L to R-Lucas Lalor, Nic Roldan, chase FlexJet’s Miguel Novillo Astrada in semifinal action of the Bobby Barry memorial Cup at the International Polo Club.
(Photo by Alex Pacheco)
With the completion of the semifinals of the Joe Barry Memorial Cup finally put to rest, Jeff Hildebrand’s Tonkawa team (Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalo Deltour, Inaki Laprida and Jeff Blake) took the field against Lechuza (Luis de Borbon, Marcos Alberdi, Juan Martin Nero and Tomas Goti) for the first semifinal of the subsidiary Bobby Barry Memorial Cup.
With Luis de Borbon and Tomas Goti replacing Lechuza team captain Victor Vargas and Martin Espain, Argentine 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero scored the first two goals of the game on penalty shots for a 2-0 lead. Gonzalo Deltour responded with a 40-yard penalty conversion of his own with Lechuza taking the early lead, 2-1.
Second period goals from Tomas Goti and Nero extended the Lechuza lead to three goals, 4-1, as an oppressive Lechuza defense held Tonkawa scoreless.
The Lechuza offense continued to roll in the third chukker on a pair of goals from Nero and a goal from Marcos Alberdi that had Tonkawa trailing by six goals, 7-1. Deltour scored the final goal of the period, but at the end of the first half it was all Lechuza, 7-2.
Tonkawa staged a mini-rally in the opening minutes of the second half, picking up a pair of goals from Deltour that cut the Lechuza lead to three goals, 7-4. Luis de Borbon scored his first goal of the game that kept Lechuza comfortably in the lead, 8-4. Deltour scored the final goal of the period with 23 seconds on the clock. Tonkawa cut into the Lechuza lead but continued to trail, 8-5.
Deltour brought Tonkawa to within two goals of the lead, 8-6, with a 60-yard penalty conversion in the fifth. De Borbon answered back with his second goal on the day. After five chukkers of play, Lechuza continued to lead, 9-6.
A defensive sixth chukker resulted in a single penalty goal from Inaki Laprida as Lechuza rode off the field with the 9-7 win and a berth in Sunday’s final.
Deltour scored a game-high six goals for Tonkawa (two on penalty conversions). Laprida added a goal in the loss. Nero set the offensive pace for Lechuza with five goals (two on penalty shots). De Borbon added two goals and Lechuza got single goals from Alberdi and Goti.
Audi 9, FlexJet 7
In a family battle for the second final berth of the Bobby Barry Memorial Cup, Marc Ganzi’s Audi lineup (Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Freddie Mannix and Lucas Lalor) faced his wife’s FlexJet entry (Melissa Ganzi Guille Aguero, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Juan Bollini) to close out the day.
Audi took immediate control of the match on goals from Nic Roldan and Lucas Lalor. FlexJet was unable to mount an effective attack and fell behind, 2-0.
Shutout defense continued to drive the game as Audi got a pair of second chukker goals from Fred Mannix and a single goal from Roldan boosted the Audi lead to a commanding 5-0.
Miguel Astrada finally got FlexJet on the scoreboard with a penalty conversion in the third, 5-1. Marc Ganzi answered back with the final goal of the chukker for a 6-1 halftime lead.
FlexJet added three more goals in the fourth with Melissa Ganzi, Guille Aguero and Astrada all tallying single goals. Audi responded with goals from Roldan and Mannix to lead, 8-4.
The offenses slowed down in the fifth. Single goals from Roldan and Astrada were the only goal scored as Audi continued to lead, 9-5.
Melissa Ganzi scored her second goal of the game in the sixth and Juan Bollini added a goal, but it was a case of too little, too late, as Audi rode off with the win and a spot in the final on Sunday against Lechuza.