A full day of polo at IPC nets five winners
By Alex Webbe
It was a full day of polo in the 2014 20-goal Joe Barry Memorial Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington as no less than ten teams took the field in ongoing tournament competition.
Winning teams on the day were Tonkawa (2-0), Coca-Cola (2-0), Orchard Hill (1-1), Palm Beach Illustrated (1-1) and Faraway (1-1). Losers were Audi (1-1), Villa Del Lago/Casablanca (1-1), Los Machitos (1-1), CT Energia (0-2) and El Cabure (0-2).
Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalito Pieres, Rodrigo Andrade and Tomas Alberdi) scored one of the early victories with a hard-fought 10-9 overtime win over Audi (Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Nic Roldan and Nico Pieres).
Gonzalito Pieres scored the first goal of the game for Tonkawa followed by three consecutive Audi goals from Nic Roldan, Carlitos Gracida and Nico Pieres. At the end of the opening chukker Audi held a 3-1 advantage.
The two teams traded goals in the second with Rodrigo Andrade scoring from the field for Tonkawa while Nic Roldan converted a penalty shot for an Audi Goal. Audi maintained their two goal lead, 4-2.
Third chukker goals from Andrade and Tomas Alberdi tied it up at 4-4. Roldan scored from the field for Audi, who left the field at the end of the first half on top of a delicate 5-4 lead.
Nico Pieres and his brother Gonzalito Pieres traded goals in the fourth for the only scoring. Audi remained on top, 6-5.
Tonkawa rallied to score three unanswered goals in the fifth. Andrade scored twice while Alberdi scored his second of the day. With one chukker left in regulation play, Tonkawa found themselves in possession of an 8-6 edge.
Three of the four scores in the sixth chukker came on penalty goals with Roldan scoring on two of them for an 8-8 tie. Carlitos Gracida put Audi ahead, 9-8, with his second goal of the match. Gonzalito Pieres tied it up at 9-9 with just 1:11 left in regulation time. The clock ran out on both teams and a sudden-death overtime was readied.
A minute-and-a-half into the overtime, Andrade broke away and headed toward the Audi goal. An ensuing foul sent Tonkawa to the penalty line where he converted the penalty shot for the winning goal, 10-9.
Pieres and Andrade scored four goals apiece in the win. Alberdi added two. Audi’s Roldan led all scoring with five goals (three on penalty shots). Nico Pieres and Gracida added two goals each in the loss.
COCA-COLA 13, VILLA DEL LAGO/CASABLANCA 12 OT
In the second overtime match of the day, Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nick Morrison) scored a 13-12 win over a powerful Villa Del Lago/Casablanca team (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Polito Pieres and Inaki Laprida).
Coca-Cola scored the first five goals of the match, with team captain Gillian Johnston scoring twice in the opening chukker for a 2-0 lead.
Julio Arellano added two more in the second and Jeff Hall scored as Coca-Cola ran up a 5-1 score with Polito Pieres scoring on a penalty goal for Villa Del Lago/Casablanca.
Villa Del Lago/Casablanca picked up a pair of goals from Pieres (one on a penalty conversion) and a single goal from Inaki Laprida in the third but Johnston’s third goal of the game had Coca-Cola leading 6-4 at the end of the first half.
Pieres and Arellano exchanged goals in the fourth with each scoring three times. Two of Arellano’s goals came on penalty shots; Pieres scored all three of his goals from the penalty line. Coca-Cola continued to lead, 9-7.
Fifth chukker goals from Johnston and Hall were offset by three more penalty conversions from Pieres. Villa Del Lago/Casablanca had made up some ground, and trailed Coca-Cola by a single goal, 11-10 with one chukker left in regulation play.
Johnston’s fifth goal of the day stretched the Coca-Cola lead to two goals, 12-10, when Villa Del Lago/Casablanca staged a rally. A goal from Agustin Obregon cut the lead back to a single goal, 12-11, and Pieres added the tying goal to force overtime.
The deciding goal of the game came from American 9-goaler, Julio Arellano, for the Coca-Cola overtime 13-12 victory.
Pieres led the field in scoring with ten goals on the day (eight on penalty conversions). Obregon and Laprida added single goals in the loss. Arellano scored six times for Coca-Cola (three on penalties). Johnston added five goals from the field and Hall scored twice (once on a penalty shot) for the win.
ORCHARD HILL 13, LOS MACHITOS 7
Los Machitos (Steve Lefkowitz, Matias Magrini, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) took the early lead but a powerful Orchard Hill offense (Matias Sosa, Lucas Criado, Facundo Pieres and Marcos Alberdi) took the lead in the second period and never trailed as they registered a convincing 13-7 win behind nine goals from Facundo Pieres.
Mariano Aguerre, Matias Magrini and Sterling Giannico each scored a goal in the opening chukker for a 3-0 lead. Facundo Pieres finally got Orchard Hill on the scoreboard with a penalty goal, but trailed Los Machitos by two goals, 3-1, after the first chukker.
