White
Birch Farm and Heathcote register wins in Greenwich
By
Alex Webbe
White Birch Farm (Wesley Bryan, Mariano Aguerre, Matias
Magrini and Peter Brant) handed Airstream (Peter Orthwein, Kris Kampsen, Guille
Aguero and Naco Taverna) an 11-8 loss in Thursday competition in the Tommy Glynn
Memorial Cup at the Greenwich Polo Club in Connecticut.
A late scheduling change had Naco Taverna replacing
Airstream regular Mariano Gonzalez (who wasn’t aware of the change in game time)
as they faced an undefeated White Birch Farm team in tournament play.
Guille Aguero scored the first goal of the game for an
early 2-0 lead (Airstream received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal White
Birch Farm team). Mariano Aguerre responded
with a goal for White Birch Farm.
Airstream took the early lead, 2-1.
White Birch Farm roared onto the field in the second
chukker, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead. Wesley Bryan and Matias Magrini each scored a
pair of goals from the field while Airstream’s offense was unable to get on the
scoreboard.
Airstream retaliated in the third period with three
straight goals. Guille Aguero scored
twice to open the chukker and Peter Orthwein added the final goal for a 5-5
deadlock at the end of the first half.
The White Birch Farm defense showed up in the fourth
chukker, shutting down the Airstream attack while allowing Aguerre to add two
goals from the field for a 7-5 edge.
“It was a lot of fun,†said Airstream 6-goaler Kris
Kampsen. “We basically had to forfeit
when our 7-goaler (Mariano Gonzalez) didn’t show up for the game,†he added, “but
it was a great, fast-paced wide open game.â€
White Birch Farm added three more goals in the fifth
chukker. Aguerre scored two more goals
and Peter Brant scored his first of the game.
Kampsen accounted for Airstream’s only goal of the period s they fell
behind, 10-6.
Aguerre’s fifth goal of the game had White Birch Farm on
top of an 11-6 score as Airstream continued to press its attack. Kampsen’s second goal on the day cut the lead
to four goals, 11-7, and a final goal from Aguero made it respectable in the
11-8 loss.
Aguerre led all scoring with five goals. Magrini added three goals in the win. Bryan scored twice and Brant added a goal in
the win. Airstream got four goals from
Aguero, two scores from Kampsen and a single goal from Orthwein.
HEATHCOTE
14, CINQUE TERRE 13
In Wednesday afternoon action, Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz,
Naco Taverna, Tommy Biddle and Nick Manifold) scored their first win of the
2013 Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup Wednesday at the expense of a talented Cinque
Terre lineup (Alessandro Bazzoni, Gringo Colombres, Joao Ganon and Brandon
Phillips) in a hotly-contested 14-13 contest.
Heathcote team captain Steve Lefkowitz scored the first
goal of the game on a penalty shot with Cirque Terre players Gringo Colombres
and Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon scoring single goals from the field in
response. Tommy Biddle scored twice (one
on a penalty shot) for Heathcote while Brandon Phillips scored the final goal
of the chukker for Cinque Terre. Heathcote
received two goals by handicap and led 5-3 at the end of the opening period of
play.
All five goals scored in the second chukker came on
penalty shots with Biddle scoring on three of them. Cinque Terre’s Ganon converted a pair of
penalty shots as they continued to trail, 8-5.
Both defenses tightened in the third. Cinque Terre managed to keep Heathcote from
scoring but were only able to pick up a single goal from Ganon to cut into the
Heathcote lead, 8-6 at halftime.
Lefkowitz opened the scoring in the second half with a
goal from the field, 9-6, followed by a pair of goals from Biddle, 11-6. Ganon accounted for the final two goals of the
chukker. Heathcote left the field at the
end of the fourth chukker with an 11-8 advantage.
“The horses were playing well,†said Biddle, “and the
teamwork was where it needed to be. We
needed to be on our game today,†he added.
“They’re (Cinque Terre) a scrappy team, and Ganon (Brazilian 7-goaler
Joao Ganon) is a very talented player.â€
The two teams traded goals in the fifth, each side
putting up three as Biddle added two 60-yard penalty shots and Nick Manifold
scored from the field. Cinque Terre’s
Ganon kept his hot streak going with two from the field and Gringo Colombres
added a goal. The three goal lead held
for Heathcote, 14-11, with one chukker left in regulation time.
The Heathcote defense did all that it needed to do while
the offense coasted through the final chukker of play. Single goals from Colombres and Ganon (with
five seconds on the clock) cut the lead to a single goal in the 14-13 Heathcote
victory.
Ganon led his team in scoring with nine goals (two on
penalty shots). Colombres added three
goals and Phillips added a goal in the loss.
Biddle set the pace for Heathcote with nine goals (seven on penalty
shots). Lefkowitz scored twice and
Manifold added a goal for the win. The team
received two goals by handicap.