Piocho/ Dark Horse showed that experience counts in winning the the Wickenden Cup 8 goal final 9-8 over Team KIG. The MVP of the match was veteran player Alfonso Giannico, who has played on the Santa Barbara fields for over 20 years and looked very comfortable on the field as he scored five field goals. Team captain Tom Barrack has played his fair share of games here as well and held steady at back for Piocho/ Dark Horse.
Newcomer Team KIG made the game very interesting though, as they countered every Piocho/ Dark Horse attack with one of their own, and all four KIG players scored for a balanced effort. Bash Kazi had a great goal at the condo end in the 3rd chukker to fire up his team and Italian Matteo de Paolis played a strong game as well.
The teams were tied at 5 all at halftime, and then Team KIG grabbed a slim one goal lead at the end of the 4th chukker and maintained that in the 5th. But Piocho/Dark Horse had a good plan for their horses and saved the best for the 6th chukker. Max Menini was flying around the field in the 6th and created several opportunities that Giannico converted for two goals, while holding Team KIG scoreless in the 6th.
In a breathless finish, Piocho/Dark Horse outscored Team KIG two goals to none in the 6th to take the victory. All the players commented after that everyone played well and that in such an exciting game that could have gone either way there were no real losers.
MVP was Alfonso Giannico
BPP was “Tramposo” for Max Menini. Tramposo played in the 1st and 6th chukkers
In the round robin consolation, Long Beach/Florado was victorious over Edelweiss and Restoration Hardware