White Birch still undefeated; KIG
wins in OT
By Alex Webbe
After
trailing Certified 9-4 at the end of the first three chukkers, KIG staged a
second half rally that tied the game at 11-11 in the final six seconds of
regulation play. Luis Escobar took the
throw-in in overtime and carried it down the field for the winning goal for the
12-11 victory in Hampton Cup play at the Bridgehampton Polo Club.
“What a
great win,†said Argentine 7-goaler Michel Dorignac who scored the tying goal
to push the game into overtime. “We had
a great second half, and never gave up,†he added.
Marcos
Garcia Del Rio scored the first goal of the game from the field followed by a
penalty conversion from his brother, Tomas Garcia Del Rio. Dorignac responded for KIG with a field goal
and Tomas Garcia Del Rio closed out the period with his second goal for a 3-1
Certified advantage.
Offense was
hard to come by for both teams in the second chukker as they struggled for ball
control and positioning. Dorignac
converted a penalty shot for a goal to account for the only score, and at the
end of two, Certified had a narrow 3-2 edge.
Certified
team captain Michael Borrico scored the first goal of the third chukker
followed by a pair of successful scoring efforts by Marcos Garcia Del Rio. KIG could get a break as a number of shots at
goal went wide. The first half ended
with Certified holding a healthy 6-2 lead.
Borrico and
Tomas Garcia Del Rio opened the fourth single goals to run the Certified lead to
six goals, 8-2, before KIG managed to get back on track. Goals from Nacho Figueras and Dorignac cut
into the commanding Certified lead, but Tomas Garcia Del Rio managed the final
goal of the chukker, and KIG was behind by five goals, 9-4.
“I never
really thought we were out of it,†said Figueras. “We missed some opportunities in the opening
chukkers, but I felt like we were still in it.â€
Figueras
scored the opening two goals of the fifth period followed by a penalty goal
from Dorignac. Another Figueras goal
from the field cut the Certified lead to a single goal. 9-8, before Adam Snow
broke the KIG run with his first goal of the afternoon. With one chukker left
in regulation play, Certified held on to a 10-8, two goal lead.
“We kept
getting stronger and stronger, “said Figueras.
“We were really clicking as a team.â€
Once again
it was Figueras with the opening goal, but Snow responded with a score for
Certified. The margin remained at two
goals, 11-9 with about ninety seconds left in the chukker. KIG continued to press the attack. Certified committed a foul that put Dorignac at
the line, and the seven-goaler converted it.
KIG needed another goal to stay alive.
With seven seconds on the clock, Certified committed another foul, and
once again Dorignac converted the shot for the tying goal.
After a
brief recess, both teams lined up for the sudden-death overtime period. The throw-in was taken by Luis Escobar who
hacked the ball toward the Certified goal.
Dorignac and Tomas Garcia Del Rio raced for the ball, with Dorignac blocking
Garcia Del Rio out of the play. KIG team
captain Bash Kazi got a mallet on the ball and set it up for Escobar who had a
clear field to goal. One strong hit
followed by two more measured strokes and the ball carried through the goal
posts for the KIG victory. After
fighting through six chukkers of knock-down, drag-out play, the match was
decided in less than thirty seconds.
“It was a
total team effort,†said Escobar, who’s Best Playing Pony, Julieta, carried him
down the field for the final score. “Everyone
worked very hard for the win.â€
Dorignac led
all scoring with six goals. Figueras
scored five times and Escobar added the very important winning goal.
A balanced
Certified attack had Tomas Garcia Del Rio scoring four goals. Marcos Garcia Del Rio accounted for three
goals and teammates Snow and Borrico added two goals apiece.
The loss dropped
Certified’s record to 0-2, while KIG is all even at 1-1.
WHITE BIRCH 11, CIRCA 9
Martin Pepa
scored four of Circa’s seven first half goals in Wednesday’s Hampton Cup
competition before falling to a determined White Birch foursome 11-9 in the
final chukker.
Circa
received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal White Birch quartet, and wasted
little time adding to it. Magoo Laprida
converted a penalty shot followed by a pair of well-placed goals from
Pepa. White Birch was unable to mount an
effective attack in the opening chukker and trailed 4-0 after the first seven
and-a-half minutes of play.
“We just
didn’t get it going in the opening chukker,†said White Birch 6-goaler Fred
Mannix, “and they’re a very talented team.â€
Magoo
Laprida opened the scoring by converting a penalty shot for a goal followed by
a pair of goals from the field from Martin Pepa. White Birch couldn’t manage to break
successfully through the Circa defense and trailed 4-0 after the first chukker.
Laprida added another
goal for Circa in the second period but White Birch was beginning to stir. A pair of goals from the field from Mariano
Aguerre got them on the scoreboard, but Circa held on to a three goal lead, 5-2.
Pepa opened up
the third chukker in grand style. Two
beautiful goals from the field stretched the Circa lead to 7-2 before White
Birch knew what had happened.
“Pepa had the
game of his life today,†commented Mannix.
“He played very well throughout the match.â€
A goal from the
field from Aguerre and a penalty conversion from Mannix took a little of the
sting out of it, however as the period ended with Circa leading, 7-4.
The two teams
exchanged goals in the fourth chukker.
Pepa put Circa ahead 8-4 before Mannix cut the lead down to a manageable
8-5 with his second goal of the day.
Mannix opened
the fifth period with a penalty goal for White Birch, but Guille Aguero scored
a goal for Circa to preserve its three goals lead, 9-6. That was when the game turned. White Birch
scored three unanswered goals, with Aguerre accounting for two of them and
Mannix adding the third. After five
chukkers of play, the score stood all even at 9-9.
Mannix scored
twice in the final chukker as White Birch held Circa scoreless in the final
minutes of the game. White Birch stayed
undefeated, 2-0, in Hampton Cup play in the come-from-behind win.
“It was a lot
of fun,†offered Mannix after the game. “It
was a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun.â€
Mannix
accounted for six goals for White Birch.
Aguerre added five goals in the win.
Pepa led the
Circa attack, scoring five times.
Laprida added two and Aguero scored once.
Hampton Cup play is
scheduled to continue on Saturday with a 10:30 am game scheduled between
Certified (0-2) and Heathcote (1-1). KIG
(1-1) will take on Circa (0-2) at 4pm.