By Alex Webbe
A balanced attack and three first chukker goals fueled the Barbarossa Leather team to a 10-7 lead over Piaget Sunday afternoon in the finals of the 2010 Grand Champions Cup at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington.
An enthusiastic crowd lined the sideboards as Barbarossa Leather jumped out to an early three goal lead on scores from J. J. Celis, Joey Casey and Steven Scott.
Piaget team captain Melissa Ganzi finally got her team on the scoreboard in the second chukker with a converted penalty shot, and a goal from teammate Juan Badiola cut the Barbarossa Leather lead to a single goal, 3-2. With time running out in the chukker, Scott scored his second goal of the match, and extended the Barbarossa Leather lead to 4-2 as the period ended.
The pace of the match continued to pick up as both defenses tightened. Long drives down the field were matches with deft defensive plays, backhanders and errant shots kept the scoring to a minimum. Ganzi scored her second goal for Piaget, but Scott’s third score of the contest ended the first half with Barbarossa Leather riding off with a 5-3 halftime lead.
‘It’s a great team to play with,” said Celis of his teammates. “Piaget put the pressure on us, and we met the challenge ,” he added.
With horses racing to and fro and players sending blistering passes down the field, Badiola was the only player to score a goal from the field in the fourth chukker. Celis responded with a goal from Barbarossa Leather, however, and Piaget failed to make up any ground. Barbarossa continued to lead, 6-4.
Celis opened up the play on the field in the fifth, with a pair of goals. Team captain Leo Mandelbaum scored his first goal of the afternoon, and Barbarossa Leather led 9-4. Piaget managed single goals from Ganzi and Badiola, but trailed 9-6 with just seven minutes left to play.
“They’re a very good team,” said Piaget 6-goaler Juan Bollini of the 15-goal Barbarossa Leather team. “They forced us to play at our best, but they are very tough,” he said.
The 12-goal Piaget continued to press on in the final chukker, matching Barbarossa Leather pass for pass and ride-0ff for ride-off, but a penalty conversion from Celis gave Barbarossa Leather a 10-6 lead as time started running out on Piaget. Piaget sixteen-year-old Matias Sosa ended the scoring with a single goal. Barbarossa Leather took the cup with the 10-7 win.
Celis received MVP honors, leading the field with five goals on the afternoon.
NEWPORT 8, AUDI 7
In earlier action, Newport edged Audi 8-7 in a consolation match that looked more like a championship showdown.
Newport team captain Gene Goldstein scored three first chukker goals while holding Audi to a single goal from the field from South African 7-goaler Sugar Erskine, with a breakneck pace being set from the opening throw-in. Newport led 3-1 as the first period ended.
Audi rallied its troops in the second, with single goals from team captain Marc Ganzi and Erskine. Newport’s attack was shut down by the suffocating defense offered by Audi, and the chukker ended in a 3-3 tie.
The high-speed action continued in the third period, with neither team able to capitalize on scoring opportunities, and the first half ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
Carlucho Arellano opened the second half of the game with a go-ahead Newport goal. But consecutive goals from Ganzi had Audi up, 5-4. Diego Arellano’s first score of the game kept Newport in it, however, and the period ended in a 5-5 deadlock.
Erskine’s third goal of the game had Audi up, 6-5, but the lead was short-lived. Goldstein’s fourth goal of the game tied it again at 6-6, and Carlucho Arellano gave the lead to back to Newport, 7-6 with his second goal.
Ganzi’s scored his fourth goal of the game in the sixth chukker, tying the game once again, but Newport got the winning goal from Goldstein to end the game, taking the win by a narrow 8-7 score.