Jan Pamela Sixth Chukker Rally Wins Wanderers Classic
By Alex Webbe
Mt. Brilliant fell apart in the finals of the Wanderers Classic
finals Saturday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington after
building up a 9-6 lead going into the final chukker of play.
Five unanswered goals in the final seven minutes of play
carried Jan Pamela to an 11-9 win to capture the first 14-goal tournament of
the season behind six goals from Steve Dalton.
Carlitos Galindo scored the opening goal of the game for
Jan Pamela but was countered by a penalty goal from Mt. Brilliant’s Brandon Phillips.
Consecutive penalty conversions from
Dalton ended the chukker with Jan Pamela riding a 3-1 lead into the second
period of play.
Goals were hard to come by in the second chukker with
defenses on both sides tightening up. A
penalty goal from Dalton was the only score as Jan Pamela move out to a 4-1
advantage.
Mt. Brilliant took control of the game in the third. Phillips took the opening throw-in 150 yards
down the field for a goal, and just missed another less than a minute
later. With three minutes gone in the
chukker, Phillips buried a beautifully executed cut shot for a goal. With time running out in the chukker, Mt.
Brilliant team captain Bo Goodman found himself on the receiving end of a
well-placed pass from Phillips which he converted for another goal, tying the
game at 4-4 after the first half of play.
Tommy Collingwood gave Mt. Brilliant its first lead of
the game with the opening goal of the second half, 5-4. Dalton tied it up on a 60-yard Safety
(Penalty 6), but a pair of goals from Phillips (one from the field and one by
penalty shot) ended the period with Mt. Brilliant leading Jan Pamela by two goals,
7-5.
Hector Galindo carried the ball down field on a run of
nearly 200 yards with Dalton tapping it in to cut the Mt. Brilliant lead to a
single goal, 7-6. With 2:35 left in the
period, Phillips converted a penalty shot to give Mt. Brilliant an 8-6 lead,
and with time running out, Goodman connected on a beautifully placed cut shot
for a goal and a 9-6 lead with one chukker left to play.
Jan Pamela stormed onto the field for the final chukker
like a team possessed. Carlitos Galindo
scored the first goal of the chukker, cutting the Mt. Brilliant lead to two
goals, 9-7. Hector Galindo took a back-shot
pass from Dalton to score another goal, and Jan Pamela now trailed by a single
goal, 9-8. With five minutes left in
regulation time, Dalton tied it up, 9-9, on a penalty shot with Mt. Brilliant
struggling to find an answer. For the
second time in the chukker, Dalton set up Hector Galindo for a goal putting Jan
Pamela in the lead for the first time since the third chukker. Hector Galindo closed the door on any
thoughts of a Mt. Brilliant comeback with his third goal of the chukker for an
11-9 Jan Pamela win.
Dalton’s six goals let the Jan Pamela attack. Hector Galindo scored three times, all in the
final chukker, and Carlitos Galindo added two goals for the win.
Phillips scored six goals for Mt. Brilliant and received
MVP honors for his efforts. Goodman
added two goals and Collingwood scored once.
Dalton’s sixth chukker seven-year-old brown mare, Julia, was named Best Playing Pony.