White Birch, Las Monjitas Win in Open Play
By Alex Webbe
White Birch needed all six chukkers to get past Pony Express 12-10 in opening round play of the US Open Championships at the International Polo Club in Wellington Wednesday afternoon.
Led by seven goals from Lucas Monteverde, White Birch broke open a 9-9 game in the final chukker, scoring three goals while holding Pony Express to a single score.
In a game that was tied eight times, each team had an opportunity to put it away, but it wasn’t until the final chukker that White Birch was able to do so.
Even play had the teams tied at 4-4 after the second chukker of play, but four goals from Monteverde, including a final goal as the horn sounded, were enough to put White Birch on top 8-7 at the end of the first half.
Pony Express regrouped for the second half, and while shutting out the White Birch defense, managed to get two goals from 10-goaler Matias Magrini to take a 9-8 lead with two chukkers to play.
Both defenses tightened in the fifth chukker, and while the crowd got to see glimpses of last years “slash and dash†style of hit and run polo that became the trademark of Pony Express Number 2 Pelon Sterling, Monteverde scored the only goal of the chukker on a penalty shot to even the score at 9-9.
Two more goals from Monteverde gave White Birch an 11-9 lead until Nick Roldan’s third goal of the match cut the lead to one, 11-10.
A final goal from Mariano Aguerre put the nail in the coffin for Pony Express, however, for the White Birch 12-10 win.
LAS MONJITAS 13, LECHUZA CARACAS 11
In earlier US Open action, a 22-goal Lechuza Caracas polo team lost to a 26-goal Las Monjitas squad that had just won this years USPA Piaget Gold Cup.
Battling Las Monjitas to a 5-5 halftime tie, Lechuza relied on three straight goals from Sapo Caset to give it an 8-5 lead midway through the fourth.
Las Monjitas rallied to tie the game on a penalty conversion from Javier Astrada, and two single goals from the field by brothers Eduardo and Nacho Astrada.
“We played four and-a-half good chukkers today,†said Lechuza coach and veteran player Roberto Gonzalez. “I feel very good about our chances in the Open,†he offered.
The youth of Lechuza’s “replacement†players, Guille Aguero and Sapo Caset cannot be underscored, for it is not only the talent of these two young players, but the amount of heart they play with each and every game since being brought in to take the places of 10-goaler Sebastian Merlos and 9-goaler Pite Merlos.
On the other side of the field a tired and bruised Camilo Bautista, team captain of Las Monjitas sat with an ice pack strapped to his right wrist and praised the efforts of the Lechuza players.
“They are a very talented team,†said Bautista, “and we’re happy to have this game behind us.â€
Las Monjitas relied on the experience of the Astrada brothers to weather the offensive storm created by Lechuza.
“They are very good players,†said Nacho Astrada, “but we knew that if we kept pushing them and stayed patient, they would make some mistakes.â€
It was in the fifth period when the Astradas took advantage of their younger rivals. Four unanswered goals gave Las Monjitas a 12-8 edge, and regardless of a late sixth chukker rally by Lechuza, were able to hold on for the win.
US Open action will continue again on Friday with a noon game between Isla Carroll (1-0) and Skeeterville (1-0). A 3pm contest will feature Bendabout (0-1) and Zacara (0-1).