Pony Express Takes La Martina Cup
By Alex Webbe
Pony Express got two goals by handicap and built up a 6-5 lead over Cinque Terre before holding on to take home a 10-9 win in the 2019 La Martina Cup at the Grand Champions Polo Club on Sunday morning.
Marc Ganzi converted a penalty shot followed by a goal from the field from Alessandro Bazzoni to even the score at 2-2 after the opening chukker of play.
Ganzi blasted his second goal of the game through to open the scoring in the second chukker, but that would be the extent of the Cinque Terre offense for a while.
Goals from Stevie Orthwein and Tomas Goti gave Pony Express a 4-3 lead going into the third period of play.
A pair of penalty goals from Goti in the third were offset by a goal from the field from Lucas Lalor and a penalty conversion from Roldan, but Pony Express left the field at the end of the first half with a 6-5 lead.
Another penalty goal from Roldan tied the game at 6-6 before Ganzi put Cinque Terre ahead, 7-6. Goti made good on another penalty goal shot to end the chukker in a 7-7 tie.
Pony Express got it going in the fifth chukker with Goti scoring twice from the field for a 9-7 advantage. Roldan ended the scoring in the chukker with a goal from the field, but Cinque Terre trailed by a single goal, 9-8.
Roldan scored his fourth goal of the game in the final chukker to even it again at 9-9, but the final blow of the game would come from Goti. In a desperate scoring effort, Goti unloaded on the ball from an extreme angle to his right side of the goal with less than ninety seconds left in the game. Initially waved off as going wide, Cinque Terre’s Nic Roldan confirmed that the shot was good, and Pony Express managed to hold on to the narrow 10-9 lead for the win.
Goti led all scoring with seven goals. Stevie Orthwein added a goal and Pony Express received two goals by handicap.
Nic Roldan scored four times for Cinque Terre. Marc Ganzi added three goals and Lucas Lalor and Alessandro Bazzoni scored single goals in the loss.
For his efforts, Alessandro Bazzoni was named tournament MVP.
NEWPORT DOWNS ENDEAVOR AND BOCA DEVELOPERS IN ROUND ROBIN
Newport scored consecutive wins over Endeavor (6-1) and Boca Developers (4-2) to take top honors in the afternoon round-robin.
With a balanced attack that saw all four members of the Newport team get on the scoreboard, Newport started out with a domineering 6-1 win over an Endeavor team that struggled with its offense.
Newport got a single goal by handicap and then relied on a pair of goals from Isabella Wolf and single goals from Gene Goldstein, Michel Dorignac and J. J. Celis in the afternoon opener.
Boca Developers shut out Newport in the next tilt, but goals from Celis and Goldstein gave them a 2-0 lead after two chukkers. Wolf put Newport up 3-0 on a penalty conversion in the final chukker, but Boca Developers responded with a penalty goal from Sunny Hale.
Goldstein scored his second goal of the match before Boca Developer’s Joey Casey ended the scoring with a goal from the field. Newport took the game with a 4-2 final score.
ENDEAVOR TOPS BOCA DEVELOPERS
The offensive punch the Endeavor team was looking for in their earlier matchup with Newport showed up in time for its showdown with Boca Developers as they handed the winless team a 6-1 beating.
Sugar Erskine, Del Walton and Brad Scherer scored two goals apiece in the one-sided romp, allowing Boca Developers a single penalty goal in the course of their three-chukker match.
Tournament play will continue on Thursday, May 6 with the USPA Sun Cup. The finals of the cup are slated to be played on Sunday, May 9.