Audi
holds on for a 7-6 win
By
Alex Webbe
A balanced Audi attack rode out to a 5-2 halftime lead
and then hung on to record a 7-6 win over ELG in the opening round of play in
the Piaget Memorial Day Cup Thursday afternoon at the Grand Champions Polo Club
in Wellington.
Goals were hard to come by in the opening chukker with
Kris Kampsen converting a pair of penalty shots for goals for ELG. J. J. Celis got Audi on the scoreboard midway
through the chukker with a goal from the field for the final goal of the
period. ELG took the early lead, 2-1.
Audi hit the field at a gallop in the second chukker with
Lucas Lalor scoring his first goal of the day in the opening minute of play to
tie it up at 2-2. Grant Ganzi scored
back to back goals to put Audi on top, 4-2, and a final goal from Celis ended
the period with Audi in the lead, 5-2.
ELG was unable to get their offense on track, and trailed by three
goals.
Both defenses tightened up in the third. Despite several well-orchestrated attacks by
both sides, not goals were scored. Audi
held the 5-2 lead at the end of the first half.
Audi continued to press their attack in the fourth
chukker. Leo Mandelbaum took the opening throw-in down
the field for a goal with just 30 seconds off of the clock, and Celis scored at
4:53 to extend their lead to five goals, 7-2, before ELG could respond. Juancito Bollini kept ELG from getting shut
out for the third straight chukker with a goal at 3:12, but Audi continued to
control the game with a 7-3 advantage.
A determined ELG team rode onto the field in the fifth
chukker with a renewed focus. Goals from
Juancito Bollini and Kris Kampsen went unanswered as they cut the Audi lead to
two goals, 7-5.
ELG fought desperately to get back into the game in the
final chukker, but the Audi defense was steadfast. ELG was awarded a penalty shot with less than
three minutes to play, but the shot by Kampsen went wide, and the entire Audi
lineup breathed a sigh of relief. The
ball was futilely carried up and down the field with neither team being able to
score when a whistle sounded with 47 seconds left in the game. ELG was awarded a penalty shot at goal. This time Kampsen converted the shot, but time
had run out on them and Audi celebrated the 7-6 victory.
Kampsen led all scoring with four goals (three on penalty
shots). Bollini was credited with two
goal s in the loss. Celis set the pace
for Audi with three goals. Ganzi scored
twice and Mandelbaum and Lalor added single goals for the win.
The victory boosts Audi into Friday’s 4pm semifinal
against YP.Com (Melissa Ganzi, David Krantz, Juan Bollini and Mike Azzaro)
while Longfield, Wednesday’s winner; will face Inner-Continental (Gene Goldstein,
Alejandro Poma, Brandon Phillips and Carlucho Arellano) in the tournament’s
second semifinal, immediately following the 4pm game.