OT Goal places Piaget Black in Butler Handicap Finals
By Alex Webbe
Melissa Ganzi scored two goals including the winning goal
in sudden-death overtime as Piaget Black scored a 13-12 win over Orchard Hill
at the International Polo Club in Wellington Thursday afternoon.
Piaget Black received three goals by handicap, but
Mariano Gonzalez scored the opening goal of the match, cutting the lead to two
goals, 3-1. Two goals from the field
from Lucas Criado had it tied at 3-3.
Orchard Hill 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough scored the final goal of the
first chukker for an early 4-3 lead.
Nic Roldan tied it up at 4-4 within twenty seconds of the
second period on a 40-yard penalty goal.
Negro Astrada added two more goals (one on a penalty shot and one from
the field) for a 6-4 Piaget Black lead.
Orchard Hill tied it up at 6-6, with goals from Steve Van Andel and
MacDonough.
Orchard Hill blanked the Piaget Black offense in the
third, picking up a goal from the field from Criado and a penalty goal from
Macdonough. At the end of the first
half, Orchard Hill held an 8-6 advantage.
Piaget Black tied it up again in the fourth with goals
from Astrada and Melissa Ganzi.
MacDonough put Orchard Hill in the lead, 9-8, with a goal from
Macdonough. Roldan evened it up at 9-9 on
a 90-yard shot from the field midway through the chukker. Macdonough and Criado closed out the period
with single goals from the field for an 11-9
lead.
After a scoreless opening five minutes of play in the
fifth, Roldan connected on a penalty shot for a goal. Gonzalez answered with a goal from the field
in the final 40 seconds of action. The
chukker ended with Orchard Hill maintaining its two goal lead, 12-10.
A determined Piaget Black team took control of the game
in the final seven minutes of regulation time.
Roldan opened with a 60-yard penalty shot followed by a last second goal
from the field from Roldan for the 12-12 deadlock.
After a brief intermission, both teams returned to the
field and waged a scoreless battle for the first five minutes of lay. Piaget Black team captain Melissa Ganzi found
herself perfectly positioned to receive a pass from Roldan that she drove
through the goal posts for the win with 2:34 left in the overtime chukker.
Novillo led all scoring with five goals. Roldan scored three times and Ganzi accounted
for two goals in the win. Piaget Black
also received three goals by handicap.
MacDonough and Criado scored four goals apiece. Gonzalez chipped in three goals and Van Andel
added a single goal in the loss.