Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Leo Mandelbaum, Brandon Phillips and Julio Ezcurra) appeared in their third tournament final of the fall season Sunday afternoon, and won for the second time in a 9-7 victory over Dutta Corp. (Timmy Dutta, J.J Celis, Carlitos Gracida and Guille Aguero).
Postage Stamp Farm received three goals by handicap from the 14-goal Dutta Corp. team but struggled with their offense in the opening chukkers.
The two teams battled through a scoreless first chukker that had Postage Stamp Farm on top of a 3-0 lead (three goals by handicap.
Second chukker goals from Carlitos Gracida (40-yard penalty conversion), J.J. Celis and Guille Aguero tied the game at 3-3. Postage Stamp Farm was still unable to mount a successful attack and remained scoreless from the field for the second consecutive period.
Goals were scarce in third period play with neither side having much luck near the goal. Leo Mandelbaum scored Postage Stamp Farm’s first goal of the game with just 1:14 on the clock and ending the first half with a narrow 4-3 lead. Dutta Corp. left the field without a goal for the second time in three chukkers.
Timmy Dutta tied the game with the opening goal of the second half, 4-4, but Postage Stamp Farm answered back with a goal from Mandelbaum, 5-4. Aguero scored his second goal of the game with 1:13 on the clock to level the score once again, 5-5.
Postage Stamp Farm came alive again in the fifth chukker with goals from team captain Annabelle Gundlach and Brandon Phillips. The Postage Stamp Farm defense kept Dutta Corp. off of the scoreboard, and left the field with a two goal, 7-5 advantage.
Phillips extended the Postage Stamp Farm lead to three goals, 8-5 at the 4:52 mark of the sixth period. A Postage Stamp Farm foul sent Dutta to the penalty line just a minute later where he converted a 40-yard shot for a goal, cutting the Postage Stamp Farm lead back to a manageable two goals, 8-6. Gracida bought Dutta Corp. to within a goal of the lead with his second goal of the game with less than two minutes left in regulation time. Dutta Corp. fouled with 32 seconds on the clock and Phillips converted from 40-yards out for the 9-7 final.
Phillips led the Postage Stamp Farm attack with three goals. Mandelbaum scored twice; Gundlach added a goal and the team received three goals by handicap. Dutta, Gracida and Aguero each scored twice for Dutta Corp. Celis scored once in a losing effort.
Phillips was named MVP for his efforts on behalf of Postage Stamp Farm while Timmy Dutta’s 6-year-old grey mare, Pims, was honored as Best Playing Pony.
The tournament will conclude with a subsidiary match between Audi (Marc Ganzi, Grant Ganzi, Wes Finlayson and Nic Roldan) and US Trust (Melissa Ganzi, Riley Ganzi, Jesse Bray and Luis Escobar) on Grand Champions Field 5 at 4:30pm.
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.