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hurlinghampolo.com
I P C 2 0 - G O A L S E A S O N , I N T E R N A T I O N A L P O L O C L U B P A L M B E A C H , F L O R I D A , U S A , D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 – M A R C H 2 0 1 7
A C T I O N
DAVID LOMINSKA/POLOGRAPHICS.COM
Ruki Baillieu for La Indiana and Kris
Kampsen for Postage Stamp). Six-goaler
Jason Crowder re-emerged at IPC after
a couple of years away and did an excellent
job for Mt Brilliant.
Off-field, Goose Creek patrona Maureen
Brennan served as chair of the USPA
High-Goal Committee considering
controversial proposals to bring the 26-goal
US season down to 22 and move the US
Open to alternating venues across the
country – as was the case years ago.
In what was projected to be an evenly
matched final, La Indiana took a 13–10
victory over Mt Brilliant in the Joe Barry.
La Indiana came out gunning and dominated
throughout the first half. Mt Brilliant opened
the scoring with a penalty 2-goal converted
by tournament high-scorer Crowder, but
after that their scoring chances were few
and far between. La Indiana controlled
opening play with a fast-paced style,
passing forward to their open players.
They proved themselves the quintessential
four-man team, with each contributing one
of the first four goals.
Lingering concerns about the health
of IPC further dissipated with the start
of the Ylvisaker Cup on 27 January. With
a robust roster of 14 teams, the Ylvisaker
was the longest and most highly contested
tournament in the 20-goal series. Coca-Cola,
who had a rollercoaster-ride throughout
the season, won the Ylvisaker 9–8 over
Tonkawa in overtime on 19 February. Both
teams had won their semi-final match-ups
against undefeated opponents. The final
got off to a quick start, with the first whistle
not sounding until five minutes into what
turned out to be an extremely clean,
fast-paced contest.
Julio Arellano sealed the win for
Coca-Cola with a golden goal on a penalty 2.
Arellano was a leading scorer throughout
the entire season. MVP Julian de Lusarreta
proved another strong force for Coca-Cola.
While staying the course, Coca-Cola seemed
to lack their usual mojo without mainstay
Stuart ‘Sugar’ Erskine in the irons. Sidelined
by a serious injury last summer, Erskine
came through in 2017 with chin-up support
for the team and his classic comic relief
at precisely the right moment in the tent.
A tense Iglehart Cup final (Equine Liquid
Biocell defeated La Indiana 11–10) pitted
two opposing teams that took markedly
different paths to get there. Equine Liquid
Biocell went undefeated in the tournament,
winning both bracket games and defeating
Mt Brilliant in the semi-finals. By contrast,
La Indiana lost their first two games and
needed a shootout to reach the semis, in
which they slid past Tonkawa to become
a finalist. In the final, Agustín Obregón
ignited the offence. He scored three of the
first four goals for Equine Liquid Biocell,
again demonstrating the impact he made
on the entire tournament (Obregón scored
3.8 goals per game in the Iglehart, compared
to 0.7 goals in previous tournaments.)
MVP Jared Zenni of Equine Liquid Biocell
was raised to a 5 handicap for 2018.
This page, left:
Julio Arellano in the
Ylvisaker Cup.
Right;
Winners of the
Iglehart Cup, from left, MVP Jared
Zenni, Hilario Ulloa, Duilio Diaz,
Agustín Obregón
