Cinque Terre to meet Newport in USPA Eastern Challenge Cup Finals
By Alex Webbe
Marc Ganzi scored six goals in leading Cinque Terre to a resounding 9-4 win over Elangani to move into the finals of the 2010 USPA Eastern Challenge Cup at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Friday morning.
After a scoreless opening chukker of play Elangani got off to 2-0 lead in the second period on goals from Sugar Erskine and Diego Cossio as Cinque Terre was shut out for the second consecutive time.
Elangani went up 3-0 on Erskine’s second goal of the game before Nic Roldan converted a penalty shot to finally get Cinque Terre on the scoreboard. The first half ended with Elangani holding on to a 3-1 lead.
Erskine scored his third goal of the game for Elangani as the second half opened, but three goals from Ganzi tied the game at 4-4 as the fourth chukker ended.
Ganzi scored two more goals in the fifth while teammate Alessandro Bazzoni scored his first goal of the game. Cinque Terre’s took a 7-4 advantage as its defense held Elangani scoreless to end the chukker.
Lucas Lalor and Ganzi added single goals in the final chukker of the game as Elangani scrambled to get its offense on track, but the final horn sounded with Cinque Terre registering a 9-4 win and a spot in Sunday’s finals.
PONY EXPRESS MOVES TO FINALS WITH DOUBLE WIN
Argentine 7-goaler Tomas Goti scored six goals as Pony Express downed both Endeavor and Newport by identical 5-4 scores in round-robin competition to qualify for the finals of the USPA Eastern Challenge Cup.
Newport opened the three-team competition by scoring a handy 8-3 win over Endeavor in the opening round of play with Michel Dorignac setting the pace with three goals and every member of the team getting on the scoreboard.
Endeavor held the field for the next three chukkers, but fared little better, falling to Pony Express by the score of 5-4.
Kris Kampsen score three times for Endeavor, and team captain Larry Austin added a goal, but four goals from Tomas Goti led the Pony Express charge to a 5-4 win.
The final round of the day had Pony Express (1-0) and Newport facing one another in a do or die scenario.
With a net goal advantage of four extra goals, Newport could move into the finals with either a win or a tie while Pony Express needed the win to advance.
Newport jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from J. J Celis and Gene Goldstein before Pony Express answered with a goal from Tomas Goti, and the battle was on.
In a low-scoring affair that was tied four times, Pony Express got a penalty conversion from Goti in the final chukker of play for the 5-4 win and a berth in the championship match.
The finals of the 2010 USPA Eastern Challenge Cup will be played at 11 am on Sunday, May 16 between Cinque Terre and Pony Express. Newport, Endeavor and Elangani will participate in a 9 am round-robin in the tournament’s consolation bracket.