Pieres scored three times in the second chukker, opening with a goal from the field and adding a pair of 60-yard penalty conversions to the mix for a 4-3 lead.
Single goals from Steve Lefkowitz and Magrini were answered by a pair of goals from Lucas Criado. At the end of the first half, Orchard Hill owned a 6-5 lead.
Three third chukker goals grew the Orchard Hill lead to four goals in the fourth as Los Machitos was unable to score. Criado added two more goals and Pieres added a goal from the field. Orchard left the field at the end of the chukker on top of a 9-5 score.
Pieres scored two more goals in the fifth chukker (one on a penalty shot) while Los Machitos was held to a single score from Magrini. Orchard Hill led by five goals, 11-6, going into the final chukker.
Pieres added two more goals from the field in the final frame with Magrini scoring the final goal of the game on a penalty shot with 38 seconds to play. The victory went to Orchard Hill behind a 13-7 score.
Pieres led the Orchard Hill attack with nine goals (four on penalty shots). Criado added the other four goals for the win. Magrini was credited with four goals for Los Machitos. Teammates Lefkowitz, Aguerre and Giannico each added a goal in a losing cause.
FARAWAY 13, CT ENERGIA 12
Faraway (Hutton Goodman, Martin Pepa, Santiago Chavanne and Mariano Gonzalez) evened its record at 1-1 behind ten goals from Mariano Gonzalez as they handed CT Energia (Alessandro Bazzoni, Kris Kampsen, Joao Ganon and Nick Manifold) their second consecutive loss in a 13-12 squeaker.
CT Energia received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal Faraway team and scored first on a goal from the field from Kris Kampsen, 2-0. Mariano Gonzalez answered with a goal for Faraway, 2-1. Alessandro Bazzoni and Santiago Chavanne traded goals to end the chukker with CT Energia enjoying a 3-2 advantage.
Faraway ticked off three straight goals to open the second period of play. Martin Pepa scored his first goal of the game and Gonzalez added two more for a 5-3 Faraway lead. Joao Ganon scored on a penalty shot to cut the Faraway lead to a single goal, 5-4.
CT Energia reeled off three consecutive goals to open the third chukker, tying it at 5-5 on Bazzoni’s second goal of the match and taking a two goal lead, 7-5, on goals from Ganon. Gonzalez responded for Faraway by converting a 40-yard penalty shot and a 60-yard penalty shot to end the first half all even at 7-7.
Kampsen opened the second half with a go-ahead goal from the field for Faraway, 8-7, but Faraway stormed back. Three straight goals from Gonzalez ended the period with Faraway in front, 10-8.
Both team’s defenses pressed in the fifth. Ganon scored a goal from the field while Faraway was held to a single penalty goal from Gonzalez. Faraway continued to lead, 11-9.
CT Energia scored twice form the field in the final chukker and was awarded a penalty goal for a 12 goal total Faraway got single goals from Chavanne and Gonzalez and held on for the 13-12 win.
Gonzalez scored seven of his game high ten goals from the field. Chavanne added two goals and Pepa scored once for the victory. Ganon led the CT Energia team with five goals. Kampsen scored three times, Bazzoni added two goals; and the team got one goal by handicap and another on a Penalty 1.
PALM BEACH ILLUSTRATED 11, EL CABURE 4
Palm Beach Illustrated (Jared Zenni, Facundo Obregon, Magoo Laprida and Tommy Collingwood defeated El Cabure (Federico Virasoro, Carlucho Arellano, Agustin Merlos and Stevie Orthwein) 11-4 in a lackluster performance that had the spectators yawning after a 3-3 halftime tie.
First chukker goals from Magoo Laprida, Facundo Obregon and Jared Zenni had Palm Beach Illustrated in front, 3-1 with Agustin Merlos accounting for the only first period goal for El Cabure, but the interest quickly faded. In what looked like a parody of the “gang that couldn’t shot straight the two teams struggled to put anything between the goalposts.
For the next two chukkers Palm Beach Illustrated was unable to create any effective offense and the two goals that El Cabure managed came on penalty conversions that led to a ho-hum, 3-3 halftime score.
The second half, however, belonged to Palm Beach Illustrated.
Facundo Obregon converted three penalty goals in the fourth while El Cabure was unable to score. Palm Beach Illustrated led, 6-3. Goals from Magoo Laprida and Tommy Collingwood in the fifth had Palm Beach Illustrated on top, 8-4, with Merlos converting a short penalty shot for El Cabure.
Three more unanswered goals from Palm Beach Illustrated came in the sixth and final chukker as Zenni, Laprida and Collingwood added single goals for the 11-4 final.
Obregon led a balanced Palm Beach Illustrated attack with four goals. Laprida added three goals while Zenni and Collingwood scored two goals each. Merlos scored all four of El Cabure’s goals (three on penalty shots).
Action continues on Friday in the 2014 J0e Barry Memorial Cup with an 11:30am contest between Flight Options (0-1) and Lechuza Caracas (0-1).
"Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly" 
Rabii Benadada
