La Alegria and Certified Register Wins in Hampton Cup Play
By Alex Webbe
In Friday afternoon Hampton Cup competition, a red hot Freddie Mannix, Jr. scored nine times as La Alegria (2-0) rolled over an anemic Caballeros offense, 10-6, at the Bridgehampton Polo Club.
The 18-goal Caballeros team received two goals by handicap from the 10-goal La Alegria foursome and added little to it over the course of the match.
A penalty goal from Tommy Biddle had the Caballeros on top, 3-1 after the first chukker, with Mannix accounting for the lone La Alegria goal in the opening period of play.
Mannix added three more goals in the second, and Marianito Gracida scored his first goal of the game as La Alegria took a 5-3 lead into the third chukker.
Two more goals from the field by Mannix set the pace for the third period, with Biddle converting a single penalty goal for the Caballeros. La Alegria rode to the sidelines with a 7-4 advantage at the end of the first half.
The game tightened up in the fourth chukker as La Alegria felt the game comfortably in hand. A penalty goal from Biddle accounted for the only scoring of the period, and La Alegria continued to lead, 7-5.
Mannix converted a penalty shot for a goal while the La Alegria team held the Caballeros scoreless in the fifth chukker. La Alegria’s lead grew to three goals, 8-5.
Mannix capped his day with two more goals from the field in the final chukker while the Caballeros (0-2) were limited to a single penalty goal from Biddle, and the game ended in a 10-6 La Alegria win.
Mannix led all scoring with nine goals, Gracida added a goal in the win.
Biddle accounted for all of the scoring for his team, converting four penalty shots for goals. The Caballeros received two goals by handicap.
CERTIFIED 13, EQUULEUS 10
In Saturday’s Hampton Cup play, Nic Roldan scored eight second half goals to lead Certified to a 13-10 come-from-behind win over a confident Equuleus team in front of an energetic crowd of spectators.
Equuleus received one goal by handicap, but fell behind early, giving up a pair of goals to Gonzalo Garcia Del Rio.
Goals from Facundo Obregon and Mariano Gonzalez in the second, coupled with standout defense had Equuleus on top, 3-2 going into the third chukker.
With growing confidence, Equuleus put four straight goals on the scoreboard, with Obregon and Adam snow scoring single tallies while Gonzalez added a pair. Garcia Del Rio scored a goal from the field for Certified, but they trailed by four goals at the half, 7-3.
Certified showed resolve in the fourth chukker, getting a pair of goals from Roldan and a single goal from Inaki Laprida. Equuleus scored on a penalty goal, and held on to a narrowing 8-6 advantage.
Four goals were scored in the fifth, all on penalty shots, with Roldan being on the connecting end of three of them. Gonzalez converted a penalty shot for a goal for Equuleus, but Certified had managed to tie the game at 9-9.
Equuleus struggled to regain its earlier rhythm, but the momentum had shifted. A single goal from Obregon was offset by two goals apiece from Roldan and Garcia Del Rio, and Certified took the game by a 13-10 margin.
Roldan led all scoring with seven goals. Garcia Del Rio got five goals and Laprida added one in the win.
All five goals scored by Gonzalez came on penalty shots. Obregon added three to the mix and Snow scored once.
Wet fields caused the cancellation of Monday’s scheduled match between the Caballeros (0-2) and Great Oaks (2-0) until Tuesday.