By Alex Webbe
The US FIP “White” team scored a 7-5 win over an assembled “Blue” team Thursday afternoon at the International Polo Club in preparation for the Zone play in the Dominican Republic next month, and coach Charlie Muldoon couldn’t be happier.
“The boys are doing well,” said the former 6-goaler in reflecting on the progress of the players. “I’ve got to give a great deal of credit to the USPA for assisting in organizing practices and playing time for them,” he said. There’s a great deal of credit to spread around.”
The US team received two goals by handicap from the 16-goal contingent assembled for the match, and watch as 5-goaler James Armstrong converted a 60-yard penalty shot to open the game. The US squad responded with a goal from Nic Snow and ended the first chukker with a 3-1 lead.
Carlitos Galindo opened the scoring in the second chukker with a goal for the Blue team, but the US team responded in kind. Snow’s second goal of the match closed out the scoring with the US White team holding a 4-2 edge over their counterparts.
“We were lucky to have the opposing team that we did,” said Muldoon. “Both James (Armstrong) and Carlucho (Arellano) have been here before,” he said, “and it’s great to have that kind of experience up against us.”
Galindo scored his second goal of the game for team Blue to open the third period, but the US squad continued to press its attack. The US White team took advantage of a Safety (Penalty 6) by the White team, with Snow converting the 60-yard penalty shot for a goal and a 5-3 halftime lead.
“We’ve come a long way,” offered Muldoon, reflecting on the progress of the US Team players, “I think the boys have really stepped up their game.”
A 40-yard penalty conversion from Snow put the US team up 6-3 in the fourth chukker, and a goal from FIP team captain John Gobin had the US team up 7-3 before Galindo scored to keep the Blue team from being shut out.
The two teams battled through a scoreless fifth chukker, with Galindo scoring the only goal in the last seven minutes of the game for the Blue team in the 7-5 US win.
“We did alright,” said a cautious John Gobin after the match. “We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but we did all right.”
The US Team will be traveling to the Dominican Republic on May 2nd for Zone competition to determine who will advance to the FIP World Cup.