Catalina
Hotel sneaks past Grand Champions in final seconds of play
By Alex Webbe
With seconds
on the clock and the score knotted up at 9-9, Catalina Hotel was driving the
ball to the lip of the Grand Champions goal mouth. A a foul put Catalina Hotel team captain Alan
Lieberman on the penalty line where he drove through the winning goal Saturday afternoon
in the consolation match of the 2011 US Trust Cup played at the Palm City Polo
Club in Boca Raton.
Catalina
Hotel took the early lead on a pair of first chukker goals from Kris
Kampsen. Natascha Baecher got Grand
champions on the scoreboard with a goal from the field, but Catalina Hotel left
the field with an early 2-1 advantage.
Catalina
added two goals in the second chukker with Kampsen scoring his third of the
game while teammate Nathan Lieberman scored his first. Grand Champions stormed back, however, getting
three goals from Baecher and a goal from 13-year-old Grant Ganzi. Grand Champions had gained both the momentum and
the lead in a 5-4 contest.
Defenses tightened
in the third period with Ganzi converting a penalty shot for a goal while
Kampsen answered for Catalina Hotel with his fourth score of the day. At the end of the first half, Grand Champions
held on to a 6-5 lead.
Baecher and
Ganzi added single goals in the fourth chukker while a resilient Grand Champions
defense held Catalina Hotel scoreless. With
just two periods left to play Grand Champions held a healthy 8-5lead.
Catalina
Hotel switched gears in the fifth chukker, picking up a pair of goals from
8-goaler Nic Roldan and a single goal from Kampsen. Grand Champions struggled to find its offense,
failing to score and finding themselves in an 8-8 tie as the period ended..
Baecher
scored the first goal of the final chukker, but Kampsen’s sixth goal of the day
had it all even at 9-9, and set up Alan Lieberman’s game winning penalty goal
as Catalina Hotel rode off with the 10-9 win.
Kampsen
scored six times for Catalina Hotel.
Roldan and Nathan Lieberman scored two goals apiece and Alan Lieberman
scored the winning goal.
Baecher accounted for six goals for Grand
Champions, with Grant Ganzi scoring three times