By Alex Webbe
Jason Crowder (filling in for Freddie Mannix) scored the first goal of the game, but a penalty goal from Zacara’s Martin Ravina had it all even at 1-1 at the end of the first chukker of play.
Ensuing goals from Santi Torres and Paco De Narvaez ran it up to 3-1 for ERG, as Zacara fought to find a way through the ERG defense,
Zacara rolled off three straight goals in the third, getting a goal from the field from Gonzalo Del Tour and a pair of goals from 7-goaler Jeff Blake. De Narvaez accounted for the only ERG goal, and the first half ended in a 4-4 tie.
Two fourth chukker goals from Crowder were complimented by a single gal from Torres, and ERG took a two goal lead, 7-5, into the fifth chukker.
Jeff Blake scored Zacara’s only goal of the period on a penalty shot.
Three more goals from ERG in the fifth were the killing blow as Zacara was held to a single goal from Gonzalo Del Tour, and trailed 10-6 going into the final period of play.
Sixth chukker action was fast and furious, but the scoring was limited to a single goal from Blake as ERG rode away with a 10-7 win and a position in the finals of the Bobby Barry Cup, the subsidiary of the Joe Barry Memorial Cup.
Quotes: “It was a great opportunity,” said Jason Crowder, who scored three times while filling in for Freddie Mannix on the ERG team,” the team went well and I felt comfortable on the field.”
PATAGONES 11, VALIENTE 10
Eighteen-year-old Robert Jornayvaz scored the first goal of the game but Santi Wulff quickly tied it for Patagones with the only other goal of the opening chukker.
Wulff made it 2-1, Patagones in the second, but a pair of goals from Jeff Hall and a single goal from Argentine 9-goaler Nacho Astrada had Valiente in the lead, 4-2.
Patagones delivered three goals in the third chukker as polo veteran Memo Gracida scored twice and Carlos Avendano added a goal. Hall converted a penalty shot for a goal for Valiente, and the first half ended in a 5-5 tie.
Patagones exploded with four goals in the fourth with Gracida and Carlos Avendano each scoring a pair. Valiente fought back, getting single goals from Stewart Armstrong and Hall, but it was Patagones that left the field at the end of the chukker with a 9-7 advantage.
Valiente cut the lead to a single goal in the fifth, getting another goal from Hall and a penalty conversion from Astrada. Santi Wulff scored from the field for Patagones to maintain the lead, 10-9.
Gracida’s fifth goal of the contest had Patagones up 11-9, but Valiente fought back. Hall scored for the sixth time, and continued to press the Patagones defense when the final horn sounded, giving the game to Patagones in an 11-10 win, and a berth in the Bobby Barry Cup finals on Sunday at noon.
“We played a lot better,” said polo legend, Memo Gracida of the Patagones team, “but we have a long way to go.”
“We were more aggressive, but need to get better positioned on the field if we are going to play better,” he added.