Northwood water polo team rallies from six-goal halftime deficit to defeat El Toro 16-14

Northwood junior Iacopo Cagnoni gets ready to take a shot in Thursday’s match. (Photo courtesy Troy Witt, For OC Sports Zone)

Northwood High’s boys water polo staged a big comeback to defeat El Toro 16-14 Thursday at Northwood for its second straight win to start the season.

The Timberwolves trailed 11-5 at halftime.

Sophomore Michael Abshier led the team in goals for a second straight game with seven. Junior Iacopo Cagnoni and senior Ethan Chen recorded three goals each, while senior Danny Kim added two goals and freshman Dean Witt had one.

Senior Curtis Sung led the defense with five steals and junior goalie Aditya Hari had an impressive game with 10 saves.

“For the last 18 months, we have emphasized perseverance and resilience every single day,” said Northwood Coach Kyle Kim-E. “This game was a prime example of where perseverance and resilience paid off. I’m proud of the guys for not giving up at halftime and I hope it gives them some confidence that they can still win games, no matter what the deficit is, as long as they are willing to fight for it.

“And although I’m happy with the win and happy for the way they fought until the end, I’m still unhappy about the way that they played in the first half. So, I keep stressing to them that there is always something to work on but so far they have been putting the work in and I like how our season has started.” 

Northwood opened the season Tuesday with a 22-6 victory over Canyon. To see a photo and report, please click here.

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