By Alex Webbe
A solid well-mounted Skeeterville (2-0) foursome scored an 11-8 win over Isla Carroll (1-1) in Ylvisaker Cup competition Wednesday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
“We’re ready,” said team captain Will Johnston before the game. “We feel like we’re playing well together,” he added, “we’ll see.”
Johnston accounted for two of the Skeeterville goals as it jumped out to an aggressive 9-5 lead at halftime.
Julio Arellano scored four goals in the first half goals to set the pace, and 7-goaler Owen Rinehart and Johnston came through with two goals apiece in that same time frame. Chris Nevins added a goal in the second chukker as well as Skeeterville took control of the first three chukkers of play.
Arellano ended up with five goals (two on penalty shots); Rinehart scored three times; Johnston had two and Nevins added a single goal in the win.
Sugar Erskine led the Isla Carroll attack with five goals and Shane Rice added three, but it was not enough. Skeeterville’s passing and checking was far superior to Isla Carroll’s, and two missed penalty shots didn’t help the cause either.
In spite of the loss, Isla Carroll will be awaiting Wednesday night’s draw for the pairings in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
In a 10am Ylvisaker Cup match a regrouped Mt. Brilliant (2-0) team pulled the rug out from under the powerful Catamount (1-1) side in a high-scoring 15-13 game.
In a back and forth contest that was tied five times, the superior team play of Mt. Brilliant proved to be the victor.
“We played the way we thought we should have been,” reflected Mt. Brilliant team coach Julian Hipwood. “We have a good game plan,” added the former British 9-goaler, “now it’s simply the execution of that plan.”
The game was tied at 3-3 after the first chukker, but Catamount fought its way back in the the third period to score three consecutive goals to take a 7-5 lead. Goals from Jeff Hall and Kris Kampsen tied the game at 7-7 in the second period, and Mt. Brilliant never trailed again. Catamount left the field at halftime trailing 87-, and fell behind 12-8 after the fourth chukker.
The powerful Catamount team showed traces of vulnerability, and Mt. Brilliant jumped on it.
The teams traded goals in the fifth, with Mt. Brilliant maintaining a four goal lead, 13-9.
A late rally and a goal from Devon followed by two goals from Roldan wasn’t enough, however, as Mt. Brilliant hung on for the win.
Isla Carroll’s Kampsen and Hall had high scoring honors for the game with seven goals apiece. Jeff Blake scored once.
Catamount spread the ball around with Roldan scoring five goals and Devon and Phillips adding three goals apiece. Todd Offen scored twice in the loss.
Ylvisaker Cup quarterfinals are scheduled to begin on Saturday, February 7, with pairings and times to be announced following Wednesday night’s draw.