Action continued in the 2016 Top Pony 12-Goal Series at the Grand Champions Polo Club on Sunday with three games taking place in the eight team field.
In one of the two morning games, Heathcote (Gene Goldstein, Lucas Arellano, Michel Dorignac and Tatin Zubiaurre) remained undefeated with a 10-6 win over Beverly Polo (Bill Balhaus, Wes Finlayson, Ramiro Cordero and Luis Escobar).
Luis Escobar opened the scoring with a goal from the field for the early 1-0 Beverly Polo lead. Heathcote responded with goals from Gene Goldstein and Tatin Zubiaurre. After the first seven minutes of play it was Heathcote with the 2-1 advantage.
Zubiaurre added two more goals in second chukker play while the Heathcote defense held Beverly Polo scoreless. The Heathcote record grew to 4-1 as Beverly Polo struggled to find their offense.
Michel Dorignac opened the scoring in the third chukker with his first goal of the day and Zubiaurre scored for the fourth time as Heathcote continued their attack. Beverly Polo was shut out for the second consecutive chukker and trailed by five goals, 6-1, at the end of the first half.
Wes Finlayson scored twice for Beverly Polo in the fourth chukker (one on a penalty conversion) and teammate Ramiro Cordero added a goal. Heathcote was held to a single goal from Gene Goldstein but continued to lead, 7-4.
Dorignac scored first in fifth chukker play with Escobar answering back with his second goal of the game for Beverly Polo. Heathcote retained their three goal lead, 8-5.
Finlayson scored for the third time on the day, cutting the Heathcote lead down to two goals, 8-6, but that was where it ended. Dorignac added a goal from the field and Zubiaurre converted a penalty shot for a goal and the 10-6 Heathcote victory.
The win left Heathcote on top of their bracket with a 3-0 record. The loss was Beverly Polo’s third in as many outings, 0-3.
Wildcat 10, Skaneateles 6
Wildcat (Ryan Gilbertson, Nick Johnson, Steve Krueger and Jason Crowder) earned their first win in the other morning game in the Top Pony 12-Goal Series by beating Skaneateles (Marty Cregg, Cesar Jimenez, Costi Caset and Facundo Obregon) 10-6.
Skaneateles got off to a strong start on a pair of goals from Costi Caset and a goal from Cesar Jimenez. The Wildcat team was unable to get on the scoreboard and trailed after the first chukker, 3-0.
Caset made it 4-0 after scoring the opening goal of the second chukker when the Wildcat offense stirred. Back-to-back goals from Jason Crowder closed out the chukker with Wildcat trailing Skaneateles, 4-2.
The Wildcat team got their second wind as the third chukker got underway. Crowder scored three consecutive goals from the field to give Wildcat the lead, 5-4. This time it was Skaneateles who was unable to score and fell behind by a goal to end the first half.
A transformed Wildcat team roared onto the field in second half play. Team captain Ryan Gilbertson scored the first goal of the fourth period, 6-4. Crowder converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal and Steve Krueger made it 8-4 with is first goal of the game. Skaneateles was unable to score and fell behind by four goals.
The Wildcat defense continued to dominate play as the fifth opened up. Wildcat goals from Crowder and Nick Johnson went unanswered as the Wildcat team started running away with the game behind a 10-4 lead.
Skaneateles added sixth chukker goals from Facundo Obregon and Caset while the Wildcat team was content to contain them for the balance of the game and register the 10-6 win.
The win was the first for the Wildcat team, 1-0, while Skaneateles lost for the third time in the tournament, 0-3.
Palm Beach Polo 13, Whitehall Ranch 6
Hard hitting Tommy Biddle scored eight of Palm Beach Polo’s (Glen Straub, Matt Coppola, Tommy Biddle and Tommy Alberdi) thirteen goals Sunday afternoon as they ran over an out-gunned Whitehall Ranch lineup (Bill Lane, Marcos Alberdi, Miguelito Torres and Whistle Uys) in the 12-goal competition at Grand Champions Polo Club.
Tommy Biddle scored the first two goals of the game in first chukker action as he put the first shot through the goalposts from the 60-yard line and added another from 30-ayrds out. Whistle Uys scored Whitehall Ranch’s only goal of the period as they trailed 2-1 after the first chukker of play.
Palm Beach Polo scored three more goals in the second chukker while Whitehall Ranch continued trying to coordinate an effective attack. Matt Coppola scored the opening goal of the chukker from the field, 3-1. Biddle scored once from the field and once on a 40-yard penalty conversion. After two chukkers of play, Palm Beach Polo rode off the field with a 5-1 lead.
Fouls continued to plague the Whitehall Ranch efforts in the third chukker. Biddle converted two more penalty shots for goals while Whitehall Ranch finally saw a spark of hope as Marcos Alberdi scored his first goal of the day. At the end of the first halt, however, it was all Palm Beach Polo, 7-2.
Coppola scored his second goal of the game in fourth period action and Tommy Alberdi added two goals of his own. Miguelito Torres scored the only goal of the period for Whitehall Ranch who fell behind by seven goals, 10-3.
Biddle continued to dominate the scoring as the fifth chukker unfolded. A goal from the field was followed by a 60-yard penalty goal, to make it 12-3. Whistle Uys scored the final goal of the period, but Palm Beach Polo remained in control of the match with an eight goal lead, 12-4, and one chukker of play remaining.
Palm Beach Polo team captain Glen Straub scored his first goal of the afternoon in sixth chukker action to make it 13-4. Uys scored the final two goals of the game as Palm Beach Polo improved their record 2-1. The loss was the second for Whitehall Ranch who fell to 1-2.
http://polonews.com/2016/03/wins-for-heathcote-pb-polo-and-wildcat-in-the-top-pony-12-goal/