Monterosso and MT Vikings Claim Victories in Cartier Queen’s Cup
The second day in the 2020 Cartier Queen’s Cup saw a successful debut for MT Vikings, defeating Park Place Vaara 9-7, while Monterosso displayed a potent offense in a 13-10 victory over Polo Stud Schockemohle at Guards Polo Club.
An evenly matched game from the onset, little separated MT Vikings and Park Place Vaara throughout the opening half. Inaccurate 33% shooting kept Park Place Vaara from taking control of the game, while a dominant defensive performance in the second half from MT Vikings limited their opponents to just two shots at goal. The duo of Juan Martin Zubia and James Beim combined for all nine goals for MT Vikings, leaving Sebastian Merlos to effectively man the back of the game to lead MT Vikings to the 9-7 victory.
Providing unrelenting pressure throughout the entire first chukka, Park Place Vaara outshot MT Vikings 5-0, but were unable to convert any of their attempts. The only goal in the opening seven minutes came on a Penalty 2 conversion from Juan Britos to give Park Place Vaara the 1-0 lead. A quick pace was set over the second and third chukkas in end-to-end action with MT Vikings receiving one goal each from Beim and Zubia to tie the score at 2-2. A second penalty conversion for Britos in the third chukka accounted for half of his Park Place Vaara’s goals but converting just two of their 10 attempts created an opening for MT Vikings as they restored the tie at 4-4 entering the second half.
After a clean first half, Park Place Vaara found themselves in foul trouble, committing six fouls over the fourth and fifth chukkas that resulted in perfect 3 for 3 shooting from Juan Martin Zubia. Adding penalty goals to their offense, MT Vikings found momentum in the second half, pushing into the lead with a 5-2 run. Continuing to utilize their strategy with Merlos defending and Beim as well as Zubia attacking forward, MT Vikings held a commanding three-goal lead with one chukka remaining. Effectively protecting their lead, MT Vikings conceded just one goal to Santos Merlos, to complete the 9-7 victory.
An impressive offensive performance from Monterosso highlighted the second game of the day, with all four players finding the scoresheet, including three goals from Alessandro Bazzoni and six from Ignacio Toccalino. With the whistle blown rarely in the match, Monterosso dominated possession to outshoot Polo Stud Schockemohle 25-6 and keep the ball in the attacking half. Despite conceding four goals to handicap at the start of the game, Monterosso overwhelmed Polo Stud Schockemohle in the 13-10 victory.
Newcomer to Polo Stud Schockemohle’s line-up, Juan Gris Zavaleta opened the scoring for his team, looking to extend on their four-goal advantage, but Monterosso applied the early pressure, scoring three goals on four shots, two of which came off the mallet of Toccalino. Utilizing Bazzoni in the #1 position, Monterosso erased the deficit from handicap, scoring three goals for the second consecutive chukka to tie the game at 6-6. Scoring all three goals for Polo Stud Schockemohle in the first half, Zavaleta fought to keep pace with Monterosso, but Toccalino responded with another goal to leave the two teams even at 7-7.
Left to play the remainder of the game on even footing, Polo Stud Schockemohle struggled to produce enough scoring chances at goal, managing just two shots throughout the entire second half, while Monterosso continued to relentlessly shoot at goal. Passing effectively from the back of the game, Jeronimo del Carril produced two assists to push Monterosso into the 10-8 lead and forcing Polo Stud Schockemohle to find an offensive spark with two minutes remaining. The constant pressure of Monterosso proved to be too much, highlighting an exceptional team performance that saw them shoot 52% from the field to capture the impressive 13-10 victory.
Photo Images of Polo
All matches remain behind closed doors but every game is being filmed and can be viewed LIVE via a pay per view service at guardspoloclub.com/guards-tv.