By Alex Webbe
Santa Clara and Mt. Brilliant registered wins Saturday in the 14-goal Freebooters Classic at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Flat Out received one goal by handicap from the 14-goal Santa Clara team and wasted little time in adding to it. Goals from Todd Offen and Leo Mandelbaum had Flat Out boasting a 3-0 lead when Santa Clara finally got into step. A pressing Santa Clara attack resulted in three first chukker penalties which 7-goaler Luis Escobar converted into goals. The first period ended in a 3-3 tie.
Robert Orthwein converted two penalty shots for goals in the second for Flat Out, but Santa Clara was quick to respond. A pair of goals from Escobar (one from the field and one on a penalty shot) and a single goal from Geronimo Obregon gave them a narrow 6-5 lead to end the chukker.
Two more goals from Escobar and a goal from Carlos Avendano gave Santa Clara a 9-6 halftime lead. Flat Out got a single goal from Offen in the chukker as they trailed by three goals.
Offen supplied all of the offense in the fourth chukker, as the second half got off to a slow start. Offen converted a 60-yard Safety for the only firepower in the period, cutting the Santa Clara lead to two goals, 9-7.
Single goals from Offen and Orthwein went unanswered in the fifth as Flat Out tied it up at 9-9. Both teams missed critical penalty shots for the second straight chukker.
Santa Clara finally broke free in the final chukker, getting two more goals from Escobar and another goal from Obregon. Flat Out managed no more than a single goal from Orthwein in the last chukker as Santa Clara rode off with the 12-10 win.
Escobar led all scoring with nine goals on the day. Obregon accounted for two goals and Avendano scored once.
Orthwein and Offen scored four goals apiece. Mandelbaum added a goal in the loss.
MT. BRILLIANT 13, FARAWAY 11
In a brother versus brother showdown, Bo Goodman’s Mt. Brilliant team took a 13-11 win from brother Hutton Goodman’s Faraway foursome Saturday afternoon in 14-goal Freebooter Classic competition.
Brandon Phillips scored twice in the opening chukker for Mt. Brilliant, but fouls put Faraway’s Tomas Obregon on the penalty line where he converted two shots for goals and a 2-2 tie after the first period ended.
Julian Daniels scored his first goal of the game in the second to give Faraway a brief 3-2 advantage, but Mt. Brilliant stormed back. Juan Monteverde scored once and Phillips added three more goals from the field as Mt. Brilliant built up a 6-3 lead after just two periods of play.
Obregon tied it up at 6-6 in the third on a pair of penalty goals and a goal from the field. Mt. Brilliant picked up a pair of goals from team captain Bo Goodman and a single goal from Tommy Collingwood. At the end of the first three chukkers, Mt. Brilliant had a three goal lead, 9-6.
Phillips scored his sixth goal of the game in the fourth period for a 10-6 advantage over Faraway, but goals from Obregon and Daniels shaved that lead down to just two goals, 10-8, as the chukker ended.
Faraway picked up more ground in the fifth chukker with Obregon converting two more penalty shots for goals and adding another from the field. Mt. Brilliant responded with a single penalty goal from Phillips and t was all tied up at 11-11 with just seven minutes to play.
The Mt. Brilliant defense showed up in the final chukker, shutting out the Faraway attack for the first time all day. Monteverde added two goals from the field for the 13-11 win.
Tomas Obregon was the high scorer of the game with nine goals. Daniels added two goals.
Mt. Brilliant’s Phillips scored seven times. Monteverde added three goals; Bo Goodman accounted for two goals and Collingwood scored once.