La Fe and CK Polo Advance to Ylvisaker Cup Final
The third day of match play in the Ylvisaker Cup began on a brisk morning on Isla Carroll West Field at International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) between La Fe and CK Polo. Coming off a strong win against Beverly Polo, La Fe continued to find success with early offensive contributions from 9-goaler Francisco Elizalde to claim the narrow 8-7 victory. Patagones and Beverly Polo took to U.S. Polo Assn. Field 1 for the featured game of the week with Beverly Polo finding redemption against Patagones in overtime on the golden goal from Lucas Diaz Alberdi to claim the 10-9 triumph.
Beginning the opening match of the day with a strong hit-and-run strategy, La Fe’s Elizalde led the early charge with two goals from the field and another two from the penalty line. Adjusting once more to a new lineup, the return of Martin “Facha” Valent and Santino Magrini injected yet another fresh look to CK Polo, but they struggled to find chemistry throughout the first half. Following early struggles to find the goal and dominant shutdown play from La Fe’s Louis Devaleix, Santino Magrini finally broke through for CK Polo’s only goal of the half, facing a 5-1 deficit entering the halftime break.
Finding their rhythm in the third chukker, Santino Magrini continued CK Polo’s comeback push in the fourth, adding another two goals to the scoreboard while holding La Fe scoreless for the second consecutive chukker. Following a twelve-goal performance in his previous game, a well defended Kristos “Keko” Magrini hit CK Polo’s first penalty conversion of the day to fight their way back within one goal.
Unable to score since the second chukker, a dry La Fe offense came to life off the mallet of Lucas Escobar, followed by consecutive goals from Robi Bilbao and Elizalde to restore a four-goal advantage. Attempting to keep CK Polo’s chances alive, Keko Magrini sank his second penalty shot of the day, while teammates Joaquin Panelo and Facha Valent followed up with field goals of their own. Running out of time, La Fe’s ability to keep goal leader Keko Magrini tied up for the majority of the game saw their early start and accuracy from the field carry them to an 8-7 win.
Looking for their first win of the tournament, an energized Beverly Polo entered a rematch of the Joe Barry Memorial final against Patagones by opening the scoring on back-to-back goals to hold a 2-0 lead at the end of the first chukker. Tomas Garcia del Rio hit his first goal of the day on a Penalty 2 for Patagones, but an undefended Bill Ballhaus immediately responded, starting a three-goal run for Beverly Polo in the second that extended his team’s lead to four. Regrouping in the third, Patagones finally found some success from the field, receiving goals from Santiago Wulff and Joaquin Avendano to quickly erase the four-goal difference. One final goal from Ballhaus in the latter stages of the third chukker propelled allowed Beverly Polo to cling on to a narrow 6-5 lead at the half.
Finding confidence in their four-goal third chukker, Patagones remained on the offensive attack with Wulff and Garcia del Rio each scoring from the field to take the lead for the first time in the match at 7-6. Trading two goals each from the 30-yard line, talented strikers Garcia del Rio and Jorge “Tolito” Fernandez Ocampo Jr. both made their two attempts, with Garcia del Rio remaining flawless on four successful Penalty 2 conversions. Despite leading Beverly Polo with eight goals in the tournament, a relatively quiet day on the field for Ocampo Jr. saw him come through for this team in the final minutes of regulation, taking the ball to the goal to tie the game at 9-all and force overtime. Despite Patagones beginning overtime with the offensive possession, the speed and agility of Lucas Diaz Alberdi could not be stopped as a driving Alberdi hit the goal to complete Beverly Polo’s redemption in a thrilling 10-9 victory.
Scoring three goals, including the overtime winner, Lucas Diaz Alberdi was named Most Valuable Player, while Tomas Garcia del Rio’s “Lechiguana” was named Best Playing Pony.
The highly anticipated Final of the Ylvisaker Cup on February 6, at 3:00pm ET will feature a rematch between La Fe and CK Polo on U.S. Polo Assn. Field 1.
Photo Credit ©Alex Pacheco