Tesoro attack too much for Northwood, 4-1

SANTA ANA Tesoro scored three second-half goals to beat Northwood, 4-1, in Pool D girls soccer action at Thursday’s Mater Dei Invitational and remain unbeaten in its first seven matches of the season.

Jamie Turchi, Jessica White, Samantha Nerney and Brittany Nomandy each recorded goals to help the Titans improve to 6-0-1. It was the team’s second victory this season over Northwood, which fell to 3-5.

Both teams return to Mater Dei on Friday to continue pool play. Northwood faces Long Beach Wilson, which defeated El Camino Real of Woodland Hills, 2-0. Tesoro takes on El Camino. Both matches begin at 5:25 p.m.

“They are an aggressive team,” said Tesoro coach Nick Schofield of Northwood. “They are tough. They are well-organized. They are well-coached. We just stuck at it. We had a couple nice goals at the end that probably flattered us.”

Three of the game’s five goals came in the final five minutes, with Tesoro already leading 2-0.

Paige Gankema gave Northwood hope when she struck late. She was able to time her run just perfect and avoid the offside call to cut the deficit to 2-1 with time running down.

However, Northwood switched to two defenders and the move hurt. Tesoro struck twice more.

On the first, Samantha Nerney let a right-footer fly from the right side and beat the keeper far post. Brittany Nomady can through seconds later with the final goal.

“They play with a lot of bit,” Northwood coach Steve Tatone said. “They are a committed team.”

Northwood controlled play for the opening 10 minutes, but was unable to capitalize on the scoreboard. Tesoro slowly pushed the ball back into their half and soon scored off a free kick.

Danielle Romanowski started the set piece with a nice entry into the box. Nerney appeared to get her head on the ball first, then it was knocked in by Turchi for the early lead, 1-0.

The score remained until after halftime, when the Titans scored off a long pass to Jessica White. White dribbled into the right-side of the box before letting a chip shot float far post for the 2-0 lead.

However strong the offense looked for Tesoro though, Schofield said he didn’t like giving up the late goal. He felt like his team lost a bit of focus.

Nonetheless, the team responded with two goals, which could make a difference in which squad advances to the semifinals from the pool. With the victory, Tesoro earned nine points, and leads Wilson by one point. The Titans could have gained another point with a shut out.

“I hate conceding goals,” Schofield said. “It’s frustrating. We got quite a few playmakers. We can attack from all over the field. We have great girls. We need to knock the ball around and open teams up. We need to move the ball.”