The semifinals of the Ylvisaker Cup, the third 20-goal tournament of the season, took place on Wednesday at the International Polo Club, in Wellington, United States.
In the opening match, Valiente played some great polo – perhaps the best so far this season. They got off to a strong start and took an important advantage, which grew chukka after chukka in the first half. They reached halftime 9-5 up. Even though Tonkawa tried to close the gap, Bob Jornayvaz’ team was on great form and maintained their high performance. Final score: Valiente 13-8 Tonkawa.
The second semifinal was totally different. From the sidelines, Bob Jornayvaz was hoping his son Robert would claim the win and face him in Sunday’s final. In the opening chukkas Colorado took a narrow advantage, but the match maintained extremely close throughout. When it looked as if Colorado would claim the win, leading 8-6 in the sixth chukka, goals by Mariano González and Matías Magrini tied the game 8-all and sent the semifinal to extra chukka. Henry Porter, who has given great performances this tournament, scored the winning goal to send his team GSA to the final.
VALIENTE 13-8 TONKAWA
Valiente: Bob Jornayvaz 2, Bautista Panelo 2 (3 goals), Santi Torres 6 (6), Adolfo Cambiaso 10 (4). Total: 20.
Tonkawa: Jeff Hildebrand A (1 goal), Sterling Giannico 3, Sapo Caset 10 (3), Julián de Lusarreta 7 (4). Total: 20.
Score Valiente: 4-2, 8-4, 9-5, 10-5, 11-6, 13-8.
GSA 9-8 COLORADO
GSA: Henry Porter 2 (1 goal), Dylan Rossiter 4 (1), Mariano González 7 (5), Matías Magrini 7 (1). Total: 20.
Colorado: Rob Jornayvaz 1, Santino Magrini 3 (2 goals), Juan Britos 7 (2), Diego Cavanagh 9 (4). Total: 20.
Score GSA: 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-6, 6-7, 8-8, 9-8.
The Ylvisaker Cup resumes on Thursday with the first semifinal of the George Haas Cup (Subsidiary):
12pm: Prestige Worldwide vs. Travieso
Picture Galleries:
Valiente vs Tonkawa
GSA vs Colorado
All matches will be streamed live on Pololine TV vía USPolo.org.
YLVISAKER CUP: Fixture & Teams