By Alex Webbe
Click here to view all photos from this weekend.
The February 4-goal Rose Cup got underway on Friday, February 17 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio with a 13-6 Thermal (Romero Gonzalez, Dayelle Fargey, Hayward Pardue and Goyo Mariscal) win over Film Finances (Leigh Brecheen, Domingo Questal, Scotty M. Cunningham and Roxy Keyfauver).
Thermal exploded with four first chukker goals with Romero Gonzalez providing three of them and Dayelle Fargey adding a single goal in the opening seven minutes of play. Leigh Brecheen scored the only goal of the opening period. Thermal rode off the field after the first chukker with a 4-1 lead.
Gonzalez, Hayward Pardue and Fargey scored single goals in the second period, extending the Thermal lead to 7-1 before Domingo Questal responded with a goal for Film Finances. Film Finances was digging a hole as the team fell behind by five goals, 7-2.
For the first time all day Film Finances outscored Thermal, collecting goals from Scotty M. Cunningham and Questal. Gonzalez closed out the chukker with a goal. Thermal continued to lead, 8-4.
Cunningham added another goal to the Film Finances total, but Thermal responded in force. Two goals from Gonzalez and a goal from Goyo Mariscal ended the fourth period as Thermal extended its lead to six goals, 11-5.
Brecheen scored the first goal of the final chukker, but it was Thermal that put an exclamation mark on the end of the game. Two more goals from Fargey ended the match with Thermal registering a 13-6 win.
Gonzalez was credited with seven goals. Fargey scored four times. Pardue and Mariscal added single goals in the win.
Questal, Brecheen and Cunningham each scored two goals for Film Finances.
EMPIRE 10, CASA SOMBRES 8
Empire (Lee Pettigrew, Rob Scapa, Charlie Peterson and Lolo Payan) trailed early but fought their way back into the game, taking a 5-4 lead after three chukkers and holding on for the 10-8 victory over Casa Sombres (Bolko Kissling, Conrad Kissling, Ernesto Bautista and Ashton Wolf).
In a tentative first chukker, Lee Pettigrew scored the first goal of the game from the field. Ashton Wolf answered with a goal for Casa Sombres. Casa Sombres received one goal by handicap from the 4-goal Empire team and found themselves on the leading end of a 2-1 score.
Bolko Kissling put Casa Sombres ahead, 3-1 in the second, but Lolo Payan cut into the lead with his first goal of the game. Empire trailed 3-2. Conrad Kissling scored the final goal of the period as Casa Sombres rode out to a 4-2 lead.
Bolko Kissling of Casa Sombres.
Empire found its offense in the third chukker. Payan scored twice for Empire while Charlie Peterson added a goal. A smothering defense kept Casa Sombres off of the scoreboard in the period as Empire took a 5-4 advantage.
Two more goals from Peterson in the fourth and a single goal extended the Empire lead to 8-6. Ernesto Bautista scored a goal from the field for Casa Sombres while Conrad Kissling converted a penalty shot for a goal.
Payan scored the last two goal of the game for Empire, stretching its lead to four goals, 10-6. Casa Sombres fought back, however, picking up a pair of goals from Bolko Kissling, but that was where it ended. The final horn sounded with Empire picking up the 10-8 win.
Payan set the pace for Empire with six goals. Peterson scored three goals and Pettigrew added a goal.
Bolko Kissling scored three times. Conrad Kissling added two goals and Bautista and Wolf scored single goals in the loss.
FLOWERS FARM/TRINITY 10, PARKLANE 7
Erik Wright flexed his polo muscles Saturday afternoon, scoring five goals and leading his Flowers Farms/Trinity (Erik Wright, David Flowers, Rick Paicius and Ernie Ezcurra) polo team to a 10-7 win over Parklane (Bill Garlock, Jared Sheldon, Cameron Smith and Doug Blumenthal) in 4-goal Rose Cup play.
Wright scored the opening goal of the game, but watched as Parklane responded with single goals from Jared Sheldon and Doug Blumenthal. Wright scored again for a 2-2 tie with Ernie Ezcurra giving Flowers Farms/Trinity a 3-2 lead.
