Audi
and Piaget headed for the USPA Eastern Challenge finals
By
Alex Webbe
Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Moritz Gaedeke, Brandon Phillips
and Brandon Phillips) opened the day with a 9-7 win over a competitive
Longfield polo team (Hannah Buchan, Martin Estrada, Joey Casey and J. J. Celis)
at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington while Audi (Grant Ganzi, Marc
Ganzi, Lucas Lalor and Mike Azzaro) outlasted ELG/Palm House (Glen Straub, Carlucho
Arellano, Tommy Biddle and Avery Chapman) and Pony Express (Bob Daniels, Justin
Daniels, Pancho Eddy and Tomas Goti) in a round-robin contest later in the day
to set the scene for the finals of the 2012 USPA Eastern Challenge at noon on
Sunday, May 19th.
Longfield received one goal by handicap to start the
game, but less than a minute-and-a-half later Brandon Phillips tied it up by
converting a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal, 1-1. Smothering defenses on both sides of the ball
eliminated any further scoring. The
first chukker ended in a 1-1 tie.
Phillips put Piaget on top, 2-1, with a goal from the field
midway through the second period. J. J.
Celis scored on a penalty shot for Longfield, and it was all even at 2-2 with
2:15 left in the chukker. Piaget team
captain Melissa Ganzi and Longfield’s Joey Casey closed out the period with
single goals for a 3-3 tie.
Piaget controlled the ball in the third chukker, and Phillips
gave the lead back to Piaget at the 6:03 mark. An effective Piaget defense shut
Longfield out for the balance of the period while Phillips scored again with
2:26 left in the first half. Longfield
was unable to get on the scoreboard and at the end of the third chukker Piaget
was ahead, 5-3.
Phillips continued to dominate the field, scoring is
third consecutive goal of the match in the opening 30 seconds of the second
half, 6-3. Celis took advantage of a
Piaget infraction and converted a penalty shot for a goal, 6-4. Phillips ended the chukker with a 40-yard
penalty conversion and a goal from the field.
With two chukkers left in regulation time Piaget was riding an 8-4 lead.
An injury sidelined Joey Casey for the final two chukkers
with Paul Knapp ably filling in. Knapp wasted little time in contributing to
the team effort, scoring a goal from the field in the first minute of the
chukker. Piaget continued to lead,
8-5. Germany’s Moritz Gaedeke Scored his
first goal of the afternoon for a 9-5 Piaget lead, but Longfield would have the
last word. Hannah Buchan scored with
1:06 on the clock, and Longfield trailed by just three goals with a whole
chukker left to be played.
Longfield pressed it attack in the final chukker, but it
was not to be. A stellar Piaget defense
limited Longfield to a single goal from Buchan. 9-7, but that would be as close
as they would get. The match ended with
Piaget riding off with the 9-7 victory.
Phillips led all scoring with seven goals. Melissa Ganzi and Moritz Gaedeke added single
goals for the win. Celis registered
three goals for Longfield with Buchan adding a pair of goals from the field. Casey and Knapp each added a goal in the
loss.
AUDI
TAKES ROUND-ROBIN
Pony Express made an early claim on the second berth in
the finals of the USPA Eastern Challenge at the Grand Champions Polo Club by
scoring a 7-5 win over ELG/Palm House in the opening three chukkers of a three
team round-robin.
Tomas Goti led the Pony Express attack with three goals
(two on penalty shots) Pancho Eddy scored twice and Justin Daniels added a goal
for the win. Tommy Biddle scored two of his
three goals from the penalty line for ELG/Palm House while both of Carlucho
Arellano’s goals came on penalty shots.
ELG/Palm House held the field for the ensuing three
periods of play against a talented Audi lineup, and showed early on that they
were up to the task. Goals from the field
from Glen Straub and Carlucho Arellano had then ahead 2-0 at the end of the
first chukker of play.
Audi found their rhythm in the second period. Mike Azzaro scored twice from the field and
Lucas Lalor scored once. Shutout defense
was applied by the Audi team. Audi was
leading 3-2 with one chukker to be played.
Marc Ganzi scored his first goal of the game in the third
period to put Audi on top, 4-2, and his son Grant Ganzi extended the Audi lead
to three goals, 5-2 with time running out.
Biddle split the uprights on a beautifully placed shot for the final
goal of the game as Audi rode off with the 5-3 win.
The Audi win boosts them into Sunday’s noon finals while
Pony Express, ELG/Palm House and Longfield will met on Sunday morning at 9:30am
for the consolation cup.