Flight
Options earns berth in Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup final
By
Alex Webbe
Flight Options (Melissa Ganzi, Wes Finlayson, Guille
Aguero and Juan Bollini) rolled over Palm Beach Equine (Gene Goldstein, Brandon
Phillips, Jeff Blake and Scott Swerdlin) and Palm Beach Polo (Glenn Straub,
Alejandro Gonzalez, Kris Kampsen and Roberto Gonzalez) Thursday afternoon in round-robin
action in the opening round of play in the 2014 Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup at
the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington.
Palm Beach Equine received ½ goal by handicap and added the
opening goal from the field from Brandon Phillips, 1½-0. Guille Aguero responded with consecutive
goals (one on a penalty conversion) to give Flight Options the 2-1½ lead. Phillips closed out the first chukker with a penalty
goal that put Palm Beach Equine in the lead, 2½-2.
Flight Options took control in the second period of the
three chukker mini-match by scoring three unanswered goals. Aguero scored his third goal of the game on a
40-yard penalty shot followed by Wes Finlayson who did the same, 4-2½. Melissa Ganzi closed out the scoring with her
first goal of the game for a 5-2½ Flight Options advantage with one chukker
left to play.
Phillips attempted to rally his Palm Beach Equine
teammates with a pair of goals in the third that cut the lead to just one-half
goal, 5-4 ½, but a final goal from Juan Bollini gave Flight Options a
comfortable win, 6-4½.
Palm
Beach Polo 8, Palm Beach Equine 5½
After losing their opener, Palm Beach Equine held the field
to meet Palm Beach Polo in the second leg of the three-team round-robin.
After receiving a goal by handicap from the 14-goal Palm
Beach Polo lineup, Phillips scored the first goal from the field for Palm Beach
Equine, 2-0, but then was forced to watch Alejandro Gonzalez reel off four
consecutive goals (one on a penalty shot) for an early 4-2 lead.
Consecutive goals from Phillips tied it at 4-4, but Palm
Beach Polo roared back in the second.
Penalty goals from Alejandro Gonzalez and Kris Kampsen ended the second
period with Palm Beach Polo on top of a 6-4 score.
Jeff Blake’s first goal of the game cut the Palm Beach
Polo lead to a single goal, 6-5, in third period play. Kampsen added two more goals to end the three
chukker game with a Palm Beach Polo 8-5 win.
Flight
Options 4½, Palm Beach Polo 2
Both Flight Options and Palm Beach Polo had recorded
wins, with the final three chukkers of the round-robin set to determine the first
of the tournament finalists.
Flight Options received one-half goal by handicap from
Palm Beach Polo, and stretched the lead with an opening goal from Melissa
Ganzi, 1½-0. Palm Beach Polo was held
scoreless in the opening seven minutes of the match.
Roberto Gonzalez finally got Palm Beach Polo on the scoreboard
in the second, but Melissa Ganzi struck for a goal again for Flight Options to
maintain their lead, 2 ½-1.
Flight Options continued to pour it on in the third and
final chukker of the day. A penalty goal
from Aguero and another goal from Melissa Ganzi had Flight Options comfortably
ahead, 4½-1. With time running out, Palm
Beach Polo team captain, Glenn Straub, shepherded the ball down the field for
an unopposed goal with seconds on the clock.
The game went to Flight Options in a 4½-2 final, boosting them into
Sunday’s final.
Play continues in the 2014 Pedro Morrison Memorial cup on
Friday with another three team round-robin.
Two-thirty play on Friday will feature CT Energia (Marc
Ganzi, Alessandro Bazzoni, Nic Roldan and Carlitos Gracida), Casablanca (Grant
Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Jeff Hall and Julio Gracida) and Team USPA (Jared
Sheldon, Patrick Uretz, Mason Wroe, Felipe Viana and Jesse Bray). The winner will face Flight Options in the
tournament final on Sunday at 3PM.