ERG and Restoration Hardware remain undefeated in Pacific Coast Open

By Alex Webbe

Restoration Hardware (Ben Soleimani, Hilario Ulloa, Adam Snow and Santi Von Wernich) struggled with a talented Lucchese (Andres Weisz, Tavi Usandizaga, Pelon Stirling and John Muse) polo team in the Thursday morning in the opening match of the second round of play in the 2013 Bombardier Pacific Coast Open on the Piocho Polo Field before racking up a 13-11 win.

Restoration Hardware Adam Snow and team captain Ben Soleimani scored single goals in the first chukker for a 2-0 lead.  Lucchese was unable to get on the scoreboard and trailed by two to start the match.

Second period play saw the two teams exchanging goals with Santi Von Wernich scoring a goal from the field and Hilario Ulloa converting a 40-yard penalty shot to put Restoration Hardware in the lead, 4-0.  Lucchese 10-goaler Pelon Stirling and teammate Tavi Usandizaga responded with goals, but Restoration Hardware left the field at the end of the chukker with a 4-2 advantage.

Lucchese clawed their way back into the game in the third period.  Usandizaga and Stirling scored two goals each while a coordinated defense kept Restoration Hardware from scoring from the field.  Restoration Hardware was held to a pair of penalty conversions from Ulloa.  At the end of the first half it was all even at 6-6.

Ulloa gave Restoration Hardware the lead with the opening goal of the second half, 7-6, but Lucchese seemed to have found their rhythm.  Two more goals from Stirling (one on a penalty shot) and a goal from the field from Andres Weisz had Lucchese taking the lead after the fourth chukker, 9-7.

Restoration Hardware wasted little time in bursting the Lucchese bubble as the fifth chukker got underway.  Ulloa scored three times (once on a 40-yard penalty conversion) and Snow added a goal.  The Lucchese attack dried up and Restoration Hardware recaptured the lead, 11-9 with one chukker left in regulation play.

Single goals from Weisz and Stirling were countered by a pair of penalty goals from Ulloa as Lucchese suffered their second consecutive loss, 13-11.

Ulloa scored five of his game-high nine goals on penalty conversions.  Snow added two goals while Von Wernich and Soleimani added single goals for the victory.  Stirling scored six times (twice on penalty shots) in the Lucchese loss.  Usandizaga added three goals and Weisz scored twice.

ERG 14, CATAMONT 4

ERG (Scott Wood, Sugar Erskine, Jeff Blake and Paco De Narvaez) took Scott Devon’s team to the woodshed Friday afternoon on the ERG field, scoring a humiliating 14-4 win over a frustrated Catamount (Scott Devon, Brandon Phillips, Julio Gracida and Mike Azzaro) lineup.

First chukker goals from Jeff Blake, Sugar Erskine and Paco de Narvaez were answered by a single goal from Mike Azzaro in the opening seven minutes of the game.  Catamount found themselves trailing by two goals, 3-1.

Second chukker goals from Julio Gracida and Brandon Phillips tied the score at 3-3.  Erskine’s second goal of the match pushed ERG ahead by one goal, 4-3, to end the chukker.

Third chukker goals from Erskine and de Narvaez went unanswered with ERG extending their lead to three goals, 6-3, to end the first half. 

ERG scored three more goals as Catamount was unable to mount any successful attacks in the fourth.  For the second consecutive period Catamount was unable to score, and now trailed by six goals, 9-3.

The fifth period looked like more of the same as an impotent Catamount defense was unable to slow down the ERG attack.  Two goals from Blake and Erskine’s fifth goal of the game had ERG distancing themselves from Catamount, 12-3.  A single goal from Phillips kept Catamount from being shutout, but they feel further behind, 12-4.

A 30-yard penalty shot from Erskine and a goal from the field from de Narvaez were the only goals scored in the final chukker of play.  Catamount was held scoreless for the third time in six chukkers and suffered a humbling 14-4 beat down.

Erskine was credited with six goals (one on a penalty conversion).  De Narvaez scored five times and Blake added three goals in the ERG win.  Phillips scored twice for Catamount.  Gracida and Azzaro added single goals in a losing effort.

LA HERRADURA 10, FMB 8

La Herradura (Alvaro Fernandez, Marianito Obregon, Memo Gracida, Carlos Gracida) watched FMB (Dan Walker, Inaki Laprida, Lucas Criado and Henry Walker) score first, but rebounded to take a 7-4 halftime lead on their way to a 10-8 win.

Lucas Criado scored the first goal of the game, but La Herradura responded in force.  Single goals from Marianito Obregon, Carlos Gracida (penalty goal), Alvaro Fernandez and Memo Gracida gave them a 4-1 advantage after the opening chukker, a lead they would hold throughout the course of the game.

Obregon scored from the field and Carlos Gracida converted another 30-yard penalty shot for La Herradura.  Criado added two goals (one on a 40-yard penalty shot) with La Herradura maintaining their three goals lead, 6-3.

Well-coordinated defensive efforts held down the scoring in the third chukker.  Criado scored his fourth goal of the game while Carlos Gracida converted his third penalty shot for a goal.  After three chukkers, La Herradura continued to lead by three goals, 7-4.

Second half action saw Criado and Memo Gracida exchange goals.  The three goal La Herradura lead was intact at the end of the fourth chukker, 8-5.

A fifth period goal from Criado, 8-6, was answered by single goals from Memo Gracida and Obregon.  The La Herradura lead had been expanded to four goals, 10-6, with one chukker left to play.

La Herradura were content to let up a bit in the final chukker, allowing single goals from Inaki Laprida and Criado as they held on for a 10-8 victory.

Criado led all scoring with seven goals, Laprida added a goal for the loss.  A balanced La Herradura attack had Obregon, Carlos and Memo Gracida scoring three goals apiece (all three of Carlos’s goals came on penalty shots).  Fernandez added a goal for the victory.

The win kept La Herradura alive in the race for the Pacific Coast Open title with a 1-1 record.  FMB fell to 1-1 with the loss.  ERG and Restoration Hardware remained perfect at 2-0 while Catamount and Lucchese sunk to 0-2.

Pacific coast Open play will resume on Sunday, August 25 with ERG (2-0) facing La Herradura (1-1) at 10AM; Restoration Hardware (2-0) will take on Catamount (0-2) at 1PM; followed by a battle between FMB (1-1) and Lucchese (0-2) in the 3PM match.