In a low scoring second period, Cameron Smith scored the only goal as both teams struggled with ball control. After fifteen minutes, the game was all even at 3-3.
Ezcurra’s second goal of the game had Flowers Farms/Trinity on top of a 4-3 lead, but it was a lead that wouldn’t last long. Sheldon locked it up at 4-4 with his second goal of the day.
The Flowers Farms/Trinity attack got traction in the fourth chukker, picking up goals from Wright, Rick Paicius and Ezcurra. Parklane managed a single goal from Blumenthal and the period ended with Flowers Farms/Trinity leading, 7-5.
Fifth chukker goals from Wright and Ezcurra had Flowers Farms/Trinity in front of a 9-5 score before Parklane could respond. Sheldon tacked on his third goal of the game and Garlock scored again to cut the lead back to two goals, but they could gain no more ground. Another goal from Wright gave Flowers Farms/Trinity a 10-7 lead as time ran out.
Wright set the pace for Flowers Farms/Trinity with five goals. Ezcurra scored four times and Paicius added a goal for the win.
Sheldon led the Parklane attack with three goals. Blumenthal scored twice while Garlock and Smith added single goals in the loss.
THERMAL 9, CASA SOMBRES 6 ½
Thermal Polo spotted Casa Sombres a half-goal in Sunday morning’s 4-goal Rose Cup match , and wasted little time making up for it. First chukker goals from Romero Gonzalez, Goyo Mariscal and Hayward Pardue had Casa Sombres trailing 3-.5 after the first seven minutes of play.
Conrad Kissling got Casa Sombres on the scoreboard with a penalty goal in the second chukker, but Gonzalez countered with a goal of his own. The second period ended with Thermal leasing 4-1.5.
Mariscal scored the opening goal of the third chukker, but Casa Sombres responded with single goals from Ashton Wolf and Conrad Kissling. Thermal continued to lead, but the margin had been cut to a goal-and-a-half, 5 to 3.5.
A pair of fourth chukker goals from Dayelle Fargey were answered by a single goal from Casa Sombres’ Conrad Kissling, but Thermal continued to hold the lead at 7 to 4.5.
Fargey added two more goals to the Thermal total in the final chukker of play while Casa Sombres picked up two scores from Conrad Kissling. When the final horn sounded, Thermal left the field with a 9-6.5 victory.
Fargey scored four goals for Thermal. Mariscal and Gonzalez scored two goals apiece and Pardue added a goal for the win.
Casa Sombres received one-half goal by handicap and got six goals from Conrad Kissling. Wolf added a goal as well.
FLOWERS FARMS/TRINITY 10, EMPIRE 7
In the weekend’s final 4-goal contest for the Rose Cup, Ernie Ezcurra scored eight times as Flowers Farms/Trinity RODE PAST Empire, 10-7.
Ezcurra scored the first two goals of the game followed by a goal from teammate Erik Wright, giving Flowers Farms/Trinity an early 3-0 advantage. Charlie Peterson scored a single goal for Empire, who trailed 3-1 after the first chukker.
Lolo Payan and Peterson tallied single goals in the second chukker, but Ezcurra added two more goals to the Flowers Farms/Trinity pot for a 5-3 lead.
In the third chukker the Empire team pressed its attack but Flowers Farms/Trinity wouldn’t break. Empire picked up two more goals from Peterson, but it was Ezcurra, once again, who added two more goals for Flowers Farms/Trinity. With two chukkers to play, Flowers Farms/Trinity led by two goals, 7-5.
It was the strength of Flowers Farms/Trinity in the fourth chukker that would ultimately spell the difference as Ezcurra scored two goals for the fourth consecutive period. Rick Paicius added a single goal as Flowers Farms/Trinity took a four goal lead, 10-6. Peterson added another goal to end the chukker trailing by four goals, 10-6.
Flowers Farms/Trinity coasted through the final chukker, doing their best to stem the Empire attack but offering no more offense of its own. Peterson added a single goal but Flowers Farms/Trinity would ride out the 10-7 victory.
Ezcurra led all scorers with eight goals. Teammates Wright and Paicius would add single goals in the win.
Peterson registered six goals in the Empire loss. Payan added a single goal, as well.