Aspen and Dazos Kick-Off U.S. Open Polo Championship® Victorious
Beginning competition in U.S. Open Polo Championship and the final leg of the Gauntlet of Polo at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), Aspen (Mariano Gonzalez, Francisco ‘Pancho’ Bensadon, Rufino Bensadon, Stewart Armstrong) took on Two Trees by Jefferies (Will Johnston, Mariano Aguerre, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Juan Sánchez Elia), followed by La Elina (Matt Coppola, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Escobar, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni) facing Dazos (David Farache, Dylan Rossiter, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Pieres, Santiago ‘Santi’ Torres).
Seeking their first victory of the high-goal season, Johnston led the opening charge for Two Trees by Jefferies, scoring five goals on six shots. Responding for Aspen, the combined efforts of Armstrong, Rufino Bensadon and Gonzalez kept Aspen within two. Despite a two-goal effort from Two Trees by Jefferies’ Astrada, the third chukker was dominated by the Bensadon’s with Pancho capping off the chukker on back-to-back field goals to tie the match 7-all. Emerging from the break, the youngest Bensadon was simply unstoppable in the field scoring five goals in open play. Entering the third chukker trailing by three, contributions from Johnston, Astrada and Aguerre kept Aspen within striking distance, but Rufino Bensadon’s nine goal performance pushed Aspen over the finish line for the 14-12 victory.
In the second match of Tuesday’s doubleheader, La Elina and Dazos initiated play matching each other stride-for-stride. Trading goals in the first chukker, the high scoring first half featured a balanced offensive effort from La Elina’s Zenni and Coppola. Breaking through in the second chukker, Dazos’ Pieres took control scoring six goals on seven shots, including three at the penalty line to give his team a 9-6 advantage at the half. Pushing back in the second half, a three-goal forth chukker for La Elina was complimented with three goals more goals from another team effort of Coppola, Pieres and Hall. Trailing by just one goal to open the sixth, a crucial conversion from Zenni tied the match 13-all, but a Pieres’ eleventh goal on the day delivered Dazos the thrilling 14-13 win and their first victory of the Gauntlet.
Best Playing Pony honors were award to “Jennifer,” played by Rufino Bensadon and owned by Francisco ‘Pancho’ Bensadon and “Open Reebok,” played and owned by Nicolas ‘Nico’ Pieres.
Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, March 29
Shack Attack (0-0) vs La Fe (0-0) at 10:00am ET
All games of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will be livestreamed exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.
Photo Credit: David Lominska