Santa
Clara and Mt. Brilliant score wins in Freebooters Classic
By
Alex Webbe
Santa Clara and Mt. Brilliant registered wins Saturday in
the 14-goal Freebooters Classic at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Flat Out received one goal by handicap from the 14-goal Santa
Clara team and wasted little time in adding to it. Goals from Todd Offen and Leo Mandelbaum had
Flat Out boasting a 3-0 lead when Santa Clara finally got into step. A pressing Santa Clara attack resulted in
three first chukker penalties which 7-goaler Luis Escobar converted into goals. The first period ended in a 3-3 tie.
Robert Orthwein converted two penalty shots for goals in
the second for Flat Out, but Santa Clara was quick to respond. A pair of goals from Escobar (one from the field
and one on a penalty shot) and a single goal from Geronimo Obregon gave them a
narrow 6-5 lead to end the chukker.
Two more goals from Escobar and a goal from Carlos Avendano
gave Santa Clara a 9-6 halftime lead.
Flat Out got a single goal from Offen in the chukker as they trailed by
three goals.
Offen supplied all of the offense in the fourth chukker,
as the second half got off to a slow start.
Offen converted a 60-yard Safety for the only firepower in the period,
cutting the Santa Clara lead to two goals, 9-7.
Single goals from Offen and Orthwein went unanswered in
the fifth as Flat Out tied it up at 9-9.
Both teams missed critical penalty shots for the second straight
chukker.
Santa Clara finally broke free in the final chukker,
getting two more goals from Escobar and another goal from Obregon. Flat Out managed no more than a single goal
from Orthwein in the last chukker as Santa Clara rode off with the 12-10 win.
Escobar led all scoring with nine goals on the day. Obregon accounted for two goals and Avendano
scored once.
Orthwein and Offen scored four goals apiece. Mandelbaum added a goal in the loss.
MT.
BRILLIANT 13, FARAWAY 11
In a brother versus brother showdown, Bo Goodman’s Mt.
Brilliant team took a 13-11 win from brother Hutton Goodman’s Faraway foursome Saturday
afternoon in 14-goal Freebooter Classic competition.
Brandon Phillips scored twice in the opening chukker for
Mt. Brilliant, but fouls put Faraway’s Tomas Obregon on the penalty line where
he converted two shots for goals and a 2-2 tie after the first period ended.
Julian Daniels scored his first goal of the game in the
second to give Faraway a brief 3-2 advantage, but Mt. Brilliant stormed
back. Juan Monteverde scored once and
Phillips added three more goals from the field as Mt. Brilliant built up a 6-3
lead after just two periods of play.
Obregon tied it up at 6-6 in the third on a pair of
penalty goals and a goal from the field.
Mt. Brilliant picked up a pair of goals from team captain Bo Goodman and
a single goal from Tommy Collingwood. At
the end of the first three chukkers, Mt. Brilliant had a three goal lead, 9-6.
Phillips scored his sixth goal of the game in the fourth period
for a 10-6 advantage over Faraway, but goals from Obregon and Daniels shaved
that lead down to just two goals, 10-8, as the chukker ended.
Faraway picked up more ground in the fifth chukker with
Obregon converting two more penalty shots for goals and adding another from the
field. Mt. Brilliant responded with a single
penalty goal from Phillips and t was all tied up at 11-11 with just seven
minutes to play.
The Mt. Brilliant defense showed up in the final chukker,
shutting out the Faraway attack for the first time all day. Monteverde added two goals from the field for
the 13-11 win.
Tomas Obregon was the high scorer of the game with nine
goals. Daniels added two goals.
Mt. Brilliant’s Phillips scored seven times. Monteverde added three goals; Bo Goodman accounted
for two goals and Collingwood scored once.