Catamount, Audi Score Wins in 18-Goal
By Alex Webbe
Audi team captain Marc Ganzi scored five goals as Audi beat Mt. Brilliant 11-7 in the 18 Goal Masters Series at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Saturday afternoon just minutes before the rains.
The game was nip and tuck for the first three chukkers, with Audi holding the 4-3 lead at the end of the first half.
“It was a good team effort,†said Ganzi after the match. “I tried to stay at my position, and the ball came to me,†he added.
Audi started to get a little distance from Mt. Brilliant in the fourth period with single goals from Ganzi, Gringo Colombres and Gonzalito Pieres, and extended the lead to 7-4, as Stevie Orthwein managed to keep Mt. Brilliant from being blanked.
Mt. Brilliant managed to pare down the lead to two goals, 9-7 in the fifth frame, with Orthwein scoring twice and Sugar Erskine scoring his first goal of the game.
Whatever Mt. Brilliant had planned for the final chukker, it disappeared in the final chukker of regulation play as Audi scored two unanswered goals (from Ganzi and Pieres) to end the contest with an 11-7 win.
Stevie Orthwein led all scorers with six goals. Teammate Sugar Erskine scored once in the loss.
Ganzi led the Audi team with five goals. Gonzalito Pieres scored three times with Chris Nevins and Gringo Colombres added single goals for the effort.
The game got off to a slow start, but managed to get off the field at halftime for a 4-3 advantage.
Goals from Ganzi (a penalty conversion), Gonzalito Pieres and Chris Nevin stretched the Catamount lead to 7-4 before Mt. Brilliant rallied for a last ditch effort. With two goals from Orthwein and a single score from Erskine, Mt. Brilliant closed the game to two goals. But for the moment, Audi scored a convincing 11-1 victory.
Ganzi led the Audi team with six goals, Pieres scored once and Nevins and Colombres
Each added a goal for the 11-7 win.
CATAMOUNT REMAINS UNBEATEN
In earlier 18-Goal Masters Series action, Catamount scored a 15-7 win over the Detroit Blues/Port Mayaca polo team. Catamount gave up one goal by handicap, but by the end of the first chukker led 3-2, on the strength of two penalty goals from Kris Kampsen and a goal from the field by Todd Offen.
Offen scored his second goal of the game in the second chukker, but a goal from Colin McCosh of the Detroit Blues/Port Mayaca team had them trailing 4-3.
Catamount charged up its defense in the third chukker, shutting out the Detroit Blues while Catamount’s Brandon Phillips scored twice and team captain Scott Devin added a goal for a 7-3 halftime lead.
“We had a solid game today,†said player-coach Offen, “We did what we needed to do,†he offered.
McCosh got the Detroit Blues on the scoreboard in the fourth chukker, but three goals from Phillips and another score for Audi team captain Marc Ganzi gave them an 11-4 edge at the end of the period.
Catamount gave the Detroit more of the same in the fifth chukker, completely shutting down the Detroit Blues’ offense while adding three more goals from the field, two from Phillips and another from Devon. With one chukker left to be played, Catamount held a 14-5 game.
Catamount scored only once in the final chukker of play, but it was much more than it needed, in the final 15-7 win.
Brandon Phillips led all scoring with seven goals. Scott Devon and Kris Kampsen scored three goals apiece while Todd Offen put two goals on the board.
Colin McCosh scored three times for Detroit Blues/Port Mayaca while single goals were tallied by Julian Daniels, Robert Orthwein and Luis Escobar. They received one goal by handicap.