By Alex Webbe
The Desert Challenge Cup at the Empire Polo Club got the outdoor season off with a bang as four teams competed in December’s opening tournament with Kentfield and Angel Rae Glass scoring opening wins in the first round of play positioning
themselves in Sunday’s finals.
Jared Sheldon continued to show scoring power in the opening match of the tournament scoring six times for the Angel Rae Glass team in downing Kentfield in its 11-6 win.
Kentfield received one goal by handicap and added to it with Eric Hammon’s first goal of the match. Sheldon responded with a goal
from the field but Kentfield held the early lead, 2-1. Pepe Alcaraz scored to give Kentfield a 3-1 advantage, but Sheldon closed out the scoring in the first chukker as Angel Rae Glass trailed 3-2.
Shane Flock (splitting the No. 1 position with Fred Schneeberger) tied it up at 3-3 in the second, but there would be plenty more scoring before the chukker ended. Hammon put Kentfield back on top, 4-3, with his second goal of the day followed by consecutive goals from Lolo Payan, Hayward Pardue and Sheldon as Angel Rae Glass tie it up and then cruised ahead for their first lead of the day at 6-4. Hammon scored the final goal of the chukker as Angel Rae Glass left the field after two chukkers with a narrow 6-5 lead.
Goals from Payan and Sheldon stretched the Angel Rae Glass lead to three goals, 8-5 after three goals with Kentfield being held scoreless in the third.
Payan opened the fourth period with a goal from the field followed by two more from Sheldon as they left Kentfield in the dust, 11-5. Goals from Ted Okie and Hammon closed out the scoring as Angel Rae Glass rode off with the 11-6 victory.
Sheldon led all scoring with six goals. Payan added three scores and Pardue and flock each scored a goal in the win.
Hammon accounted for four of the Kentfield goals. Alcaraz and Okie scored single goals and the team received one goal by handicap.
CALIFORNIA POLO CLUB 10, KINGSCLIFF 5
The ageless Domingo Questel led his California Polo team to a 10-5 whipping of as game but outgunned California Polo Club in a Saturday afternoon matchup.
Kingscliff received two goals by handicap, but California Polo Club’s Doug Snyder scored the first goal from the field followed by a goal from Questel for a 2-2 tie. Santos Areolla put Kingscliff back on top, 3-2, but the lead was short-lived. Ashton Wolf scored the final goal of the period for a 3-3 deadlock.
Questel scored a pair of goals in the second chukker for a 5-3 lead before Areolla
answered with a goal for Kingscliff. At the end of the second period f play, California Polo was edging Kingscliff 5-4.
Defenses tightened in the third, with Questel and Areolla exchanging single goals while drive after drive was turned away from the goal. California Polo guarded its one goal lead 6-5 after three chukkers of play.
The fourth and final chukker belonged to California Polo as they steamrolled Kingscliff for a 10-5 win. Rick Karayan scored his first goal of the game for California with teammate Wolf adding two more and Questel scoring his fifth goal of the afternoon for the 10-5 win.
Questel set the pace for California Polo with five goals. Wolf accounted for three goals while Snyder and Karayan scored single goals.
Areolla scored all three goals from the field for Kingscliff, who received two goals by
handicap.
The win pits California Polo against Angel Rae Glass in Sunday’s finals of the Desert
Challenge Cup. Kentfield and Kingscliff will meet in a consolation game.