By Alex Webbe
Kris Kampsen led Elangeni Ranch team to victory in a 9-8 win over a contentious Newport foursome. Kampsen scored the winning goal in the final seconds of regulation play to capture the 2010 Elegante’ Polo Fall Plate Sunday afternoon at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.
Newport received one goal by handicap and added to it with goals from Stevie Orthwein and J. J. Celis, but a penalty conversion by Kampsen and a goal from the field from Joey Casey kept it close. Newport left the field after the first chukker with a 3-2 advantage.
Defenses tightened on both sides of the ball throughout the second chukker as drive after drive was diverted, shots at goal backed aside and players ridden off. No goals were scored, and Newport held on to its 3-2 lead.
Elangeni Ranch cranked it up a notch in the third chukker, but a resolute Newport defense held strong, not allowing a goal from the field, but fouls proved their undoing as Kampsen converted two more penalty shots for Elangeni Ranch to take 4-3 lead. Newport responded with a penalty goal from team captain Gene Goldstein and the first half ended in a 4-4 tie.
Orthwein’s second goal of the game put Newport up, 5-4, but another foul put Kampsen at the penalty line where he scored his fourth penalty goal of the match. Choppy play and missed shots at goal characterized the period, and the chukker ended in a 5-5 deadlock.
Goldstein put Newport ahead with a goal from the field in the fifth, but Kampsen picked up the ensuing throw-in and raced down the field to score. Celis came right back with a tremendous effort, carrying the ball over 130 yards for a score. Diego Coscio knotted it up again at 7-7 with his first goal of the game, and the chukker ended.
Another Newport foul resulted in the first goal of the final chukker, as Kampsen converted his fifth penalty shot of the game. Goldstein evened it up once more with his third goal, with time running out, and the game looked like it was headed into overtime. Elangeni Ranch wrestled control of the ball from Newport, and Kampsen broke away from the pack, carrying the ball with him. He set himself up with a long approach shot and drove the ball through the goal posts for the winning 9-8 score.
Kampsen led all scoring with seven goals. Teammates Coscio and Casey added single goals in the win. Goldstein accounted for three goals from Newport. Orthwein and Celis scored two goals apiece, and Newport received one goal by handicap.
Goldstein was named MVP for his efforts while Kampsen’s six-year-old black mare, Slots of Fun, received Best Playing Pony honors.
AUDI 13, CINQUE TERRE 13 OT
In earlier play, the flip of a coin broke a 12-12 tie game that was highlighted by a second half surge that got Cinque Terre back into contention against a talented Audi team.
Audi got two goals by handicap and scored the first two goal of the game to jump out to an early 4-0 lead before Cinque Terre could respond. Goals from Hector Galindo and Leo Mandelbaum cut the lead in half, and the first period ended with Audi holding on to a 4-2 lead.
Steven Scott and Mandelbaum added single goals in the second, but a pair of goals from Audi’s Sugar Erskine had Cinque Terre trailing 6-4 as the chukker ended. Third period goals from Matias Sosa and Erskine had Audi up 8-6 at halftime, with Marc Ganzi and Scott adding goals for Cinque Terre.
Audi continued to lead, holding a 9-8 advantage after four chukkers and a 12-10 edge after five. But after trailing throughout the first half, Cinque Terre stepped up its attack. Ganzi caught fire, putting five goals on the scoreboard in the final three chukkers. Galindo added another goal to the pot for a twelve goal total, and the eventual tie. With horses spent, both teams settled the consolation match on the flip of a coin, with Cinque Terre taking the honors.