By Alex Webbe

There were plenty of surprises in the opening round of the 2010 Skene Cup, but none more perplexing than Mansour’s 12-11 overtime upset of Piocho Ranch.

Basking in the glow of capturing the recently played Mayors Cup championship with a sound 20-12 win over Mansour, the final game of the day was anything but a repeat of last Sunday’s matchup. 

Carlos Gracida showed up and took the place of Matias Zavaleta in the lineup, and the legendary Gracida brothers were united once again.  This combination has won more tournaments than any other combination in US polo history, but that wouldn’t be the case Friday afternoon.

Two first chukker goals from Luis Escobar and a single goal from teammate Santiago Toccalino had Mansour up 3-2 after the first chukker, with Piocho getting a penalty goal from Julio Gracida and a goal from the field from Carlos Gracida.

“We were ready today,” said Escobar, who scored four goals on the day.  “We adjusted our lineup a bit (moving Escobar to No. 3, Toccalino to No. 2 and Martin Zegers to Back) and just played as a team.”

Goals from Carlos and Memo Gracida had Piocho up 4-3 early in the second chukker, but a pressing Mansour attack forced Piocho to foul, with Zegers and Escobar each converting a penalty shot for a goal.  Mansour held on to the lead, 5-4.

The third chukker had Piocho scoring the first two goals as Julio Gracida and Memo Gracida each scored once from the field.  Again, the Mansour attack pressured Piocho into fouling situations, with Zegers and Escobar converting penalty shots once again to leave the field with a 7-6 halftime advantage.

“They (Piocho) are a very difficult team,” offered Escobar, “but we stuck to our game plan and continued to put pressure on them throughout the game.”

Memo Gracida tied the game at 7-7 with a goal in the fourth period, but Zegers answered back with a goal of his own.  Toccalino converted another penalty shot, and Mansour stretched its lead to two goals, 9-7.

Zegers scored a pair of penalty goals in the fifth period while Piocho got goals from Julio and Carlos Gracida.  The two goal lead held, with Mansour entering the sixth chukker with an 11-9 lead over a team that beaten them just five days earlier by eight goals.

Carlos Gracida showed championship form scoring his fourth goal of the game to bring Piocho to within a goal, and Julio Gracida tied it up as Piocho tried to shift the momentum in their direction.  Time expired, however, and the teams repaired to the sidelines to remount for a sudden death overtime chukker.

Mansour took the lead in the overtime period going instantly on attack.  Each team carried the ball toward the opponent’s goal, and with Mansour pressuring the Piocho defense one last time, Memo Gracida made a costly error.  Zegers converted the Penalty 2 for his sixth goal of the game and the 12-11 win.

“They’re a very difficult team,” added Escobar.  “It was a very difficult game, but I thought we played well, and our confidence and teamwork continues to grow.

LUCCHESE 14, ZACARA 10

Lucchese might have been missing star 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso (he’s still in England where he will be competing in the finals of the British Open on Sunday), and having to replace his replacement, 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre (his game at Greenwich was rained out and he was forced to play this morning at the Connecticut club), but recent arrival, 9-goaler Lucas Criado (on loan from a Black Watch team that hasn’t begun its summer season at Bridgehampton yet) proved to be up to the task.

Criado scored four of his team high seven goals in the first two chukkers as Lucchese stormed out to an early 5-2 lead after the first two chukkers.  A pair of goals from Jeff Hall and a single goal from Hilario Ulloa got Zacara back into the game, but a single goal from Andres Weisz was enough to keep Lucchese ahead 6-5 at the end of the first half.

Hall added two more goals for Zacara and Lucchese got a penalty goal from Criado and a goal from the field from Jason Crowder to maintain a one goal lead, but seemed to take control of the game in the fifth period.

A pair of goals from Criado and single goals from Weisz and Crowder in the fifth chukker had Lucchese on top, 12-8, as the defense held Zacara to a single penalty goal from Hall.

Leading by four goals in the final chukker, Lucchese gave up a couple of easy penalty goals, with Hall converting both of them.  Crowder put an end to the rebellion, however with a pair of goals from the field to close out the scoring.  Lucchese rode off with the 14-10 victory.

Hall led the field with nine goals, but it wasn’t enough for the hard-riding Lucchese foursome.

VALIENTE 14, ERG 13

The noon contest between Scott Wood’s ERG team and Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente gang was a high-scoring affair that proved to be a showcase for the talented Kris Kampsen.  Kampsen scored eleven goals in six chukkers, and pressed the ERG defense into fouling in overtime to give Nacho Astrada the opportunity to convert the penalty shot for the winning goal-which he did.

“Bob can take a man out, that’s for sure,” said Kampsen, “and Nacho (Astrada) has so much experience and talent, it’s a great opportunity for me to play with this team.  Kampsen gave credit to Juan Carlos Harriott (no relation to the former 10-goaler of the same name) at Back.

Valiente seemed to continue to take a lead and then let ERG get back into the game, time and again, but Kampsen never had any doubts about the outcome.  The final penalty conversion by Astrada in overtime gave Valiente the game, 14-13.

Kampsen led all scoring with eleven goals with Astrada accounting for three goals in the win.

Paco de Narvaez and Santiago Torres scored five goals apiece for ERG.  Silvestre Donovan added three goals in the losing effort.

GRANTS FARM 16, AUDI 10

In an effort to shake up the Audi lineup, Marc Ganzi replaced Del Walton in the opening game of the Skene Cup, but the results were the same.

A competitive opening three chukkers that had Audi trailing 8-6, and after a four goal scoring binge from 10-goaler Lolo Castagnola, the Florida-based team took a 10-9 lead after the fourth.  The celebration was short-lived, however, as Grants Farm rallied its forced to shut down the Audi attack in the fifth chukker and score four unanswered goals of its own.  Grants Farm produced a second straight scoreless chukker for Audi in the sixth, with Sugar Erskine scoring three straight goals for the final 16-10 winning score.

Skene Cup play will continue on Sunday with Valiente meeting Grants Farm; ERG facing Audi; Lucchese doing battle with Mansour and Zacara facing a Piocho team that will be looking for atonement.