M A G and Park Place Earn Final Spots in U.S. Open Polo Championship® Semifinals
Determining the final spots in the U.S. Open Polo Championship semifinals hosted by the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), M A G (Santino Magrini, Ignacio ‘Nachi’ Viana, Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini, Santiago Toccalino) went head-to-head against La Fe (Robi Bilbao, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Francisco Elizalde), as Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa, Jason Wates) battled La Elina (Matt Coppola, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Escobar, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni) to cap off Sunday’s doubleheader.
Closely contested from the outset, drives from La Fe’s Alberdi and Elizalde caught the edge against M A G’s balanced attack for a slim 5-3 advantage. Putting up two unanswered in the third, Elizalde his fifth of the half to give La Fe a 7-3 lead at the break. Regrouping in the tent, M A G buckled down on defense limiting La Fe to four goals, as successful drives from the Magrini brothers and two conversions from Toccalino brought M A G back within two. Hold La Fe to just two shots in the sixth, M A G went to work offensively with two crucial conversions from Toccalino aiding M A G’s impressive comeback victory 12-11.
With the last remining semifinalist spot on the line, Park Place took control early on back-to-back contributions from 10-goaler Ulloa. Trailing to open the second, La Elina’s Zenni and Hall responded from the field, but three more from the duo of Ulloa and Britos gave Park Place a 7-5 lead at the half. Maintaining pressure, Park Place collected three more in the fourth, but drives from Hall and Escobar kept La Elina within two. Trading goals to open the final chukker of regulation, Britos broke through for three unanswered, as Park Place advanced to the semifinals with the 14-9 win.
Most Valuable Player was awarded to Park Place’s Jason Wates. Best Playing Pony was awarded to Francisco Elizalde’s “Lavinia Inosencia” and Hilario Ulloa’s “Latia Kavaska.”
Upcoming Schedule:
U.S. Open Polo Championship Semifinals
Wednesday, April 19
Pilot (2-2) vs Valiente (4-0) at 1:30pm ET
Park Place (3-0) vs M A G (4-0) at 4:00pm ET
All games of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will be livestreamed exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.
Photo Credit: David Lominska