Piaget and Pony Express scored opening wins in the 2010 USPA Spring Classic at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington Friday to move into Sunday’s 11 am finals.
Paced by four goals from 9-goaler Nic Roldan, Piaget rallied from a 4-4 halftime tie with Brian Street’s Elangeni Ranch foursome to score a 9-7 win in Friday mornings contest,
Elangeni Ranch received one goal by handicap and added a pair of goals from Diego Cossio in the opening chukker, but single goals from Piaget’s Roldan, Juan Bollini and Greg Keough had it all even at 3-3.
J. J. Celis scored the only goal of the second period to put Elangeni Ranch up, 4-3. Piaget returned to the field in the third chukker and played shut-out defense while getting the tying goal from team captain Melissa Ganzi.
Two more goals from Roldan were coupled with a defensive effort that kept Elangeni Ranch off the scoreboard for the second consecutive chukker, and Piaget took a two-goal, 6-4 lead, into the fifth frame.
Ganzi scored her second goal of the game for Piaget, but goals from Elangeni Ranch’s Joey Casey and Celis cut the Piaget lead to a single goal, 7-6, with Casey’s scoring effort coming in the last second of the period.
Celis tied it at 7-7 on a penalty shot, with his third goal of the game, but Piaget came right back with foals from Bollini and Roldan for the 9-7 win.
Roldan led all scoring with four goals. Ganzi and Bollini accounted for two goals apiece while Keough scored once in the winning effort.
PONY EXPRESS 11, BARBAROSA LATHER 9
Set at the friendly confines of The Wanderers Club in Wellington, Pony Express came out firing, scoring three first chukker goals and taking an early 3-1 lead in the late afternoon contest with Barbarossa Leather, but the game was far from over.
A miserly defense that held Pony Express to a single goal in the next two chukkers and single goals from Marc Ganzi, Sugar Erskine and Leo Mandelbaum were enough to knot it up at 4-4 after the opening three chukkers of play.
Kris Kampsen scored the opening goal of the fourth chukker, but Erskine responded for Barbarossa Leather and the teams left the field in a dead heat after four periods of play, 5-5.
Pony finally took possession of the game in the fifth, putting five goals on the scoreboard while holding Barbarossa Leather to a single Erskine goal.
Bob Daniels and Tomas Goti each scored twice while Kampsen added his fourth goal of the match, With a single chukker to play, Pony Express took a commanding 10-6 lead.
Barbarossa Leather made it interesting in the final chukker of play, scoring three times to a single Kampsen goal for Pony Express, but it wasn’t enough.
The final horn sounded with Pony Express on top of an 11-9 score.
On the strength of its afternoon victory, Pony Express will go on to meet Piaget in Sunday’s
11 am finals while Barbarossa Leather will face Elangeni Ranch in the 9am consolation contest.