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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, October 27, 2007

Steinmeier's 7 goals propel Punahou, 10-4

By Stanley Lee
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tim Steinmeier scored seven goals on a variety of shots and Punahou's defense allowed just one goal per quarter as the host Buffanblu defeated 'Iolani, 10-4, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys water polo match last night.

Steinmeier's seven goals were a personal best as he mixed up his shot selection and helped Punahou (6-0) remain undefeated on the season.

"I wanted to mix it up, not shoot the same shot — some in the corner, some off the water," said Steinmeier, who had two goals that skipped off the water and into the goal.

Steinmeier's first goal of the game from the right side gave Punahou a 1-0 lead with 2:49 left in the first quarter. The Raiders (3-3) tied it 26 seconds later on a goal by Vincent Lim.

With less than a minute left, Punahou's Shaun Giancaterino stole an 'Iolani pass, which eventually led to a Steinmeier goal to make it 2-1 with 15 seconds left in the first.

'Iolani closed to 3-2 early in the second on Jason Kurota's goal following a kickout, but Steinmeier scored two more for a 5-2 halftime lead.

"He was in the zone, he was in a real shooting zone," Punahou coach Ken Smith said. "That's the strength of this team, if it's not him, it can be somebody else. If it's not somebody else, there's six or eight real strong guys."

'Iolani cut the deficit to 5-3 on Lim's penalty shot with 1:39 left in the third quarter. Up until then, the Raiders kept the Buffanblu offense in check, but Punahou scored two goals in the final 59 seconds to extend its lead to 7-3.

Giancaterino finished with two goals and Kai Golden had one.

Lim led 'Iolani with two goals. Kurota and Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka had one each.

"One of their big weapons is their center (Gaspar-Asaoka), or two-meter man," Smith said. "One of our game plans was to really defend him really well. He's really talented, but we wanted to take that part of the game away from him."

Despite its defensive effort, Steinmeier said there's still room for improvement.

"I think we played good defense but we could've played better defense," Steinmeier said. "We'll be working on our defense for the (ILH) championships."

KAMEHAMEHA 11, PAC-FIVE 10

Kirby A'i scored five goals to help the Warriors win their first game of the season at Kalani'opu'u Swimming Pool.

Kamehameha improved to 1-5.

Kainoa Jimenez scored four goals for Pac-Five (2-4).

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.