Mansour tramples
Merchant Hub 16-10 in America Cup finals
By Alex Webbe
After battling Merchant Hub (Matias Bullrich, Toto Collardin, Michel Dorignac
and Luis Escobar) to a 6-5 halftime lead, Mansour (Ben Soleimani, Hilario
Ulloa, Adam Snow and Santi Von Wernich) scored ten goals in the second half to
capture the 2013 USPA Lucchese America Cup Sunday afternoon at the Santa
Barbara Polo Club.
Mansour took an early 2-0 lead on goals from team captain
Ben Soleimani and former 10-goaler Adam Snow.
A tepid first chukker offense by Merchant Hub kept them scoreless in the
first seven minutes of the game.
Second chukker goals from Merchant Hub’s Toto Collardin and
Michel Dorignac were countered by a 60-yard penalty conversion from Snow and a
goal from the field from Soleimani.
After two periods of play, Mansour held its two goals lead, 4-2.
Third chukker goals from Hilario Ulloa and Snow had Mansour
up by four goals, 6-2 before Merchant Hub answered the call. A pair of goals from Luis Escobar and a single
goal from Collardin cut the Mansour lead to, 6-5, to end the first half of
play.
Escobar tied it up in the opening minutes of the fourth
chukker, 6-6, on a 40-yard penalty conversion before consecutive goals from
Ulloa had Mansour back in the lead, 8-6.
Dorignac and Snow exchanged goals in the final minutes of the period and
Mansour left the field with a 9-7 advantage.
Mansour owned the field in the fifth chukker. Five unanswered goals left Merchant Hub in a
tailspin as Mansour extended their lead to seven goals, 14-7. Ulloa scored twice while teammates Soleimani,
Santi Von Wernich and Snow (penalty conversion) added single goals.
Escobar opened the final chukker with a goal, 14-8, followed
by a pair of goals from Soleimani, 16-8.
Escobar and Collardin scored single goals to end the match with Mansour
celebrating the 2013 USPA Lucchese America Cup Championship.
Soleimani, Ulloa and Snow scored five goals apiece. Soleimani was named MVP for his efforts. Von Wernich added a goal in the win. Escobar
was credited with five goals for Merchant Hub.
Collardin added three goals and Dorignac scored twice in the loss.
Hilario Ulloa’s mare
Simpatica was honored as Best Playing Pony.
LUCCHESE 11, ERG 10
Lucchese 10-goaler Pelon Stirling scores eight times in
leading Lucchese (Andres Weisz, Tavi Usandizaga, Pelon Stirling and John Muse) to
an 11-10 win over ERG (Scott Wood, Sugar Erskine, Paco de Narvaez and Jeff
Blake) in Sunday morning’s consolation match.
Pelon Stirling scored six of his game high eight goals in
the first three chukkers as Lucchese built up a comfortable 8-4 halftime
advantage over ERG.
Sugar Erskine helped power ERG back into the game in the
second half with three more of his six goals on the day, but ERG fell just
short in the 11-10 Lucchese victory.
Five of Stirling’s game high eight goals came on penalty
shots. Tavi Usandizaga scored twice and
Andres Weisz added a goal in the win.
Erskine’s six goals from the field set the pace for ERG. Paco de Narvaez scored twice and Scott Wood
and Jeff Blake each added a goal in the loss.