ERG wins Bombardier
Pacific Coast Open in a big way!
By Alex Webbe
The three-year reign as Bombardier Pacific Coast Open
Champions came to an end for Lucchese (Tavi Usandizaga, Andres Weisz, Pelon
Stirling and John Muse) Sunday afternoon at the Santa Barbara Polo Club as ERG
(Scott Woods, Sugar Erskine, Paco de Narvaez and Jeff Blake) dominated the
defending champions as they rode out to a 9-6 halftime before galloping off
with a 16-9 win.
For the last three years it was John Muse’s Lucchese polo
team that was standing in the winner’s circle at the end of the Bombardier
Pacific Coast Open tournament, but not this year. Scott Woods led his ERG team to four straight
wins before delivering the knockout punch to Lucchese in Sunday’s finals.
Sugar Erskine scored his twenty-first goal of the tournament
to open the scoring with a 30-yard penalty shot followed by a goal from the
field from Jeff Blake and a 60-yard conversion of a Safety by Paco de Narvaez
for a 3-0 start. Lucchese’s Tavi
Usandizaga closed out the scoring with a goal but trailed ERG, 3-1.
Lucchese rallied in the second chukker with consecutive
goals from Usandizaga and Andres Weisz for a 3-3 tie. De Narvaez responded with three straight goals
for a 6-3, three goal lead. A 40-yard
penalty goal from Lucchese 10-goaler Pelon Stirling cut the lead to two goals,
6-4 to end the period.
Erskine opened the third with a goal from the field followed
by another penalty conversion from Stirling, 7-5. Stirling added a goal from the field buy a
pair of goals from de Narvaez proved the difference as ERG surged ahead to a
9-6 halftime lead.
Both defenses tightened in the fourth chukker with de
Narvaez and Stirling exchanging goals from the field. ERG maintained the three goal lead, 10-7.
Stirling opened the fifth with a 30-yard penalty conversion,
10-8, but the ERG defense shut Lucchese down for the remainder of the
chukker. A goal from the field from de
Narvaez and a penalty goal from Erskine ended the period with ERG ahead by four
goals, 12-8.
Erskine lit it up in the final chukker, scoring the first
two goals of the sixth from the field for a six goal, 14-8 score. Stirling got Lucchese in the scoring column
with a goal but it would be the last offensive success they would have. Erskine converted a penalty goal followed by
a goal from Blake for the 16-9 ERG win.
Paco de Narvaez led all scoring with eight goals. Erskine scored six times with Blake adding
two for the victory. Stirling accounted
for six goals for Lucchese. Usandizaga
scored twice and Weisz added a goal in the loss.
Stirling’s mare, Quinella
received Best Playing Pony honors.
The win was ERG’s first after having lost in the finals of the
tournament in 2009 and 2010.