White Birch
to meet Circa in Hampton Cup finals
By Alex Webbe
Equuleus
fought its way to an 11-9, two goal lead with two minutes to play in the
semifinals of the 2011 Hampton Cup at the Bridgehampton Polo Club before
falling to Circa’s last chukker rally in a 12-11 loss.
“I can’t
believe it,†said Equuleus 6-goaler Kris Kampsen. “We had it; we were up by two goals in the
final chukker.â€
Circa
received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal Equuleus team and quickly added
to it. A pair of goals from Magoo Laprida
and a single goal from Martin Pepa had Circa in front 4-0 after the first seven
minutes of play.
Equuleus
fought its way back into the game with goals from Mariano Gonzalez, Mariano
Obregon and Kampsen while holding circa scoreless. At the end of the second chukker Circa held a
narrow 4-3 lead.
The third
chukker of the contest had two faces.
Opening goals from Laprida, Pepa and Guille Aguero scooted Circa ahead,
7-3, before Equuleus could react. A
furious attack by the Equuleus team resulted in costly fouls by the Circa team,
with Gonzalez converting one penalty shot and Kampsen tallying two more from
the penalty line. At the end of the first half Circa held on to
its narrow 7-6, one goal advantage.
Aguero gave
circa a brief 8-6 edge to open the second half, but consecutive goals from
Kampsen (one by penalty, one from the field) had it all even at 8-8 after four
chukkers.
Aguero added
another goal to the Circa total in the fifth, but a pair of goals from the
sure-hitting Kampsen gave Equuleus a 10-9 lead after five chukkers.
Obregon’s
second goal of the game had Equuleus up by two goals, 11-9 deep into the final
chukker when Laprida came to the rescue.
One goal from the field and a pair of penalty goals proved to be the
difference in the 12-11 Circa win.
Kampsen led
all scoring with seven goals. Obregon
and Gonzalez scoffed two goals apiece in the loss. Laprida scored six times for Circa. Aguero added three and Pepa scored
twice. Circa received one goal by
handicap.
WHITE BIRCH 15, HEATHCOTE 13
In earlier
action, a strong fourth chukker and ten goals from Canadian Fred Mannix powered
White birch to a 15-13 win over Heathcote, who’s last chukker rally fell a
couple of goals sort in the earlier Hampton Cup semifinal.
Heathcote
received three goals by handicap, with Mannix scoring the first goal from the
field in the first of two semifinal matches scheduled for play. Mariano Gracida added another goal for White
Birch before Tommy Biddle gave Heathcote a 4-2 lead with his first goal of the
day. Mannix closed out the first chukker
scoring with his second goal of the game, as White Birch whittled the Heathcote
lead down to a manageable 4-3 advantage.
White Birch
fouls put Biddle on the penalty line in second period action. Biddle converted two shots for penalty goals
before Mannix went on a run for White Birch.
Three consecutive goals by Mannix ended the chukker with the teams
deadlocked at 6-6.
Mariano
Aguerre converted a 60-yard penalty shot for White Birch in the third, followed
by goals from Mannix (40-yard penalty goal) and Adam Lindeman (substituting for
White Birch team captain Peter Brant).
Biddle converted another penalty shot for the closing goal of the
chukker with White Birch boasting a 9-7 halftime lead.
The fourth
chukker belonged to White Birch with four unanswered goals being tallied as
Heathcote was unable to score. A pair of
goals from Mannix and single goals from Aguerre and Gracida had White Birch out
in front 13-7 with just two chukkers left to play.
Mannix
opened the fifth with a pair of goals from the field giving White Birch a
commanding 15-7 advantage before Heathcote could respond. Goals
from Naco Taverna and Biddle ended the scoring with White Birch riding off the
field on top of a 15-9 score.
Heathcote
attempted a last chukker rally, with Nick Manifold scoring twice while
teammates Biddle and Taverna added single goals, but the rally fell short with
White Birch celebrating the 15-13 win.
Mannix led
all scoring with ten goals. Gracida and
Aguerre added two goals apiece and Lindemann added a goal for the win.
Biddle’s six
goals set the pace for Heathcote.
Taverna and Manifold each scored twice.
Heathcote received three goals by handicap.
The victory
will pit White Birch against Circa in the 2011 Hampton Cup finals with a date
and time yet to be determined.