Isla Carroll Takes Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup
By Alex Webbe
Isla Carroll and Boca Developers battled for six chukkers under a cloudless sky on the Number 1 field of the International Polo Club before John Goodman’s second goal of the game secured the cup for Isla Carroll.
“It was a great game,†said Isla Carroll teammate Melissa Ganzi following the match. The field played beautifully and the play was fast and clean.â€
Isla Carroll received one goal by handicap and quickly added to it on goals from Juan Bollini and John Goodman before Boca Developers could answer back. A single goal from Stevie Orthwein got Boca Developers on the scoreboard, but Isla went into the second chukker with a 3-1 lead.
J. J. Celis and Orthwein tallied single goals for Boca Developers in the second period while holding Isla Carroll to one Kris Kampsen goal. Boca Developers continued to trail, 4-3.
Orthwein tied it with a goal in the third chukker, but another Kampsen score kept Isla Carroll on top, 5-4, at the end of the first half.
“It was a wide open game,†said Goodman, “great back shots, fluid play, this is the way it’s supposed to be played.â€
Kampsen converted a penalty shot in the fourth chukker that was answered by a penalty conversion from Boca Developer’s Celis. A goal from the field from Kampsen ended the scoring and left Isla Carroll ahead by a 7-5 score after four chukkers of play.
A four goal explosion by Boca Developers in the fifth period had them leading Isla Carroll 9-7, as Celis scored three in a row before Orthwein tapped in the team’s fourth goal of the period. A penalty conversion by Kampsen ended the chukker. Boca Developers were holding on to a 9-8 advantage with just seven minutes left to play.
Offense was scarce in the final chukker. The teams raced from one end to the other with shot after shot going just wide or being blocked before crossing the goal line.
Bollini finally buried a deep neck shot through the goal posts from the boards to tie the game at 9-9. With both teams pressing their attacks, it was John Goodman who carried the ball down the field for the winning score.
Kampsen scored five goals for Isla Carroll with teammates Bollini and Goodman adding two goals apiece. Isla Carroll received one goal by handicap. Celis got credit for five goals for Boca Developers. Orthwein added four in the loss.
NUMANS 10, BARBAROSSA LEATHER 6
In earlier action, Australian Geoff Stone scored five goals in leading Numans to a comfortable 10-6 win over Barbarossa Leather in the consolation round of the Grand Champions’ 2009 Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup.
Action was slow and sparse at the onset with Numans holding an anemic 2-1 lead after the first two chukkers of play. Two more goals from Stone had Numans in front, 4-1 at the half as Barbarossa Leather was held scoreless for both the second and third chukkers.
Luis Escobar put Numans up 5-1 in the fourth, until Barbarossa Leather team captain Leo Mandelbaum drilled the ball through the goal posts. Numans continued to lead, 5-2.
The pace picked up in the fifth period with Escobar adding two more goals for Numans and Marc Ganzi notching his first score of the game. Joey Casey and Hector Galindo responded with single goals for Barbarossa Leather, but continued to trail, 8-4.
Stone and Ganzi added single goals in the final chukker with Mandelbaum and Galindo responding for Barbarossa Leather with a goal apiece. The final horn sounded with Numans defeating Barbarossa Leather 10-6.