Coca-Cola earns
playoff berth with 3-0 record
By Alex Webbe
Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Julio Arellano
and Mason Wroe) scored their third consecutive win against no losses in a
13-7 win over Gateway Merchant (Mariano Gracida, Marianito Obregon, Matias
Magrini, Scott Swerdlin and Nico Escobar) Wednesday afternoon in Ylvisaker
Cup play at the International Polo Club.
Gateway Merchant received one goal by handicap from the
20-goal Coca-Cola lineup and added to it with a goal from the field from Matias
Magrini in the first 36 seconds of the game, 2-0. Sugar Erskine answered back with a goal for
Coca-Cola for the final score of the chukker.
Gateway Merchant took the early lead, 2-1.
Back-to-back goals from Julio Arellano and Erskine gave the
lead to Coca-Cola, 3-2, at the 4:18 mark of the period. Mariano Gracida scored the final goal of the
chukker with three minutes left in the chukker with the period ending in a 3-3
deadlock.
Gillian Johnston broke the tie with the opening goal of the
third period, 4-3. Magrini countered
with a 30-yard penalty goal and then took the following throw-in 150-yards for
a score that gave the lead back to Gateway Merchant, 5-4. Erskine’s third goal of the game came with
1:40 on the clock, leveling the score once again, 5-5, to end the first half.
After three chukkers
of neck-and-neck play, Coca-Cola broke the game open with five unanswered
goals in the fourth chukker.
Erskine scored the go-ahead goal in the first 30 seconds of play, 6-5,
followed by goals from Arellano, Mason Wroe and a pair of goals from Johnston
scored in the final minute of the chukker, 10-5.
Arellano scored the only goal of the fifth chukker with
Gateway Merchant being held scoreless for the second consecutive period. After five periods of play, Coca-Cola was
firmly in control of an 11-5 game.
Marianito Obregon scored twice in the sixth chukker for
Gateway Merchant, with Wroe and Erskine picking up single goals in the final
chukker as well. When the final horn
sounded, it was Coca-Cola with the 13-7 win and a perfect 3-0 record.
The win assured Coca-Cola of a playoff position while after
suffering their third loss of the tournament, Gateway Merchant was eliminated.
Erskine led all scoring with five goals. Arellano and Johnston added three goals
apiece with Wroe scoring twice in the victory.
Magrini accounted for three Gateway Merchant goals. Obregon scored twice and Gracida was credited
with a goal. Gateway Merchant also
received one goal by handicap.