Mt. Brilliant/ELG (Bo Goodman, Kris Kampsen Julian Daniels and Avery Chapman) trailed throughout most of the game Monday morning in the 14-goal International Polo club’s Wanderers Classic before rallying in the final chukker to tie it up and score the winning goal in overtime in a 13-12 contest with Equus & Company (Matthew Coppola, Jared Zenni, Matias Obregon and Ulysses Escapite). The victory boosts Mt. Brilliant/ELG into the tournament finals on Saturday, January 26 against an undefeated Tonkawa (3-0) contingent (Jeff Hildebrand Agustin Arellano, Brandon Phillips and Nic Roldan).
Equus & Company received one goal by handicap and added three more goals to it for a 4-3 lead. Equus & Company picked up a pair of penalty goals from Matias Obregon and a goal from the field from Jared Zenni in the first chukker. Mt. Brilliant/ELG responded with three goals from Kris Kampsen, two coming from the penalty line.
Second chukker action saw Kampsen tie it up with a penalty goal, 4-4. Matt Coppola put Equus & Company back in the lead with his first goal of the day, 5-4, but Kampsen’s fourth penalty conversion of the day had it all even at 5-5 at the end of the period.
Four consecutive goals from Equus & Company Obregon, Coppola, Obregon and Ulysses Escapite) gave them a 9-5 advantage before Mt. Brilliant/ELG responded. A single penalty conversion from Kampsen was followed by a goal from teammate Bo Goodman as he drove the ball through the Equus & Company goal posts, cutting the lead to 9-7 to end the first half.
Coppola opened the second half with a goal from the field for Equus & Company, but Mt. Brilliant/ELG retaliated with a pair of goals from Kampsen (one from the field and one on a penalty shot). At the end of the fourth chukker Mt. Brilliant/ELG trailed by a single goal, 10-9.
Equus & Company got fifth chukker goals from Obregon and Coppola while holding Mt. Brilliant/ELG to a single goal from Kampsen. With one chukker left in regulation time, Equus & Company was protecting a 12-10 lead.
Goals were hard to come by for Equus & Company in the sixth period. Kampsen added two more penalty goals while Mt. Brilliant/ELG was shut down. Time expired with the score deadlocked at 12-12, forcing a sudden-death overtime.
When both teams returned to the field with fresh horses, the ball was thrown in and play began. Both teams had early chances to score, to no avail. With three-and-a-half minutes had passed in the overtime chukker, Kampsen broke free and scored the winning goal for Mt. Brilliant/ELG, 13-12.
Kampsen led all scoring with a remarkable twelve goals on the day, eight on penalty shots. Goodman scored a single goal from the field for Mt. Brilliant/ELG in the win. Obregon’s five goals (two on penalty shots) set the pace for Equus & Company. Coppola added four goals and Escapite and Zenni scored single goals in a losing effort.
Photo Credit-Alex Pacheco