By Alex Webbe
Photos by Alex Pacheco
Chris Del Gatto’s talented but upstart Circa team unseated a powerful White Birch foursome Saturday morning in an 8-6 contest at the Bridgehampton Polo Club on Long Island to capture the 2011 Hampton Cup in the final high-goal match of the season at the New York club.
Photos by Alex Pacheco
Circa received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal White Birch team (taking the field with Adam Lindemann taking the place of team captain Peter Brant), but a 60-yard penalty conversion by Mariano Aguerre quickly knotted it up at 1-1. Magoo Laprida scored Circa’s first goal from the field, but Aguerre responded with his second goal of the chukker and after the first seven minutes of play the score was all even at 2-2.
Martin Pepa’s first goal of the game put Circa up 3-2 in what was developing into a defensively-oriented contest. Aguerre managed to level the score at 3-3 with his third goal of the game.
Laprida gave Circa a 4-3 lead as he opened the third chukker with a goal from the field. A Circa foul gave White Birch a scoring opportunity on a penalty shot that Fred Mannix converted for another, 4-4. Guille Aguero closed out the scoring in the chukker with a goal that gave Circa a narrow 5-4 halftime lead.
White Birch regrouped for the second half, pressing the Circa defense. Three defensive Circa fouls put White Birch at the penalty line again, with Mannix making good on two of them. White Birch took a 6-5 lead, shutting out Circa for the first time all day.
Both defenses tightened in the fifth chukker. White birch missed a 40-yard penalty opportunity with Circa blowing a 60-yard penalty shot. Pepa’s second goal of the game accounted for the only scoring in the fifth, and the teams took a 6-6 score into the final period of play.
As rigid as the Circa defense was in the fifth chukker, it tightened up even more in the sixth. For the second straight chukker the high-scoring White Birch attack was held scoreless with Pepa scoring two goals from the field for the 8-6 win.
Pepa led all scoring with four goals. Laprida scored twice and Aguero added a goal in the win. Circa received one goal by handicap. All seven of Circa’s goals came from the field as they missed on three penalty shots.
Mannix and Aguerre provided all of the scoring for White birch with three goals
apiece. Five of the White Birch goals came on penalty shots. White Birch
missed converting two 6-yard penalty shots and two 40-yard penalty attempts.
Martin Pepa Was named MVP and Magoo Laprida’s mare, Lucy, was named Best Playing Pony.