Audi defends USPANational Twenty goal title with 13-7 win
By Alex Webbe
Audi (Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Nic Roldan and CarlosGracida) received one goal by handicap and quickly added to it with Nic Roldanconverting a 40-yard penalty shot and Carlitos Gracida scoring from the field fora 3-0 start in the final of the 2013 USPA National Twenty Goal tournament at the Grand Champions Polo Club. ELG (Avery Chapman, GuilleAguero, Kris Kampsen and Tommy Biddle) responded with a pair of goals fromGuille Aguero, but trailed 3-2 at the end of the first chukker.
Audi got its attack on line in the second, scoring four timeswhile shutting down the ELG offense. Single goals from Marc Ganzi (a 40-yard penalty conversion) and Roldan(a goal from the field) and a pair of goals from polo Hall of Famer, CarlosGracida, ended the period with Audi on top, 7-2.
Both defenses buckled down in the third. A single goal from Tommy Biddle was the onlygoal scored, and at the end of the first half Audi held a comfortable fourgoal, 7-3 lead.
ELG rallied in the fourth chukker following the award of agoal on a rarely called Penalty 1, 7-4. A60-yard penalty conversion from Biddle cut the Audi lead to two, 7-5. Roldan closed out the chukker with a goalfrom the field with 15 seconds left on the clock, 8-5.
A fifth chukker Audi blitzkriegextended their lead to five goals, 11-6, as they picked up two goals from Roldanand a single goal from the field from Ganzi. ELG’s sole goal came from Aguero who took a Biddle pass and raced 150yards down the field for the score.
Biddle converted a penalty shot for a goal for the firstgoal of the sixth chukker, 11-7, but that was where it ended. Ganzi scored his third goal of the dayfollowed by a goal from Carlitos Gracida for the 13-7 final.
Roldan’s five goals led a balanced Audi attack that sawGanzi add three goals and two goals apiece from the father-son combination ofCarlos and Carlitos Gracida. Biddle’sfour goals (two on penalty conversions) set the pace for ELG. Aguero scored twice and the team was awardeda goal on a Penalty 1.
Carlos Gracida received MVP honors while Zulu, aseven-year-old Dark Bay mare was named Best Playing Pony. It was Zulu’ssecond such honor this season. The marewas named BPP earlier this season in the USPA Fall Plates. Zulu is owned by Halo Polo and was played byAguero.