[ WATER POLO ]
Brady’s OT goal
edges Iolani
This was not supposed to be a banner year for Punahou School boys water polo.
Goalie Joe Svec was an untested sophomore and coach Ken Smith had graduated a number of veterans, including his son C.J., off last year's Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship team.
The Buffanblu had been calling themselves the "No-Names" because of a lack of stars. Last night, they made a name for themselves by edging Iolani 6-5 in overtime at the Kamehameha Schools pool.
"Wow, these guys really came together this year so much in terms of believing in themselves and believing in each other," said Smith, who won his 28th ILH title since 1973. "We all talk about journeys we have and I can't remember a more satisfying journey from where these guys started and where they are now."
Senior Billy Brady scored the only goal in the first overtime to win it. He was not surprised that, in a defensive battle such as last night's, the one goal would stand up.
"I honestly thought it would because, with overtimes being shorter than regular periods (three minutes vs. seven), I knew that if one team scored, the other would have to really hustle to get it back," Brady said. "I thought our counter-defense worked really well and we worked hard. What a way to go out."
His game-winner was his second goal of the night. The first came on an impressive 1-on-1 display when he stole the ball at mid-pool and simply outswam the Iolani defense, powering in a shot with 2:42 left in the second to give Punahou a 3-1 lead.
The Raiders never let up, getting off five shots in the final two minutes of the second. One went wide, one Svec blocked and two went off the post in the goalie box.
Daniel Lim made good on the fifth attempt, beating the buzzer with a shot from inside 3 meters to pull the Raiders to 3-2.
Punahou again went up by two, scoring quickly after halftime on a goal by Kaniela Lyman-Mersereau. Iolani rallied again, with Charles Fasi and Damon Jones scoring to tie it at 4.
Geoffrey Long put the Buffanblu back on top at 5-4 with 59 seconds left in the third off an assist from Brady. Iolani's Daniel Lim scored the only goal of the fourth with 4:32 left to send it to overtime.
"It was really close all the way to the end," Raiders coach Mark Cornish said. "Punahou played really good defense, really good team defense, and our passing wasn't there.
"There were a couple of times we were spectating, didn't get involved in the plays, letting guys get a few strokes lead. That was costly. We had some chances but we couldn't put the ball in the goal."
Both Svec and Iolani goalie James Street played well. Street blocked three shots in the final 3:35 of regulation while Svec survived a barrage in the final minute by Iolani.
Raider Luke Oda finally broke free of the Punahou double-team with 58 seconds left, but his shot went off the crossbar. It summed up the night for Iolani: close but not close enough.
Punahou led from the start with Ikaika Aki breaking through the defensive standoff with 1:40 left in the first period. Iolani came back to tie it in the second with Jones taking advantage of Punahou being a man down, skipping in a shot past Svec with 5:41 to go.
Arik Look broke the deadlock 71 seconds later to put the Buffanblu ahead at 2-1. Brady then followed with the first of his two goals.
In the third-place game, Pac-5 rolled past Kamehameha 14-5.
