Zacara scores in last second for the win
By Alex Webbe
“They left it all on the field,†said polo veteran Mimi Gracida, wife of Memo and mother of Patagones 4-goaler Julio Gracida. “It was a great contest,†she added,
Zacara had just finished hander her son’s Patagones a 10-9 loss in the final seconds of play in a game that included injured players and game delays that made the game seem as if it would never end in Ylvisaker Cup competition at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
In a defense-oriented, low-scoring contest that saw Zacara take a 4-2 lead after three chukkers of play, Patagones charged back from a fourth chukker abyss that had then trailing by four goals, 7-3, to tie and then take the lead in the frantic last chukker of the match.
“They were the toughest team we’ve played,†said Hall, “and they played us really well, but in the end we found a way to win.â€
Gonzalo scored the first goal of the game when brother Carlos Avendano hit a penalty shot from midfield 130 yards down the field to a waiting mallet. Gonzalo scooped it up and drove it through the goal posts for a 1-0 Patagones lead. Jeff Hall got Zacara on the scoreboard minutes later on a penalty conversion, but Patagones took back the lead, 2-1, on a chukker-ending penalty shot from Carlos Gracida.
Zacara returned to the field a resolute team. Holding Patagones scoreless for the next two chukkers, Hall and company scored three unanswered goals, with Toto Collardin and Hall scoring single goals from the field in the second frame and Gonzalo del Tour adding another goal in the third for the 4-2 lead.
After the halftime break, a penalty goal from Carlos Gracida cut the Patagones lead to a single goal, 4-3, and then Zacara took over.
“We struggled in the first half of the game,†said Hall, “we had trouble finding any rhythm. I kept telling the guys to hang in there, we’d get it eventually.â€
That time seemed to come for Zacara in the fourth chukker. Three straight goals from Zacara (Collardin 2, Hall 1) gave them a 7-3 lead, as they dominated the field for the first time all afternoon.
“I really thought we had it together, and then the Penalty 1 happened,†he added.
Carlos Gracida had cut the Zacara lead to two goals as he converted two more penalty shots when it happened.
In an effort to carry the ball through the opposition and through the posts, Carlos Avendano was knocked from his horse, and he somersaulted over the goal line. A rarely-given Penalty 1 was awarded to Patagones automatically awarding them a goal ( 7-6) and calling for a “throw-in†ten yards in front of the Zacara goal.
Patagones took control of the throw-in, and Carlos Gracida scored his third goal of the chukker to even it at 7-7, and a renewed Patagones team left the field all even with one chukker left to play.
“I thought we had it all wrapped up,†said Hall, “but when we left to change onto fresh horses I told the guys that we had to hang in there, that we had to get our rhythm back and win it.â€
Carlos Avendano scored the first goal of the final chukker to put Patagones on top, 8-7, for the first time since the second chukker. Collardin rallied to score the tying goal for Zacara, and Hall converted a penalty shot go take the lead back, 9-8. Carlos Arellano pressed the Patagones attack, scoring another tying goal, but it was not to be.
Both teams battled back and forth for control of the game when Collardin broke free and scored the final goal of the game with just seconds on the clock n the 10-9 Zacara win.
The Ylvisaker Cup continues on Thursday with a pair of noon contests that will feature John Muse’s Lucchese (3-0) foursome and the Hawks (2-0) on one field, and the Wanderers/Isla Carroll (2-1) playing Bendabout (1-1) on another.