Pedro Morrison
Memorial Cup finals set
By Alex Webbe
PB Equine/ELG (Scott Swerdlin, Guille Aguero, Kris Kampsen
and Avery Chapman) and Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Mike Azzaro
and Wes Finlayson) scored wins Friday afternoon in 2013 Pedro Morrison Memorial
Cup play at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, but they both needed a
goal in a sudden-death overtime chukker to achieve those wins.
In the final of three tournament matches on the day,
Casablanca’s Mike Azzaro scored the winning goal in overtime to carry his team
to a 13-12 win over Paladin (David Krantz, Juan Bollini, Piki Alberdi and
Melissa Ganzi) to earn a berth in Sunday’s finals.
In a match that had Mother playing against son (Paladin’s Melissa
Ganzi and Casablanca’s Grant Ganzi) and Father against son (Paladin’s Juan
Bollini and Casablanca’s Juancito Bollini), Casablanca received two goals by
handicap and watches as Juan Bollini scored the first two goals of the day for
Paladin to tie it up at 2-2. Juancito
Bollini scored the go-ahead goal for Casablanca, 3-2, to end the opening
chukker.
The two teams traded goals in the second period with Juan
Bollini and Melissa Ganzi scoring for Paladin while Wes Finlayson scored two
goals from the field for Casablanca.
Casablanca continued to guard a narrow one goal, 5-4 lead.
Paladin fought back in the third. Melissa Ganzi tied it up at 5-5 with her
second goal of the day. Goals from Mike
Azzaro and Finlayson had Casablanca back in the lead, 7-5. Paladin ended the chukker with penalty goals
from David Krantz and Juan Bollini. At
the end of the first half the match was all even at 7-7.
An invigorated Azzaro returned to the field in the second
half and took immediate control of the game.
Consecutive goals from the field from Azzaro and shutout defense from
his teammates had Casablanca back on top, 9-7.
Juancito Bollini and Mike Azzaro each added a goal to the
Casablanca total in the fifth, but a pair of goals from Argentine 8-goaler Piki
Alberdi had Paladin trailing by two, 11-9.
Goals from Krantz and Juan Bollini opened the sixth chukker
to tie it up at 11-11. Azzaro broke
through the Paladin defenses for a goal, moving Casablanca back in the lead,
12-11. With seconds on the clock,
Casablanca fouled, sending Alberdi to the penalty line where he converted the
tying goal, 12-12, and forcing a sudden-death overtime chukker.
The two teams battled well into the overtime chukker before
a Paladin foul sent Azzaro to the penalty line where he converted the winning
goal, 13-12, and earned his team a spot in the tournament finals on Sunday at
3:30PM.
Azzaro’s six goals led all scoring. Finlayson added three and Juancito Bollini
added two goals. Casablanca also
received two goals by handicap in the win.
Juan Bollini’s five goals set the pace for Paladin. Alberdi scored three times and Melissa Ganzi and
Krantz each added two goals in a losing effort.
PB EQUINE/ELG 12,
AUDI/EXCALIBUR 11
Audi/Excalibur (Michael Donahue, Carlitos Gracida, Nic
Roldan and Marc Ganzi) received one goal by handicap and scored the first two
goals in their game against PB Equine/ELG (Marc Ganzi and Carlitos Gracida) in
an earlier Pedro Morrison Memorial contest for an early 3-0 advantage. Tommy Biddle finally got PB Equine/ELG on the
scoreboard with a closing goal. Audi/Excalibur
took the early lead, 3-1.
Biddle cut the lead to a single goal, 3-2, with the opening score
of the second chukker. Marc Ganzi and
Carlitos Gracida each scored to push the Audi/Excalibur lead to three goals,
5-2, to end the period.
Ganzi (penalty goal) and Gracida each scored to put Audi/Excalibur
ahead with a 7-2 lead. Guille Aguero and
Biddle (penalty conversion) pared the Audi/Excalibur lead back to a manageable
three goals, 7-4 at the end of the first half.
Audi/Excalibur continued to dominate PB Equine/ELG in the
second half. Single goals from Nic Roldan
and Ganzi extended the Audi/Excalibur lead to five goals again, 9-4, as PB
Equine/ELG was unable to score.
PB Equine/ELG picked up a rhythm in the fifth. Biddle scored his first of three goals in the
opening minute of play while Audi/Excalibur answered back with goals from Avery
Chapman and Ganzi. PB Equine/ELG cut the
lead to two goals, 10-8, with one chukker left in regulation play.
Biddle cut the Audi/Excalibur lead to a single goal, 10-9,
on a 60-yard neck shot in the opening minute of the sixth chukker. Roldan converted a penalty shot to give Audi/Excalibur
some breathing room, 11-9. With 51
seconds on the clock, Aguero scored from the field to cut the Audi/Excalibur
lead back to a single goal, 11-10, and with seconds on the clock and PB
Equine/ELG attacking, Audi/Excalibur fouled. Biddle made good on the penalty shot and the
two teams left the field to regroup and to mount up on fresh horses.
The two teams lined up for the sudden-death chukker, and
Aguero took the opening throw-in and raced down the field where he converted on
an 80-yard shot through the goalposts for the win.
Biddle was credited with eight goals on the day. Aguero scored three times including the game
winner. Chapman added a goal in the win. Ganzi scored five times (twice on penalty
shots) to lead the Audi/Excalibur attack with Gracida adding three goals and
Roldan scoring twice. The team also
received one goal by handicap.
The victory ushers PB Equine/ELG into Sunday’s 3PM finals
against Casablanca at Grand Champions Polo Club.
NEWPORT 13, BELUGA 6
In a morning contest that was played at the Palm City Polo
Club in Boca Raton, Newport scored a resounding 13-6 win over Beluga in a Pedro
Morrison Memorial Cup consolation match.
Newport took control for the early going and ran up a 6-3
lead at the end of the first half before running away with a 13-6 win.
Brandon Phillips and Joey Casey each scored twice for Beluga
and Misha Rodzianko added a goal. Beluga
also received one goal by handicap. A
balanced Newport attack had Kaisser Maakar scoring a game high five times. Michel Dorignac and Gene Goldstein each
scored three times with Luis Escobar scoring twice while supplying much needed
defensive support.