Mt.
Airy rally falls short; Goose Creek wins, 11-9
By
Alex Webbe
Mt. Airy received one goal by handicap from the 12-goal
Goose Creek team, but were unable to add to it in the opening minutes of play
in the consolation round of the IPC March 12-goal at the International Polo Club.
Goose Creek 5-goaler cote Zegers scored
three first chukker goals that went unanswered and Mt. Airy found themselves
trailing 3-1 at the end of the first period.
Carlucho Arellano cut the Goose Creek lead to a single goal,
3-2, in the first two minutes of the second period, but the rest of the chukker
belonged to Goose Creek. Tano Vial added
a goal from the field and another on a penalty shot. At the end of the chukker Goose Creek was
ahead by three goals, 5-2.
Mt. Airy seemed to get on track in the third with
Arellano scoring the opening goal once again.
Teammate Dani Wasty tallied his first goal of the game at the midway
point of the chukker, with Mt. Airy trailing, 5-4. Vial slowed down the Mt. Airy attack with a
penalty goal, 6-4, but Arellano had other ideas. With two minutes on the clock, Arellano drove
the ball through the Goose Creek goal posts for a goal. Mt. Airy had closed to within a goal of Goose
Creek, 6-5, at the end of the first half.
Wesley Bryan stretched the Goose Creek back to two goals,
7-5, with his first score of the afternoon.
Goose Creek team captain, Maureen Brennan, scored the only other goal of
the afternoon. At the 1:42 mark of the
fourth chukker, Goose Creek 6-goaler Tano Vial blocked a penalty shot with his
mallet, but the ball traveled down the cane and hit him just beneath the right
eye. Although his safety glasses saved
him from more serious injury, he was forced to leave the game and received a
number of stitches to close a deep cut at the top of his cheek bone. The fourth chukker ended with Goose Creek leading
by three goals, 8-5.
Five-goaler Juan Jaramillo filled in for Vial for the
balance of the match, and quickly made a team contribution by scoring on a
70-yard shot on goal for the only score of the fifth. Goose Creek headed into the final chukker
with a four goal advantage, 9-5.
Arellano opened the scoring in the final chukker with a
goal from the field just two minutes into play, and a 60-yard penalty conversion
less than a minute later that cut the lead to two goals, 9-7. Zegers finally delivered on a Goose Creek
attack with a goal from the field, 10-7.
Adrian Wade picked up his first goal of the game with a minute left in
the match, but a closing goal from Goose Creek’s Jaramillo ended the game in an
11-9 Goose Creek victory.
Arellano led all scoring on the day with six goals. Wasty and Wade added single goals and Mt.
Airy received one goal by handicap. Zegers set the pace for Goose Creek with
four goals. Vial scored three times
before an injury forced him to leave the field.
Jaramillo scored twice in relief of Vial and Brennan and Bryan added
single goals in the win.