USPA National Twenty-Goal
Championship finals set
By Alex Webbe
Wins by Audi (Marc Ganzi, Carlos Gracida, Nic Roldan and Carlitos Gracida) and
Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Jeff Hall, Juan Bollini and Juan Badiola) Friday afternoon set the
stage for a rematch of the finals of the North America Cup as the two teams will face
one another in the finals of the 2012 USPA National Twenty-Goal tournament.
Audi secured the first berth in the finals with a 10-7 win over a La Karina team (Brian
Boyd, Esteban Panelo, Brandon Phillips and Mariano Gonzalez) that couldn’t quite
match the runs and passes of their opponent.
La Karina received one goal by handicap but watched Audi team captain Marc Ganzi
convert a pair of penalty shots. La Karina was unable to score and fell behind, 2-1.
Argentine 7-goaler Mariano Gonzalez scored two unanswered goals in the second
chukker, converting a penalty shot and adding another goal from the field. La Karina
left the field with a one goal lead, 3-2.
Marc Ganzi added two more goals to the Audi total in the third, scoring once from the
field and adding another penalty goal as well. For the second time in three chukkers La
Karina couldn’t score a goal. Audi led after the first half of play, 4-3.
The pace picked up in the fourth with Nic Roldan scoring to put Audi ahead, 5-3, but
La Karina stormed back. Mariano Gonzalez scored on a penalty shot, 5-4. Carlitos
Gracida’s goal put Audi back on top with a two goals lead, 6-4, but La Karina continued
to press the attack. A final penalty conversion from Mariano Gonzalez ended the
chukker with Audi on top, 6-5.
Nic Roldan opened the fifth chukker with a goal for Audi, 7-5, but La Karina wasn’t going
to give up without a fight. A penalty goal from Esteban Panelo ended the period with La
Karina trailing by a single goal, 7-6.
A goal from Roldan was countered by a scoring shot from Gonzalez. Audi defended
the narrow one goal lead, 8-7, with three minutes left to play in regulation time, but
that was when Audi came to life. Consecutive goals from the field from Roldan and
Carlos Gracida ended the match with Audi scoring the win and earning an invitation to
Sunday’s 3PM finals.
Marc Ganzi and Nic Roldan scored four goals apiece. Teammates Carlos and Carlitos
Gracida scored single goals in the win.
Mariano Gonzalez’s five goals led all scorers in the game. Esteban Panelo added a
goal and La Karina received one goal by handicap.
PIAGET 10, KIG 8
In the second match of the afternoon, Piaget took advantage of a second half rally to
defeat KIG (Bash Kazi, Hector Galindo, Sugar Erskine and Kris Kampsen) and earn a
ticket to Sunday’s USPA National Twenty-Goal finals against Audi.
An interesting dynamic of the final pairing include the fact that husband (Marc Ganzi)
and wife (Melissa) are meeting one week after the two fought one another in the finals
of the USPA North America Cup (Audi turned the tide on a last chukker rally to register
a 6-5 win).
The 18-goal Piaget team received one goal by handicap but was unable to score in the
opening chukker. A penalty goal from KIG’s Kris Kampsen and a goal from the field
from Hector Galindo ended the first period with KIG protecting a narrow 2-1 advantage.
Runs up and down the field were punctuated by shots that sailed wide of goal before
Kampsen finally connected to move KIG in front, 3-1. Hall scored on a penalty shot and
the chukker ended with KIG still leading by a goal, 3-2.
Goals from Galindo and Kampsen (penalty) were answered by two penalty goals from
Hall. KIG ended the first half with a narrow 5-4 lead.
A fresh Piaget opened the second half with an onslaught of goals with Juan Bollini
scoring for the first time on the day and Hall adding three more to the Audi total (two on
penalty conversions), 8-5. Piaget had finally wrestled the lead away from KIG and was
looking forward to a Sunday rematch with Audi.
Hall’s seventh goal of the game had Piaget extending its lead to four goals, 9-5. Goals
from the field from Kampsen and Galindo cut the lead to two goals. The fifth chukker
ended with Piaget holding on to a 9-7 edge.
KIG pressured Piaget into fouling with less than two minutes to play. Kampsen
converted the penalty shot, but that was the end of it. The final horn sounded with
Piaget celebrating its 10-8 victory.
Hall led all scoring with eight goals (six on penalty shots). Bollini added a goal and the
team received one goal by handicap.
Kampsen set the pace for KIG with five goals (three on penalty shots). Galindo added
three more goals in the loss.
"Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly" 
Rabii Benadada
