Northwood wins fifth in a row, defeating Woodbridge 15-6 in league opener

Northwood junior Iacopo Cagnoni takes a shot on one of his six goals Monday. (Photo courtesy Troy Witt)

Northwood’s boys water polo team won its fifth in a row to open the season defeating Woodbridge 15-6 in the Pacific Coast League opener Monday at Northwood.

Northwood (5-0) jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and extended the advantage to 8-2 at halftime against the defending league champion Woodbridge.

Junior Iacopo Cagnoni led Northwood with six goals, while sophomore Michael Abshier had four. Senior Danny Kim scored three goals, senior Ethan Chen had one goal and freshman Dean Witt also had one goal.

Defensively, Kim held the Woodbridge offense in check with eight steals. Junior goalkeeper Aditya Hari had six saves.

“I told the guys that this felt like one of our better games, where we started well and continued to make improvements each quarter, It felt like one of our first complete games,” said Northwood Coach Kyle Kim-E.

“I was happy with how they played, but I don’t want our 5-0 record to get into their head. We have a lot of games remaining and the rest of our week is going to be extremely tough. We face a tough Portola team that is ranked number one in D4 on Wednesday and I honestly think they have a chance at winning the Pacific Coast League this year.

“Then, we have the famous South Coast tournament where we’re going to play some of the best teams in California which includes our first game against San Diego powerhouse Cathedral Catholic. So, I think we have a perfect opportunity to see where we stack up against some of these teams. And at the end of the day, it isn’t about the wins or losses but I want us to play as best as we can and continue to make improvements so that we’re ready for our league and playoff games.”

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