Quarter-Finals Begin in USPA Gold Cup
The quarter-finals began in the 2019 USPA Gold Cup with Equuleus defeating Las Monjitas 12-9, while Daily Racing Form narrowly defeated Iconica 9-8 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
In the first game of the day, Equuleus bounced back from a slow start to surprise a Las Monjitas team that was paced by Francisco Elizalde and Hilario Ulloa throughout the game. An efficient Las Monjitas attack converted 8 of their 10 shots but conceded 7 penalty attempts to Equuleus’ Mariano Gonzalez who converted an impressive 6 of his 7 attempts. The opening two chukkers heavily favoured Las Monjitas with all four goals combined from Elizalde and Ulloa, along with all five of Las Monjitas’ goals being assisted on in an early dominant open play performance. Gonzalez led Equuleus back into the game with his penalty shooting, answering any Las Monjitas run with penalty goals to reduce the deficit. The game changed in the fifth chukka when Equuleus scored four goals, three from Gonzalez and one from Magoo Laprida to take the two-goal lead. While Las Monjitas may have been the more efficient team from open play, their indiscipline allowed Equuleus to complete the victory, with Gonzalez scoring his 7th and 8th goals of the game from the penalty line in the final chukka, to upset the C.V. Whitney Cup finalists and reach the USPA Gold Cup semi-finals.
An evenly matched second game changed in dynamic early in the game when Iconica lost leading goal scorer Peke Gonzalez to injury, while he also received a double yellow on the play for the collision. Despite down a man in the first chukka, Iconica played at a fast pace that kept Daily Racing Form on their heels. Matias Magrini and Ignatius Du Plessis took on a more offensive role, leading Iconica to the 5-2 lead in the first half, while maintaining an organized defensive attack led by Maureen Brennan who was active throughout the game with numerous ride offs and defensive plays. Held to just 1 for 6 shooting in the opening half, Daily Racing Form fought their way back into the game in the fifth chukka, outscoring Iconica 5-1 thanks to an impressive performance with Jared Zenni. Scoring three goals, Zenni also added an assist in the chukka, pushing Daily Racing Form into the two-goal lead. A defensive final chukka played into the hands of Daily Racing Form who conceded just one goal to Peke Gonzalez substitute Juan Cruz Merlos to hold on for the 9-8 victory.