PHOTOS: Northwood defeats Irvine 18-4 and captures fourth PCL victory

Northwood’s Chris Pukszta tries for a goal against Irvine Thursday. Photos courtesy Michael An, For OC Sports Zone)

Northwood’s boys water polo team improved improve its record to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Pacific Coast League overall with an 18-4 win over Irvine Thursday afternoon.

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

Gautam Chaudhri of Northwood tries to get open for a shot.

Danny Kim of Northwood tries to pass the ball in Thursday's match.

Max Abravanel of Northwood takes a shot against Irvine.

Northwood's Cameron An shoots the ball in Thursday's match.

Leo Giessmann of Northwood attempts to get a pass off Thursday.

Sophomore Leo Giessmann led the offensive attack for the second consecutive week in a row with four goals.

Senior co-captains Max Abravanel and Chris Pukszta each scored three goals. Junior Cameron An added another three goals, while senior Nicholas Miceli had two goals. Seniors Austin Kenyon, Carsen Briggs and Gautam Chaudhri had one goal each.

Abravanel had a complete game as he also led the team with six assists and four steals. Defensively, senior goalie Adrian Fontao had an outstanding game with 15 saves. 

“This was a very successful first round of league for our team,” said Northwood Coach Kyle Kim-E. “After some rough games during the South Coast tournament, I needed to take a step back and re-analyze what our team needed to do on both ends of the ball. We made some adjustments to our offense and have been focusing much more on defense lately.

“It required a change in terms of how I normally run and structure practices, so I know that it was an adjustment for the boys.”