Travieso Win the Story of the Day
The debut of Pilot, featuring Facundo and Gonzalito teaming up in 20-goal play was spoiled by a dominant first half from Travieso, as they built a large enough lead to hang on for the 13-11 victory on Field 1 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Converting their chances from the field, Travieso built up a 7-3 lead at half time due to effective 6 for 10 shooting, while holding Pilot to just 1 for 4 shooting in the opening half. The physical defence from the father-son duo of Teo and Tony Calle, was evident as the Pieres’ brothers found themselves constantly crowded throughout the game.
Pilot mounted their comeback in the 5th chukka, cutting a six-goal deficit to two goals behind perfect 3 for 3 shooting from the penalty line as foul trouble began to catch up with Travieso as they tried to hold on to their lead. After an impressive cut shot goal from Facundo for his 7th goal of the game, cut Travieso’s lead to one, Sebastian Merlos ensured the Travieso lead remained intact. A final run from Merlos for his 8th goal of the game sealed the win and an impressive start to the Joe Barry Cup for Travieso.
The first game of the day saw La Indiana defeat Coca-Cola 10-7, using a 4-0 fifth chukka to turn a one-goal deficit into a three-goal lead, which was ultimately the difference in the game. A balanced team effort from La Indiana saw all four players find the scoresheet, led by Jeff Hall’s five goals. Coca-Cola started the game strong, outshooting La Indiana 6-0 in the opening chukka, scoring two goals, but struggled to generate offense in the second half. Shooting at goal just 3 times over the final three chukkas, Coca-Cola’s passing attack was unable to solve the La Indiana defence, which used their interceptions to generate offence of their own.
Play continues on Monday as Grand Champions Polo Club and SD Farms make their season debut at 3pm ET.