Barrington and Orchard Hill in Waterbury Finals
By Alex Webbe
Barrington and Orchard Hill will get the much-awaited rematch in Tuesday afternoon’s 5 pm showdown at Barb Uskup’s 302 Polo Club in Aiken, in the finals of the 2010 USPA Monty Waterbury Cup.
In the morning contest, Orchard Hill (2-1) built a 7-3 lead over Pony Express (0-3) after the opening two chukkers of play and held on for the 11-9 win.
Orchard Hill got one goal by handicap and got a pair of goals from the field from Chris Stratemann in the first seven minutes of the game. Tomas Goti scored once for Pony Express, and trailed early, 3-1.
Nick Roldan scored his first goal of the day for Orchard Hill in the second chukker and teammate Lucas Criado added three more goals. Pony Express got a goal from the field from Goti and a penalty conversion from Tiger Kneece, but trailed 7-3 after the first two periods of the game.
Pony Express held Orchard Hill scoreless in the third chukker while putting up single goals from Michael Dorignac and Goti, but could get no closer than two goals. Orchard Hill left the field with a 7-5 lead after the first half of play.
With defense being the strength of both teams in the fourth chukker, Criado scored the only goal of the chukker, with aggressive attacks being turned aside by well-placed backshots and hard ride-offs. Orchard Hill took an 8-5 lead into the fifth period.
Orchard Hill team captain Steve Van Andel stepped up in the fifth, scoring twice from the field. Pony Express6-goaler, Tiger Kneece, responded with a pair of goals from the field, and Orchard Hill maintained a three goal lead after five chukkers of play, 10-7.
Sixth chukker goals from Dorignac and Goti (penalty conversion) brought Pony Express within a goal of the lead, but Criado’s fifth goal of the game sealed a spot in the tournament finals in an 11-9 win for Orchard Hill.
Criado led all scoring with five goals. Van Andel and Stratemann scored two goals apiece and Roldan added a goal in the win.
Goti scored four times for Pony Express. Kneece added three goals and Dorignac tallied two in the losing effort.
BARRINGTON 14, GOLDEN ZEBRA 13
Barrington scored its third straight win in Waterbury Cup competition, downing Golden Zebra 14-13 and earning itself a berth in the finals against Orchard Hill.
Owen Rinehart scored the first goal of the game, but Barrington answered back with a pair of goals from Julio Arellano and a single goal from Barb Uskup. Barrington left the field after the first chukker with a 3-1 advantage.
Rinehart scored again in the second chukker and Julian Daniels converted a penalty shot to tie it up at 3-3. Arellano gave Barrington the lead again on a penalty shot, and the chukker ended with Golden Zebra trailing 4-3.
The pace picked up in the third period, as Daniels tied it at 4-4 with his second goal of the match. Arellano answered with a goal for Barrington, 5-4. Snow tied it again with a goal from the field, 5-5. Arellano came back with a two straight goals to move Barrington out to a 7-5 advantage. Snow scored his second goal of the period, and the first half ended with Barrington on top, 7-6.
“I felt like we were in control all day long,†offered Biddle, “but we just couldn’t put it away.
Arellano scored the first goal of the second half, 8-6, but Rinehart responded with a goal from golden Zebra, 8-7. Biddle made it 9-7 but Snow managed another golden Zebra before the end of the chukker, cutting the Barrington lead to a single goal, 9-8.
Rinehart tied it at 9-9 in the fifth, but consecutive goals from Antonio Galvan and Arellano had Barrington ahead by two goals, 11-9.
Daniels converted another penalty shot for Pony Express, but Arellano closed out the scoring in the fifth chukker to give Barrington a 12-10 lead with seven minutes to play.
Arellano opened the final chukker with a 30-yard penalty conversion, and Biddle scored from the field to give Barrington a 14-10 lead before Pony Express responded. Three straight goals from Daniels (one from the field and two on penalty shots) made it close, but Barrington coasted to the 14-13 win.
The victory set the stage for Tuesday’s finals of the 2010 USPA Monty Waterbury Cup between Barrington and Orchard Hill, with Orchard Hill looking to take revenge on its opening round, 14-13 loss to Barrington.