let them know what an opportunity this was.”
The players wanted it just as much as the coaches.
“We wanted to win it for them,” said goalie Charlotte Grundon, a sophomore. “They knew how it felt to lose and they didn’t want us to feel that way. We had high energy for that game and even though we got a lead, my mentality is they can always come back.”
Grundon, who plays with the Diamond Cut Crew club team, will play for the high school National Team this summer in Denver and Massachusetts.
Wood says she wouldn’t be surprised if the Broncos were moved up to Division 1 next year, and with all but three players returning, she’s confident they can be competitive at that level.
“The girls are not intimidated,” said Wood of the squad that includes multi-sport players like soccer standout Elizabeth Doud.
“I played three sports in high school and we welcome them because that usually means they are good athletes. Elizabeth Doud is one of the fastest players on our team and she really enjoys it.”
The next big event — hanging that championship banner in the gym.
