Wins by Valiente andCoca-Cola in Ylvisaker Cup play
By Alex Webbe
Injuries had a reshuffled Valiente lineup (Tommy Beresford, PekeGonzalez, Santi Torres and Sapo Caset) taking the field against FlexJet(Melissa Ganzi, Cody Ellis, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Rodrigo Andrade) Saturday morning in the opening game of the 201520-goal Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club.
Valiente team captain, Bob Jornayvaz, is nursing sore elbowwhile son Robert Jornayvaz is recovering from a fall in a practice match thathad him spend the night in the hospital for observation.
English 2-goaler Tommy Beresford and 1-goaler Peke Gonzalezfilled in for the injured patron and his son while FlexJet (Melissa Ganzi, CodyEllis, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Rodrigo Andrade) was playing with a new lineupwith Melissa Ganzi the only remaining original member of her Joe Barry MemorialCup team.
South African Cody Ellis made his presence known in thefirst 30 seconds of play, scoring the first goal of the game on a difficultnearside neckshot, under pressure, for the early 1-0 lead. Goals from Santi Torres and Tommy Beresfordended the opening chukker with Valiente on top, 2-1.
Two more Valiente goals in the second chukker went unanswered. Ten-goaler Sapo Caset exploded toward theFlexJet goal in the opening seconds of the second period, scoring his firstgoal of the day and stretching the Valiente lead to two goals, 3-1. Torres scored his second goal of the gamewith 1:53 left on the clock to make it 4-1.
Beresford was at it again in the third scoring his secondgoal on the day just 87 seconds into the period, 5-1. His third goal of the match came at the 4:27mark as FlexJet searched for an effective attack. A Valiente foul sent Miguel Novillo Astradato the penalty line where he converted a 60-yard penalty shot that cut the leadback to four goals, 6-2, at the end of the first half.
Both defenses stepped it up in the fourth chukker as shotswere blocked and players ridden off of plays. Astrada took advantage of another Valiente foul at the 3:20 mark,converting it for the only score in the chukker. Valiente continued to lead, 6-3.
Astrada and Caset traded goals in the fifth. Astrada scored in the opening minute of playon a shot from the field. Casetconverted a 30-yard penalty shot midway through the chukker. The three goalValiente lead held, 7-4.
Brazilian 9-goaler Rodrigo Andrade came alive in the sixth,scoring three consecutive goals to knot the score at 7-7 with three minutesleft in regulation time. A FlexJet foul resultedin another penalty goal, 8-7 with under two minutes left to play. FlexJet continued to press their attack whenPeke Gonzalez broke loose to score the final goal of the match (:36) to give Valientethe 9-7 victory.
Caset and Beresford scored three goals apiece for Valiente. Torres was credited with two goals and Gonzalezadded a goal for the win. Andrade and Astradascored three goals each for FlexJet. Ellisadded a goal in a losing effort.
Casablanca 9, Gateway
Merchant 8 (Incomplete)
The second match of the day in Ylvisaker Cup competition wassuspended after nearly four-and-a-half chukkers of play between Merchant Hub(Pelon Escapite, Marianito Obregon, Luis Escobar and Scott Swerdlin) and Casablanca(Grant Ganzi, Guille Aguero, Mark Tomlinson and Jan Bollini) with Casablanca holdingon to a fragile one goal, 9-8 lead.
The 18-goal Casablanca team received one goal by handicapfrom Gateway Merchant with Luis Escobar scoring the first goal of the game on apenalty shot late in the opening chukker, 1-1. Juan Bollini countered with a goal from the field that ended the chukkerand had Casablanca riding off the field at the end of the first chukker with a2-1 edge.
Escobar tied the score at 2-2 with a 40-yard penalty shotjust two minutes into the second period. Consecutive goals (the second on a 30-yard penalty conversion) fromCasablanca 6-goaler Mark Tomlinson ended the period putting Casablanca ahead,4-2.
Both offenses picked up the pace in the third chukker. Tomlinson opened the period with a 30-yardpenalty goal, 5-2, followed by single goals from Escapite and Escobar, 5-4. Guille Aguero had a scoring run of 200 yards thatwould extend the Casablanca lead to two goals, 6-4. With 52 seconds left in the first half,Escobar converted a penalty shot for a goal that had Gateway Merchant within agoal lead, 6-5.
Tomlinson and Escobar exchanged penalty goals in the openingminutes of the fourth period, 7-6. Aguero extended the Casablanca lead to two goals, 8-6, with a goal fromthe field. Escobar shaved the Casablancalead back to a single goal, 8-7, with a 40-yard penalty conversion with justunder four minutes left in the chukker. Tomlinson scored a goal from the field to end the period with Casablancain the lead, 9-7.
Escobar scored the first goal of the fifth period on apenalty shot at 4:40, but just a minute later a violent collision betweenteammates Escobar and Escapite in the goal mouth had both players on the ground. Escapite got up, but Escobar remaineddown. EMTs were immediately on the fieldand within minutes an ambulance was on hand to transport Escobar to a helicopterthat flew him to the Delray Medical Center. Team representatives on the field decided it would not be appropriate tocontinue playing the game in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and the gamewas suspended.
Coca-Cola 12, Tonkawa8
Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Julio Arellanoand Mason Wroe) outscored Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand,Gonzalo Deltour, Inaki Laprida and Jeff Blake) 2-1 in contentious first chukkerplay on the strength of goals from Julio Arellano (a 60-yard penalty conversion)and Mason Wroe. Inaki Laprida converteda 40-yard penalty shot for Tonkawa as they struggled with their offense in the openingminutes of the game.
Second chukker goals from Gonzalo Deltour and Laprida tiedthe game at 3-3. Arellano’s secondpenalty goal of the match had the teams all even after two periods of play.
Arellano scored on a 60-yard penalty shot in the third andteam captain Gillian Johnston added a goal from the field, 5-3. Tonkawa couldn’t find an offense, and evenmissed a 30-yard penalty shot that would have given them a goal. Arellano added two more goals from the field asa dominant Coca-Cola team ended the first half of play on the winning end of a7-3 score.
Deltour scored the first goal of the fourth chukker, 7-4,but Wroe scored from the field and Arellano added another penalty goal. After four chukkers of play, Coca-Cola wasenjoying a 9-4 advantage and dominance of the game.
Sugar Erskine and Arellano scored single goals in the fifthchukker for a commanding 11-4 lead. Deltour got Tonkawa on the scoreboard with a final goal, 11-5, but itwas Coca-Cola who remained in control of the game. Sixth chukker goals from Jeff Blake and Deltourcut the Coca-Cola lead back to four goals, but time was running out. Johnston scored her second goal of the gameto put Coca-Cola in the lead by five goals, 12-7. Deltour scored the final goal of the game,but the outcome had long been decided. Coca-Colacelebrated the 12-8 win.
Arellano led all scoring with seven goals (three on penaltyshots). Johnston and Wroe scored twogoals each and Erskine added a goal for the win. Deltour was credited with five goals forTonkawa. Laprida scored twice and Blake pickedup a goal in the loss.
Ylvisaker Cup competition continues with three games onSunday. Enigma is scheduled to meet Orchard Hill in a10am contest; Villa Del Lago will face Lucchese at noon and Audi will play CTEnergia in the featured 3pm contest.