White Birch wins Monty Waterbury opener 9-6 over Lechuza

By Alex Webbe

Powered by six goals from Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon, White Birch (Del Walton,

Joao Ganon, Matias Magrini, and Remington Muller) beat Lechuza (Victor Vargas,

Tomas Goti, Juan Martin Nero, Mariano Gracida) in the opening game of the 20-goal

Monty Waterbury Cup Saturday afternoon at the Bridgehampton Polo Club Saturday

afternoon.

All the goals in the opening chukker came as the result of fouls with Joao Ganon

scoring for White Birch with a penalty conversion in the opening minutes of play.  

Tomas Goti and Victor Vargas converted penalty shots for Lechuza who left the field

with a 2-1 lead.

A 60-yard penalty shot from Goti stretched the Lechuza lead to two goals, 3-1, to open

the second period.  Ganon responded with a pair of goals for White Birch and it was all

even at 3-3.  

The third chukker belonged to White Birch.  Ganon scored on a pair of penalty shots

followed by a goal from the field from Matias Magrini.  Lechuza was unable to break

through the White Birch defense and fell behind 6-3 at the end of the first half.

Magrini’s second goal of the game put White Birch on top by four goals, 7-3, in the

fourth chukker when Lechuza returned fire.  Goti scored three goals in a row (one on a

penalty shot) to end the period just one goal off of the lead, 7-6.

Goals from Ganon and Del Walton went unanswered in the fifth.  The chukker ended

with White Birch carrying a three goal, 9-6, lead into the final chukker.

Goti’s sixth goal of the game was sandwiched between goals from Walton, as the White

Birch lead grew to 11-7.  Lechuza’s Mariano Gracida and Juan Martin Nero scored the

final goals of the game for Lechuza but it was White Birch with the 11-9 win.

Ganon was credited with six goals for White Birch.  Carroll added three goals and

nabbed MVP honors.  Magrini scored twice in the victory.  Goti led Lechuza with six

goals.  Nero, Gracida and Vargas each scored a goal in the loss.

Mariano Aguerre’s Deenali, played by Joao Ganon, was honored as Best Playing Pony.