Audi and Piaget headed for the USPA Eastern Challenge finals

By Alex Webbe

Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Moritz Gaedeke, Brandon Phillips and Brandon Phillips) opened the day with a 9-7 win over a competitive Longfield polo team (Hannah Buchan, Martin Estrada, Joey Casey and J. J. Celis) at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington while Audi (Grant Ganzi, Marc Ganzi, Lucas Lalor and Mike Azzaro) outlasted ELG/Palm House (Glen Straub, Carlucho Arellano, Tommy Biddle and Avery Chapman) and Pony Express (Bob Daniels, Justin Daniels, Pancho Eddy and Tomas Goti) in a round-robin contest later in the day to set the scene for the finals of the 2012 USPA Eastern Challenge at noon on Sunday, May 19^th.

Longfield received one goal by handicap to start the game, but less than a minute-and-a-half later Brandon Phillips tied it up by converting a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal, 1-1. Smothering defenses on both sides of the ball eliminated any further scoring. The first chukker ended in a 1-1 tie.

Phillips put Piaget on top, 2-1, with a goal from the field midway through the second period. J. J. Celis scored on a penalty shot for Longfield, and it was all even at 2-2 with 2:15 left in the chukker. Piaget team captain Melissa Ganzi and Longfield’s Joey Casey closed out the period with single goals for a 3-3 tie.

Piaget controlled the ball in the third chukker, and Phillips gave the lead back to Piaget at the 6:03 mark. An effective Piaget defense shut Longfield out for the balance of the period while Phillips scored again with 2:26 left in the first half. Longfield was unable to get on the scoreboard and at the end of the third chukker Piaget was ahead, 5-3.

Phillips continued to dominate the field, scoring is third consecutive goal of the match in the opening 30 seconds of the second half, 6-3. Celis took advantage of a Piaget infraction and converted a penalty shot for a goal, 6-4. Phillips ended the chukker with a 40-yard penalty conversion and a goal from the field. With two chukkers left in regulation time Piaget was riding an 8-4 lead.

An injury sidelined Joey Casey for the final two chukkers with Paul Knapp ably filling in. Knapp wasted little time in contributing to the team effort, scoring a goal from the field in the first minute of the chukker. Piaget continued to lead, 8-5. Germany’s Moritz Gaedeke Scored his first goal of the afternoon for a 9-5 Piaget lead, but Longfield would have the last word. Hannah Buchan scored with 1:06 on the clock, and Longfield trailed by just three goals with a whole chukker left to be played.

Longfield pressed it attack in the final chukker, but it was not to be. A stellar Piaget defense limited Longfield to a single goal from Buchan. 9-7, but that would be as close as they would get. The match ended with Piaget riding off with the 9-7 victory.

Phillips led all scoring with seven goals. Melissa Ganzi and Moritz Gaedeke added single goals for the win. Celis registered three goals for Longfield with Buchan adding a pair of goals from the field. Casey and Knapp each added a goal in the loss.

AUDI TAKES ROUND-ROBIN

Pony Express made an early claim on the second berth in the finals of the USPA Eastern Challenge at the Grand Champions Polo Club by scoring a 7-5 win over ELG/Palm House in the opening three chukkers of a three team round-robin.

Tomas Goti led the Pony Express attack with three goals (two on penalty shots) Pancho Eddy scored twice and Justin Daniels added a goal for the win. Tommy Biddle scored two of his three goals from the penalty line for ELG/Palm House while both of Carlucho Arellano’s goals came on penalty shots.

ELG/Palm House held the field for the ensuing three periods of play against a talented Audi lineup, and showed early on that they were up to the task. Goals from the field from Glen Straub and Carlucho Arellano had then ahead 2-0 at the end of the first chukker of play.

Audi found their rhythm in the second period. Mike Azzaro scored twice from the field and Lucas Lalor scored once. Shutout defense was applied by the Audi team. Audi was leading 3-2 with one chukker to be played.

Marc Ganzi scored his first goal of the game in the third period to put Audi on top, 4-2, and his son Grant Ganzi extended the Audi lead to three goals, 5-2 with time running out. Biddle split the uprights on a beautifully placed shot for the final goal of the game as Audi rode off with the 5-3 win.

The Audi win boosts them into Sunday’s noon finals while Pony Express, ELG/Palm House and Longfield will met on Sunday morning at 9:30am for the consolation cup.