By Alex Webbe
Wins by Piaget and Flat Out Friday afternoon set the stage for Sunday’s finals of the 2012 USPA Fall Classic. Under the direction of the Grand champions Polo Club, the opening games took place on the grounds of the Palm City Polo Club and featured four teams with handicaps of 13 to 16-goals.
Piaget recorded the opening 10-8 win over Ruby Q behind six goals from team captain Melissa Ganzi as they ran out to a 6-4 halftime lead before galloping off with the victory.
Piaget received one goal by handicap and added goals from Melissa Ganzi (racing the length of the field with the ball for the score) and Juan Bollini in the opening chukker for the early 2-0 edge.
Another goal from Melissa Ganzi in the second was countered by single goals from Joey Casey and Tommy Biddle for Ruby Q. Piaget continued to lead, 4-2.
Biddle converted a penalty shot for a goal in the third and Casey scored again from the field, but Piaget’s Mariano Gonzalez scored twice to maintain the two goal advantage, 6-4.
Melissa Ganzi scored Piaget’s only goal in the fourth chukker while Ruby Q was shutout by the Piaget defense. Ruby Q was now trailing by three goals, 7-4.
Biddle converted a pair of penalty shots for goals in the fifth, but Piaget responded with a goal from the field from Bollini and two more from Melissa Ganzi (the second coming on a ball she captured on the throw-in and carried 150 yards for a score. Piaget found itself on top of a 10-6 score with one chukker left to play.
Biddle added two more penalty goals to the Ruby Q total to trail, 10-8. A final goal from Melissa Ganzi closed out the scoring in the 11-8 Piaget win and a berth in Sunday’s 12 pm USPA Fall Classic final.
FLAT OUT 8, NEWPORT 6
Flat Out ended Friday’s USPA Fall classic action with an 8-6 win over a talented Newport lineup.
Flat Out received one goal by handicap from the 16-goal Newport entry and picked up the opening goal of the match from Joaquin Panelo to move in front, 2-0. Marc Ganzi scored Newport’s only opening chukker goal on a penalty conversion as they trailed Flat Out, 2-1.
The Newport attack came alive in the second period with Gene Goldstein scoring twice from the field. Marc Ganzi added another as Newport move out to a 4-2 lead. Brandon Phillips scored his first goal of the game, and Newport held the narrow 4-3 lead at the end of the first half.
The two teams exchanged single goals in the third chukker with Ganzi’s third goal on the day gave Newport a short-lived 5-3 advantage. Paul Knapp got Flat Out on the scoreboard in the third but they continued to trail, 5-4.
J. J. Celis finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth while the Flat Out defense muffled the Newport attack. After four periods it was all even at 5-5.
A single goal from Flat Out’s Joaquin Panelo in the fifth period had Newport falling behind for the first time since the opening chukker, 6-5.
Marc Ganzi’s fourth goal of the match tied it up again at 6-6 before Flat Out answered. Knapp and Panelo closed out the scoring in an 8-6 win and a berth in the Sunday finals against Piaget.
Newport and Ruby Q are slated to ply a consolation match at 10 am on Sunday morning.