By Alex Webbe
Casa Sombres took home the title of the 4-Goal Crown Classic based on best record. They were undefeated throughout the tournament.
Game reports from the weekend…
Competition continued this past weekend at the Empire Polo Club in Indio in the 2012 4-goal Crown Cup with Casa Sombres scoring two wins in the five games played.
In Friday’s opening match, Casa Sombres (Conrad Kissling, Bolko Kissling, Ashton Wolf and Ernesto Bautista) handed Horseware/Ireland (Sinead Devine, Manny Rodriguez, Hayward Pardue and Nicolas Maciel) an 11-5 drubbing.
Sinead Devine scored the first goal of the game for Horseware/Ireland, countered by a goal from Ashton Wolf. The chukker ended with Casa Sombres ahead, 2-1 (Casa Sombres received one goal by handicap).
With goals at a premium in the second chukker, Casa Sombres would register the only score with Conrad Kissling putting the ball through the Horseware/Ireland goalposts for a 3-1 advantage. Casa Sombres ran the score up to 5-1 in the third with goals from Wolf and Bolko Kissling. Nicolas Maciel scored the final goal of the period for Horseware/Ireland, trailing by three goals, 5-2.
Fourth chukker goals from Bolko Kissling and Wolf were offset by single goals from Hayward Pardue and Maciel, and with one chukker left, Casa Sombres continued to hold a three goal lead, 7-4.
A determined Casa Sombres returned to the field in the final chukker. An opening goal was scored by Bolko Kissling follow2ed by a goal from Horseware/Ireland’s Maciel. Three straight Casa Sombres goals (one from Ernesto Bautista and two from Wolf) ended the game with a comfortable 11-5 victory.
Wolf accounted for five goals fir Casa Sombres. Bolko Kissling scored three times and teammates Bautista and Conrad Kissling scored single goals.
Maciel set the pace for Horseware/Ireland with three goals. Devine and Pardue scored single goals in a losing effort.
CASA SOMBRES 11, FLOWERS FARMS 9
Saturday morning, Casa Sombres returned to the pitch to face the Flowers Farms team (Erik Wright, David Flowers, Gina Padilla and Domingo Questal).
The teams played to a 2-2 tie in the first chukker with Bolko Kissling scoring the first goal of the game and Ernesto Bautista adding a penalty goal for Casa Sombres. Flowers Farms got goals from David Flowers and Erik Wright.
Flowers and Wright added single goals again in the second (Wright scored on a penalty conversion) chukker while holding Casa Sombres to a goal from Conrad Kissling. Flowers Farms moved ahead, 4-3.
The Casa Sombres offense exploded in the third period, picking up three goals from Bolko Kissling and single goals from the field from Bautista and Ashton Wolf. Wright managed to keep Flowers Farms from getting shut out with a goal, but Casa Sombres left the field after the third with an 8-5 advantage.
Flowers Farms collected goals from Gina Padilla and Flowers in the fourth, while holding Casa Sombres to a single goal from the field from Bautista, cutting into the lead and trailing by just two goals, 9-7.
The two teams battled evenly through the final period of play with Flowers Farms picking up goals from Wright and Domingo Questal while Casa Sombres responded with goals from Conrad and Bolko Kissling for the 11-9 win.
Bolko Kissling led the field with five goals. Bautista scored three times for Casa Sombres. Conrad Kissling was credited with two goals in the win and Wolf added a goal.
Wright led the Flowers Farms attack with four goals. Flowers scored three times and Padilla and Questal added single goals in the loss.
PARKLANE 7, EMPIRE 6
Charlie Peterson scored all six of the Empire (Lee Pettigrew, Rob Scapa, Charlie Peterson and Lolo Payan), but it wasn’t enough as Parklane (Bill Garlock, Remy Muller, Champ Roth and Doug Blumenthal) snuck past them in a 7-6 contest.
Peterson clocked the first goal of the game on a penalty shot in the only scoring of the period as both teams struggled to find strengths and weaknesses in the opposing defense. Empire held a tenuous 1-0 lead after the opening chukker.
Parklane rebounded in the second period, collecting a goal from the field from Doug Blumenthal and a penalty goal from Remy Muller while holding Empire scoreless. Parklane moved ahead, 2-1.
The third chukker belonged to Empire, with Peterson scoring once form the field and adding two penalty goals. Parklane was blanked for the second time and fell behind, 4-2.
A fourth chukker Parklane rally garnered them four goals with Remy Muller scoring twice and Bill Garlock and Champ Roth adding a goal. Peterson responded with a single penalty goal as they found themselves trailing, 6-5.
A fifth chukker penalty goal from Muller had Parklane on top of a 7-5 score. Empire’s Peterson scored the final goal of the game on a penalty shot, but it wasn’t enough, as Parklane rode off with the 7-6 win.
Muller led the Parklane attack with four goals. Teammates Garlock, Roth and Blumenthal added single goals in the win.
Peterson scored five of his team’s six goals on penalty shots and one goal from the field.
EMPIRE 10, FLOWERS FARMS 7
Empire came out swinging in Sunday’s opener, registering four first chukker goals. Rob Scapa opened up the game with a goal from the field followed by goals from teammates Lolo Payan and Charlie Peterson. Flowers Farms responded with goals from Domingo Questal and Erik Wright. Payan closed out the scoring for a 4-3 Empire lead (Flowers Farms received one goal by handicap).
Questal ran the Flowers Farms total to six goals, scoring three times from the field. Payan fired back with two goals of his own and the teams were deadlocked in a 6-6 tie going into the third.
Empire picked up goals from Lee Pettigrew and Payan in the third chukker while Wright managed the only goal for flowers Farms. With one chukker left to play, Empire held a narrow 8-7 advantage.
Payan scored two unanswered goals (one from the field and one on a penalty shot) to end the game with Empire celebrating a 10-7 win over flowers Farms.
Payan scored seven goals for Empire. Teammates Pettigrew, Scapa and Peterson added single goals for the win.
Questal set the pace for flowers Farms with four goals. Wright scored twice and the team received one goal by handicap.
HORSEWARE/IRELAND 8, PARKLANE 7
In Sunday’s final 4-goal contest, Horseware/Ireland scored five goals in the last two chukkers to defeat Parklane 8-7.
In a slow start, Nicolas Maciel scored a penalty goal in the first chukker for Horseware/Ireland with Remy Muller responding with a goal from the field for Parklane. The teams left the field after the opening chukker all even at 1-1.
Sluggish offenses kept the scoring to a minimum again in the second frame with Manny Rodriguez adding a goal for Horseware/Ireland. Muller scored his second goal of the game for Parklane to keep it deadlocked at 2-2.
Parklane got its offense on track in the third chukker with Bill Garlock scoffing from the field and Doug Blumenthal adding two more goals for a 5-3 lead. Horseware/Ireland picked up a single goal from Nicolas Maciel.
Fourth chukker action saw Horseware/Ireland blank the Parklane attack while adding a pair of goals from Rodriguez. The game was tied up again, 5-5.
Blumenthal gave Parklane a 6-5 lead with the opening goal of the fifth period. Muller extended the lead to two goals, 7-5, with his third goal of the day. Maciel retaliated with a goal from the field, 7-6. Rodriguez scored the tying goal, 7-7, on a penalty conversion and Hayward Pardue his first goal of the day for an 8-7 victory.
Rodriguez scored five times for Horseware/Ireland. Maciel added three goals and Pardue scored once for the win.
Blumenthal and Muller scored three goals apiece for Parklane. Garlock added a single goal in a losing effort.