Hawks swoop into Ylvisaker Cup semifinals
By Alex Webbe
Patagones took the field without 6-goal regular Carlos Avendano (broken rib), and midway through the second chukker his brother Gonzalo Avendano was sidelined. Under the command of Carlos Gracida, however and with the addition of Marianito Obregon (for Carlos Avendano) and Marianno Gracida (filling in for Gonzalo Avendano) the reshuffled Patagones (2-2) lineup scored a 12-9 win over Bendabout (1-3) Sunday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Julio Gracida scored the first goal of the game followed by a goal from Obregon, but Bendabout came right back. Team captain Gillian Johnston scored a pair of goals from the field to make it 2-2. Carlos Gracida ended the scoring in the chukker with a penalty goal, and from then on Patagones never trailed.
Patagones jumped out to a 7-4 halftime lead that Bendabout would spend the rest of the game trying to make up for. A four goal fourth chukker with a pair of goals from Nick Roldan and single goals from Ulysses Escapite and Owen Rinehart brought Bendabout close, 8-7, but they would never catch up.
Two more goals from Carlos Gracida and Obregon’s third goal of the game would stretch the Patagones lead to 11-9 in the fifth chukker with Bendabout getting single goals from Escapite and Rinehart.
Carlos Gracida accounted for all of the scoring in the sixth and final chukker with one goal from the field, his eighth, for the 12-9 win.
Julio Gracida’s Frances was named Best Playing Pony and his uncle Carlos Gracida was named Most Valuable Player.
LECHUZA CARACAS 11, HAWKS 10
The Hawks fended off a hard-charging Lechuza Caracas team that put eleven goals on the scoreboard in an effort to win a berth in Wednesday’s semifinals of the Ylvisaker Cup as they hung on to capture a spot in the playoffs in spite of their 11-10 loss.
With both teams boasting identical 3-1 records in the 20-goal tournament, the tie-breaker was decided by net goals scored, a factor that eliminated Lechuza.
The Hawks will face Zacara on Wednesday at 1 pm in a rematch of the finals of last month’s Joe Barry Memorial Cup finals.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 5-1 start with a pair of goals from 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre and three goals from Fred Mannix, Jr., but allowed Lechuza back in the game as they tied it up at 6-6 at halftime getting three goals from Santi Torres and another three from Tomas Goti.
Fred Mannix Jr. scored three times in the fourth to override a pair of goals from Goti, and the Hawks took a narrow 9-8 lead.
Goti and Lechuza team captain Victor Vargas each scored a goal in the fourth chukker for Lechuza to move ahead, 10-9, but the drama wasn’t over.
Lechuza fouled Julian Mannix in the goal mouth and where they were charged with a rarely awarded Penalty 1, giving them an automatic goal and a throw-in just ten yards in front of their own goal. The score was now 11-10, but a missed shot at goal returned the ball to Lechuza.
With less than a minute to play and needing four goals to secure passage into Wednesday’s semifinals, Lechuza tried one last charge at the Hawks goal, but time wasn’t on their side. Time expired and although Lechuza won the game, it would be the Hawks that will move into the semifinals.
FARAWAY POLO 10, YELLOW CAB 6
Faraway Polo scored its first win of the tournament in a 10-6 win over Simon Garber’s Yellow Cab team Sunday morning IN Ylvisaker Cup play. Julian Daniels and Pelon Escapite scored four goals apiece for Faraway in the win. Tommy Biddle set the pace for Yellow Cab with five goals.
Faraway took early control of the low-scoring game, 2-0, after the opening chukker before goals from Garber and Tommy Biddle got them back into the game. Julio Arellano converted a penalty shot for Faraway to take a 3-2 lead into the third chukker.
Stellar defense by the Yellow Cab quartet shut out Faraway in the third with a goal from the field by Biddle knotting it up at 3-3 at halftime.
Sixteen-year-old Jeff Garber took his father’s place on the field in the second half as Simon nursed ribs bruised in the team’s 12-goal championship victory just days earlier.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity for Jeff to get a few chukkers of 20-goal polo under his belt,†said Yellow Cab polo manager Dario Garcia.
The youngster played well, but a determined and veteran Faraway team put three quick goals on the scoreboard in the fourth chukker while holding Yellow Cab scoreless. Faraway took the field in the fifth chukker with a 6-3 lead.
A pair of goals from Escapite were countered by two from Biddle, and after five periods of play, Faraway held a comfortable 8-5 advantage.
Following Biddle’s fifth goal of the game, Faraway got penalty goals from Daniels and Escapite for the 10-6 win.
Ylvisaker Cup action will continue on Wednesday, February 10 when Zacara meets the Hawks in semifinal action at 1 pm. The showdown will be a rematch of last month’s Joe Barry Memorial Cup finals in which Zacara topped the Hawks 13-11. Lucchese will face the Wanderers/Isla Carroll in the 3 pm semifinal match.