Jan Pamela Little Owl to Meet Valiente/Blanco in Finals
By Alex Webbe
Jan Pamela Little Owl holds off a last chukker rally by Mt. Airy/Willow Farm to score a 9-8 win and move into the South Florida Challenge finals in the 12-goal Pro-Am competition at the International Polo Club Friday afternoon.
“We out-played them on the field, but got too many penalties,†offered Mt. Airy/Willow Farm 5-goaler Brandon Phillips.
Phillips scored the first goal of the game and added another in the second chukker, but Jan Pamela Little Owl responded with a pair of second period goals from J. P. Uihlein and a penalty goal from Steve Dalton. After two chukkers of play, Jan Pamela Little Owl led, 3-2.
The Mt. Airy/Willow Farm defense stiffened in the third, shutting out Jan Pamela Little Owl, but managed only one goal on a penalty shot (Adrian Wade), leveling the score at 3-3 at the end of the first half.
Phillips scored his third goal of the game to open the second half, but that would be all of the offense that Mt. Airy/Willow Farm would produce in the chukker. Jan Pamela Little Owl roared back with three goals from Steve Dalton (two on penalty shots), and ended the chukker with a 6-4 advantage.
“We had a little let-down in the fourth,†said Phillips. “We committed a couple of fouls that put us in the hole, but overall we were outplaying them.â€
Garrick Steele scored from the field in the fifth, but Dalton countered with two more goals, another a costly penalty shot, and the period ended with Jan Pamela Little Owl holding on to its two-goal lead, 8-6.
Joe Wayne Barry’s first goal of the match had Jan Pamela Little Owl up 9-5 when the Mt. Airy/Willow Farm rally began.
Mike Egan scored from the field as the Mt. Airy/Willow Farm attack continued to press the opposing defense. This time it was Mt. Airy/Willow Farm’s turn to take advantage of mistakes on the field. Two penalties put Phillips in front of the Jan Pamela Little Owl goal posts, and both times he converted the shots for goals, cutting the lead to a single goal, 9-8, but that’s where it would end.
The final horn sounded giving Jan Pamela Little Owl the win and a berth in Friday’s finals of the South Florida Challenge.
Steve Dalton led all scoring with six goals. J. P. Uihlein added two goals and Joe Wayne Barry scored once.
Brandon Phillips scored five times for Mt. Airy/Willow Farm. Teammates Mike Egan, Garrick Steele and Adrian Wade scored single goals in the losing effort.
FARAWAY/MT. BRILLIANT 10, VALIENTE/BLANCO 9 OT
Faraway/Mt. Brilliant won its second game of the competition in a 10-9 overtime win over Valiente/Blanco to capture the other spot in next week finals of the South Florida Challenge.
Bo Goodman first chukker goal accounted for the only scoring in the first two chukkers, as both teams played disciplined defense. Offensive thrusts were turned aside, and ride-offs were the rule.
Santiago Bottarro finally got it going for Valiente/Blanco with a pair of goals in the third for a 2-1 lead. Teammate Jeff Blake made the score 3-1 with another goal from the field. Julian Daniels managed to keep Faraway/Mt. Brilliant from getting shutout for the second consecutive chukker with his first goal of the game, and the first half ended with Valiente holding a one goal advantage, 3-2.
Daniels tied it in the fourth with his second goal of the match and Carlitos Galindo drove the ball through the Valiente/Blanco goal posts for a 4-3 advantage. Bottarro closed out the scoring with his third goal, knotting it up at 4-4.
Valiente/Blanco lit it up in the fifth with Bottarro scoring four times. Blake added another goal and Valiente/Blanco found themselves on top of a 9-5 lead. Daniels scored the only goal of the chukker for Faraway/Mt. Brilliant.
Just as Valiente/Blanco controlled the fifth chukker, Faraway/Mt. Brilliant controlled the sixth. Daniels opened the scoring with a goal from the field followed by a goal from Trevor Allen. Two more unanswered goals from Daniels tied the score and pressed it into overtime.
With Faraway/Mt. Brilliant pressuring the defense, Valiente/Blanco fouled putting Daniels at the penalty line. With 3:43 gone in the overtime period, Daniels drove the ball through the Valiente/Blanco goal for the win and a date with Jan Pamela Little Owl in the Friday, 3 pm finals.
Daniels scored seven times on the day with his most important one coming in overtime. Teammates Bo Goodman, Trevor Allen and Carlitos Galindo added single goals in the win.
Santiago Bottarro set the pace for Valiente/Blanco with seven goals. Jeff Blake scored twice in the loss.
Faraway/Mt. Brilliant will meet Mt. Airy/Willow Farm in a noon consolation showdown.