2012 USPA Spring Classic finals set
By Alex Webbe
The 2012 USPA Spring Classic got underway on Friday
afternoon with a 3PM match between Equine Law (Joaquin Panelo, Juan Redlich,
Kris Kampsen and Avery Chapman) and Ruby Q (Brian Street, Diego Coscio, Nacho
Badiola and Joey Casey) followed by a round-robin competition featuring Pony
Express/Tuff Rider (Bob Daniels, J. J. Celis, Tomas Goti and Timmy Sharma),
Piaget/Longfield (Hannah Buchan, Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini and Jeff Hall) and
Endeavor/Audi (Lucas Lalor, Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan and Larry Austin) on the
grounds of the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington.
Ruby Q took care of business in the opener by scoring a
10-9 win over Equine Law in a match that was tied six times.
Ruby Q’s Nacho Badiola converted a penalty shot for a
goal to start the tournament, but Equine Law responded with a goal from the
field from Juan Redlich. Diego Coscio
closed out the first chukker for a 2-2; Equine Law received one goal by
handicap.
A three goal outburst by Equine Law gave them a 5-4 lead,
picking up scores from Kris Kampsen, Avery Chapman (penalty goal) and Redlich. Badiola accounted for two goals from Ruby Q
in the second chukker (one from the field and one on a penalty shot).
Ruby Q galloped back into the game in the third period,
picking up a pair of goals from Badiola (one from the field and one on a
penalty shot). Teammate Coscio added a
single goal for the 7-6 advantage. Equine
Law managed a single goal from Chapman as Ruby Q took a one goal lead at the
end of the first half.
Redlich tied it up at 7-7 on a penalty shot to open the
second half, but Badiola answered with a pair of penalty shots and a goal from
the field. After four chukkers of play,
Ruby Q held a handy 10-7 advantage.
Defenses tightened in the fifth chukker, and despite a
number of close shots at goal, there was no scoring in the penultimate period. The score held with Ruby Q ahead, 10-7.
Equine Law stepped it up in the final chukker. Redlich scored his fourth goal of the
afternoon and Chapman added another penalty goal, but the efforts fell short as
Ruby Q rode off with the 10-9 win.
Ruby Q’s Badiola led all scoring with eight goals (four
on penalty shots). Coscio scored twice
in the victory.
Redlich scored four goals for Equine Law (one by
penalty). Chapman added three goals (two
on penalty shots) and Kampsen was credited with one goal.
ENDEAVOR/AUDI
WINS ROUND-ROBIN
Endeavor/Audi scored a win over Piaget/Longfield and a
tie against Pony Express/Tuff Rider to take the round-robin Friday afternoon and
earn a berth in Sunday’s USPA Spring Classic finals against Ruby Q.
Pony Express/Tuff Rider and Piaget battled to a 4-4 draw
in the opening round of the round-robin.
Bob Daniels put Pony Express/Tuff Rider ahead early, 1-0,
with the only goal of the first chukker as the teams tried to get a handle on
one another.
Goals from Tomas Goti and J. J. Celis had Pony
Express/Tuff Rider in front 3-0 in the second chukker before Piaget got on the
scoreboard. Jeff Hall scored the closing
goal of the period as Piaget trailed 3-1.
Piaget finally caught fire in the third chukker, picking
up goals from Hannah Buchan, Juan Bollini and Hall. Goti responded with a goal from the field for
Pony Express/Tuff Rider for the 4-4 tie.
ENDEAVOR/AUDI
5, PONY EXPRESS/TUFF RIDER 5
Endeavor/Audi scored two quick goals against Pony
Express/Tuff Rider as the second round of the round-robin got underway. A penalty conversion from Marc Ganzi and a
goal from the field for Lucas Lalor gave Endeavor/Audi a 2-0 lead. Tomas Goti responded with a goal for Pony
Express/Tuff Rider to end the chukker trailing 2-1.
Two more goals from Endeavor/Audi went unanswered in the
second period. Nic Roldan scored a goal
from the field and Larry Austin converted a penalty shot. After two chukkers, Endeavor/Audi led by
three goals, 4-1.
Roldan added another goal to the Endeavor/Audi total in
the third chukker but a resilient Pony Express/Tuff Rider team fought back. Tomas Goti and J. J. Celis each scored a pair
of goals for a 5-5 deadlock.
ENDEAVOR/AUDI
5, PIAGET 3
Endeavor/Audi scored the only win of in the competition
with a 5-3 victory over Piaget/Longfield to end the day.
Jeff Hall got Piaget/Longfield on the scoreboard first
with a penalty conversion, 1-0. Lucas
Lalor responded for Endeavor/Audi with a goal from the field and a 1-1 tie.
Juan Bollini scored his second goal of the afternoon to
give Piaget/Longfield a brief 2-1 lead, but Marc Ganzi had it all even with a
goal from the field, 2-2. Larry Austin
suffered a fall and a broken collar bone midway through the chukker and was
replaced by Juancito Bollini, and play continued. A goal from the field from Nic Roldan and a
penalty goal from Ganzi ended the period with Endeavor/Audi on top, 4-2.
The two teams exchanged goals in the final chukker with Juan
Bollini scoring first for Piaget/Longfield and Roldan closing out the scoring
with a goal from the field for Endeavor/Audi.
The victory boosted Endeavor/Audi into Sunday’s 11:30 AM
finals against Ruby Q while Piaget/Longfield, Pony Express/Tuff Rider and Equine
Law will face-off in a round=robin on Sunday at 10AM.