PHOTOS: Northwood 4-0 after defeating Aliso Niguel 15-10 with strong second half effort

Northwood senior co-captain Chris Pukszta takes a shot Tuesday. (Photos courtesy Michael An, For OC Sports Zone)

Northwood’s boys water team improved its record 4-0 with a 15-10 victory over Aliso Niguel, another Division 3 team, Tuesday at Northwood. Northwood is ranked fifth in this week’s CIF Division 5 poll.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo

The game started out as a defensive battle with Northwood holding a 6-5 lead at halftime.

The Timberwolves were able to pull away in the second half behind the play of junior Cameron An, who had five goals.

Senior Max Abravanel and sophomore Leo Giessman both scored three goals each.

Senior Nicholas Miceli and junior Josh Sellwood had two goals each.

Senior two meter defender Chris Pukszta was outstanding on defense with seven steals and senior Adrian Fontao finished the game with 12 saves.

“Each game that we have played so far has gotten progressively harder,” said Northwood Coach Kyle Kim-E. “We knew Aliso was going to be a well-coached team with a good amount of experience, so it felt good to get this win. We missed a lot of open shots, but it was encouraging that we even had all of these offensive opportunities to begin with.

“And even though Aliso scored 10 goals, I actually thought we played good defense. There were a few unlucky 50/50 calls that didn’t go our way and resulted in goals. I like the perseverance from our guys to hang in there and take it away in the second half.”

Kim-E said he’s pleased with his team’s progress. 

“There’s still a lot of things to tweak, but to be 4-0 against divisional opponents this early on in the season is a good beginning.” he said. “Next up, we have a tough Riverside Poly team and the famous South Coast Tournament which should be a wake up call for us. The tournament will let us know how we really stack up against some of the teams in Orange County.”