Barrington Wins Monty Waterbury Cup
By Alex Webbe
Barrington cruised through the entire Monty Waterbury Cup competition, taking an undefeated 4-0 record to the field on Sunday only to ride off with a convincing 13-10 win over once-defeated (by Barrington) Goose Creek in the finals.
Goose Creek took an early 2-1 lead on goals from Adam Snow and Martin Zegers with Barrington’s sole first chukker goal coming from Tommy Biddle.
Goose Creek stretched its early lead to 4-2 with Snow and Martin Zegers scoring single goals once again while Barrington got a goal from Julio Arellano.
“I felt like we were in control,†said Arellano, “but we just weren’t finishing our plays.â€
Barrington presented a team effort in the third period with consecutive goals from Arellano, Antonio Galvan and Biddle, giving them a brief 5-4 lead before Snow tied it at 5-5 to end the first half.
“I was trying to ride past everyone in the first half,†said Biddle, “and I wasn’t doing it. Antonio (Galvan) made a bunch of crucial plays that kept us in the game in the first three chukkers, and I decided to take a little off my game in the second half.â€
Biddle opened the scoring in the fourth chukker by converting a 60-yard penalty shot (Safety), but goals from Cote Zegers, Snow and Maureen Brennan gave Goose Creek an 8-6 lead.
As strong as Goose Creek looked in the fourth chukker, Biddle and company looked that much more powerful in the fifth. Mounted on his 11-year-old bay gelding Manu, Biddle scored four goals from the field in the period. A fifth goal came from team captain Barb Uskup as Barrington rolled to an 11-8 advantage, shutting out the Goose Creek offense for the entire chukker.
“Barb (Uskup) played brilliantly in the second half,†said Biddle, “We had her marking the Number 3 in the line-outs and I think we won about ninety-five percent of them,†he added.
Biddle converted a penalty shot to open the final chukker, giving Barrington a 12-8 lead before Galvan’s goal from the field put them ahead 13-8 with minutes left to play.
Goose Creek rallied with a penalty conversion from Snow and a field goal from Martin Zegers, but it would be Barrington that would ride off with the 13-10 win and the 2009 USPA Monty Waterbury Cup.
Biddle led the field with eight goals on the day and was named MVP for his efforts. His bay gelding, Manu received Best Playing Pony honors. Teammates Arellano and Galvan scored two goals apiece and Uskup added a goal in the win.
Snow led the Goose Creek attack with five goals. Martin Zegers scored three times and Maureen Brennan and Cote Zegers added single goals.
Barb Uskup was named Amateur MVP with Maureen Brennan’s Dipirora being named Best Playing Amateur Pony.