Lechuza Caracas wins;
will meet Villa Del Lago/Casablanca in finals
By Alex Webbe
Nico Espain’s penalty goal in the final seconds of the sixth
chukker broke a tie and lifted Lechuza Caracas (Victor Vargas, Mariano Gracida,
Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Nico Espain) to an 8-7 win over Coca-Cola (Gillian
Johnston, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nick Morrison), sending them to the
finals of the season-opening Herbie Pennell Cup at the International Polo Club
Friday afternoon before a throng of fans and polo enthusiasts that ringed the
field.
For the first time in three years Coca-Cola won’t be going
to the finals of a tournament they had won in 2012 and 2013 despite a valiant
effort that fell just short.
Lechuza Caracas received one goal by handicap, with 9-goaler
Eduardo Novillo Astrada filling in for the absent Pablo MacDonough (10), but it
was American 9-goaler Julio Arellano show scored the opening goal of the match
to tie it up at 1-1. Coca-Cola team
captain Gillian Johnston scored for a 2-1 Coke advantage less than two minutes
into the game. Nico Espain scored a goal
from the field to knot it at 2-2.
Arellano scored the final goal of the chukker on a 60-yard penalty
conversion for a 3-2 Coca-Cola lead.
Both defenses stepped it up in the second, and despite runs
up and down the field, Lechuza Caracas team captain Victor Vargas scored the
lone goal of the period. After two
chukkers of play the game was all even at 3-3.
Arellano and exchanged early goals in the third with
Arellano scoring from the field. 4-3; followed by a 40-yard penalty goal from
Espain, 4-4. Mariano Gracida scored his
first goal of the game with two minutes left on the clock allowing Lechuza
Caracas to leave the field with a 5-4 halftime advantage.
Defense was the byword of the fourth chukker as neither team
managed to score. Lechuza Caracas
continued to hold a narrow one-goal lead, 5-4, with two chukkers left in
regulation time.
All three goals in the fifth chukker came on penalty shots
with Espain scoring twice and Arellano converting a goal for a score. One chukker remained to be played in the game
and Lechuza Caracas had extended its lead to two goals, 7-5.
Arellano cut the Lechuza Caracas lead to a single goal, 7-6,
in the opening thirty seconds of the sixth chukker, and 7-goaler Jeff Hall
slashed through traffic to rocket the ball through the goalposts for a 7-7
deadlock just 9- seconds later. Both
teams battled for possession of the ball as time wore down, and a Coca-Cola
mistake sent Espain to the penalty line where he converted the shot to give Lechuza
Caracas the 8-7 win and a date in Sunday’s Herbie Pennell Cup finals.
Espain scored four of his team high five goals on penalty
shots. Vargas and Gracida each added a
goal and the team was awarded a goal by handicap. Arellano led the Coca-Cola attack with five
goals (three on penalty shots). Johnston
and Hall each added a goal in the loss.
“It was a well-played, fast-paced game to open the season,â€
said polo veteran Luis Escobar. The
former 8-goaler has been a regular on the IPC scene on the field and on the
winner’s platform over the years. “It’s
a great start to the season,†he added.
Lechuza Caracas will meet Villa Del Lago/Casablanca in
Sunday’s 3PM finals while Coca-Cola and Palm Beach Illustrated will meet in a
noon consolation contest.