On her one year anniversary of her first tournament game, Annabelle Gundlach led her Postage Stamp Farm team (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Guille Aguero and Leo Mandelbaum) to a 9-4 win over Audi (Santos Bollini, Marc Ganzi, Luis Escobar and Juan Bollini) in the final of the 2015 Tackeria Invitational at the Grand Champions Polo Club Sunday afternoon.
In an evenly matched opening chukker Leo Mandelbaum scored the only goal of the period on a shot from the field. The Postage Stamp Farm defense held Audi scoreless and left the field on top of a 1-0 score.
Marc Ganzi got Audi on the scoreboard in the opening seconds of the second period with a 30-yard penalty conversion that leveled the score at 1-1. Guille Aguero broke away from the Audi defenders to score on a breakaway goal at the 5:29 mark, and give the lead back to Postage Stamp Farm, 2-1. With just over a minute left in the period, Brandon Phillips converted a penalty shot from 40-yards out for the final goal of the period, giving Postage Stamp Farm the early 3-1 advantage.
Both defenses tightened up in the third. Aguero scored his second goal of the day just 45 seconds into the chukker to make it 4-1. Audi fought back, and picked up a goal from Juan Bollini on a well-executed neck shot. Postage Stamp Farm ended the first half on the winning end of a 4-2 score.
A tentative start to the fourth had Ganzi and Phillips trading 30-yard penalty shots, 5-3. Aguero stretched the Postage Stamp Farm lead to three goals with1:32 on the clock with the final goal of the chukker, 6-3.
Goals were hard to come by in the fifth. Midway through the chukker Mandelbaum’s second goal of the game came on a nearside neck shot that pushed Postage Stamp Farm ahead by four goals, 7-3.
Phillips found himself on the scoring end of a pass from teammate Aguero, 8-3, and Mandelbaum’s third goal of the match had Postage Stamp Farm leading by six goals with 5:30 left in the game. Audi tried to fight back, with Juan Bollini adding his second goal of the game, but time was on the side of Postage Stamp Farm who rode out the 9-4 victory.
Phillips, Aguero and Mandelbaum scored three goals apiece for the win. Mandelbaum earned MVP honors for his efforts. Audi got two goals apiece from Marc Ganzi and Juan Bollini. Mandelbaum was honored at MVP for his efforts.
Casablanca 12, Dutta Corp. 10
Earlier in the day Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Wes Finlayson, J.J. Celis and Julio Ezcurra) jumped out in front of a 7-2 halftime lead before downing Dutta Corp. (Timmy Dutta, Tim Dutta, Carlitos Gracida and Nic Roldan), 12-10.
Casablanca accounted for all of the scoring in the first two chukkers as the teamwork of the Casablanca team members started to click. Julio Ezcurra scored the first goal of the game on a pass from teammate J. J. Celis a minute into the game for the 109 lead. Ezcurra returned the favor at the 5:28 mark as he passed the ball to Celis who drove it through the goal posts for a 2-0 Casablanca advantage. Celis scored the final goal of the chukker with Wes Finlayson driving down the field and leaving the ball in the goal mouth for another Casablanca score, 3-0. An aggressive defense and a well-coordinated Casablanca attack kept Dutta Corp. off of the scoreboard in the opening chukker.
Celis made it 4-0 with the first goal of the second period, and teammate Grant Ganzi scored on a cut shot after receiving a pass from Finlayson, 5-0. Casablanca picked up the final goal of the chukker as Celis added his fourth goal of the game with 18 seconds on the clock. After two chukkers it was Casablanca in front, 6-0.
Carlitos scored the first goal of the game for Dutta Corp. as the third period got underway, 6-1. Finlayson tapped in a shot on goal by Ganzi with 2:57 left in the chukker, 7-1. Timmy Dutta scored his first goal of the day too close out the first half with Casablanca firmly in control of the game, 7-2.
Dutta Corp. exploded in the fourth chukker with young Timmy Dutta racing up and down the field and scoring at will. Timmy Dutta scored his first goal of the chukker 16 seconds into the second half, 7-3. At 3:25 Timmy Dutta added a second goal, 7-4, and with 4 seconds on the clock, his third goal of the chukker had Dutta Corp. within two goals of the lead, 7-5. A disciplined defense held Casablanca scoreless for the first time all day.
Ezcurra got Casablanca back on track in the fifth, scoring on a pass from Celis at 6:07, 8-5. Timmy Dutta responded by scoring from the field on a pass from Nic Roldan, 8-6. Ezcurra countered by taking the ensuing throw-in and racing down the field for a goal at 4:32, 9-6. The Celis-Ezcurra reared its head again with Celis scoring his fifth goal of the day on a pass from Ezcurra, 10-6. Gracida scored on a backhand pass from Roldan with 1:02 left in the chukker, 10-7. Celis scored the final goal of the chukker with just 15 seconds remaining to be played in the chukker for an 11-7 edge and one period remaining to be played in regulation time.
Gracida attempted to breathe new life into the Dutta Corp. attack in the final chukker, scoring consecutive goals that cut the Casablanca lead back to two goals, 11-9, but that would be as close as they would come. Celis scored on a well-executed shot from over 60-yards out at the 2:29 mark, 12-9. Dutta Corp. struggled with the Casablanca defense for the balance of the match, getting a final goal from Gracida who tapped in a long shot at goal from Roldan for the 12-10 Casablanca victory.
Celis scored a game-high seven goals and was named MVP. Ezcurra accounted for three goals with Ganzi and Finlayson each adding a goal for the win. Gracida and Timmy Dutta scored five goals apiece for Dutta Corp. in the loss.
Tournament action at the Grand Champions Polo Club will continue this coming week with the US Trust Cup.
The Grand Champions Polo Club is located at 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 33414. The matches are free of charge and the public is invited to attend.