Kentfield and Matrix in Jackalope Ranch Cup Finals
By
Alex Webbe
Kentfield (Roxy Keyfauver, Eric Hammon, Cameron Smith and
Ernesto Bautista) charged out to a 5-2 halftime lead in the opening match of
the 2011 Jackalope Ranch Cup on its way to a 6-4 win over Heroes & Zeros (Suki
Piper, Fred Schneeberger, Jonathan Burrows, Lolo Payan and Goyo Mariscal) Saturday
afternoon at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
Kentfield’s Roxy Keyfauver and Eric Hammon scored the
opening goal of the match in the first chukker before Heroes & Zeros
responded with a penalty conversion for a goal from Goyo Mariscal. A second goal from the field from Hammon
closed out the period with Kentfield holding a 3-1 advantage over Heroes &
Zeros.
Ernesto Bautista made it 4-1, Kentfield, with the first
goal of the second chukker but Mariscal responded with a goal for the Heroes
& Zeros. Hammon’s third goal of the
day ended the first half with Kentfield sitting on top of a 5-2 lead.
Hammon and Mariscal exchanged goals in the third period,
accounting for all of the scoring as both teams tightened their defensive
play. After three chukkers of play
Heroes & Zeros struggled to find an answer, trailing 6-3 with one chukker
left to play.
Kentfield cruised through the final seven minutes of play
as Heroes & Zeros fought to get its attack online. Mariscal scored for Heroes & Zeros to cut
the lead to lead to two goals, but that would be as close as they would
get. The final horn sounded with Kentfield
riding off the with 6-4 victory. The win
places Kentfield in Sunday’s 2PM finals.
Hammon led the Kentfield attack with four goals. Keyfauver and Bautista added single goals in
the win.
Mariscal scored all four goals for the Heroes &
Zeroes.
MATRIX
11, KINGSCLIFFE 7
Matrix (Shane Flock, Doug Schneider, Jared Sheldon and
Ashton Wolf) used an explosive three goal third chukker to race out of a close
contest with Kingscliffe (Kate Ewart, Kendra Clark, Brad Ramsby and Santos
Areolla) and gallop off with an 11-7 win in the tournament’s second match of
the day.
Kingscliffe received on goal by handicap from Matrix and
quickly added to it with a pair of goals from Kate Ewart. Matrix responded with two goals from the
field from Jared Sheldon as Kingscliffe held on to an early 3-2 lead.
Matrix’s Ashton Wolf tied it at 3-3 in the second and
Sheldon gave them a 4-3 advantage with his third goal of the day. Kendra Clark answered with a goal for
Kingscliffe and Brad Ramsby chipped in a goal but scores from Wolf and
Schneider had Matrix leaving the field at halftime with a narrow 6-5 edge.
The Matrix teamwork was at its best in the third chukker
as the defense kept Kingscliffe off of the scoreboard while scoring three
unanswered goals (two from Sheldon and one from Wolf). Matrix was now guarding a four goal, 9-5 lead
with one chukker left to play.
Clark scored twice for Kingscliffe in the final frame,
but Matrix was up to the challenge. Wolf
answered back with his fourth and fifth goals of the game for the 11-7 win.
Sheldon and Wolf scored five goals apiece in the Matrix
win. Schneider added a single goal from
the field.
Clark’s three goals set the pace for Kingscliffe. Ewart scored twice and Ramsby accounted for
one goal. Kingscliffe also received one
goal by handicap.
The win places Matrix in Sunday’s 2PM finals against
Kentfield. A noon consolation match
between Kingscliffe and Heroes & Zeros is also scheduled.
Kids Polo is slated to take place a 9AM.