FlexJet (Melissa Ganzi, Leo Mandelbaum, Martin Estrada and Juan Bollini) edged Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Brad Blake and Wes Finlayson) 11-10 in overtime to earn a berth in the 2015 Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup final Sunday morning, November 1st at 10am at the Grand Champions Polo Club.
FlexJet took an early lead on a pair of first chukker goals from Martin Estrada and a goal from the field from Leo Mandelbaum. A tight FlexJet defense held Postage Stamp Farm scoreless for a 3-0 start.
The Postage Stamp Farm attack began to gel in second period play. Brandon Phillips converted two 30-yard penalty shots and Brad Blake (substituting for Julio Ezcurra) scored a goal from the field. Mandelbaum kept FlexJet from being shutout with his second goal of the day. After two chukkers FlexJet maintained a narrow one goal, 4-3 advantage.
The third period belonged to Postage Stamp Farm. Wes Finlayson tied the game at the 4:17 mark, 4-4, and Blake gave them their first lead of the game, two minutes later, 5-4. Phillips closed out the first half with a goal from the field with 57 seconds on the clock. FlexJet was unable to stage an effective attack and fell behind, 6-4.
Melissa Ganzi cut the Postage Stamp Farm lead to a single goal, 6-5, with a penalty conversion from 30-yards out. Estrada leveled the score at 6-6 with his third goal on the day. With 1:21 in the fourth chukker, Finlayson gave the lead back to Postage Stamp Farm, 7-6.
The momentum was with Postage Stamp Farm in the fifth chukker as Blake stretched the lead back to two goals, 8-6 with 5:42 left in the period. Estrada countered a minute later, 8-7. Phillips scored the final two goals of the chukker (one on a penalty conversion) as Postage Stamp Farm rode off the field with the largest lead of the day, 10-7.
A Postage Stamp Farm foul sent Mandelbaum to the penalty line where he converted the shot for a goal, 10-8. Two minutes later Estrada cut the lead down to a single goal, 10-9 as the momentum shifted. With Postage Stamp Farm trying to hold on for the win, Estrada’s sixth goal of the contest came with 32 seconds on the clock and tied it up at 10-10, forcing sudden-death overtime.
After a brief recess both teams returned to the field. Each had an opportunity to score, but shots went wide. Juan Bollini scored the winning goal from a melee of horses and riders in the area of the Postage Stamp Farm goal for the victory and a date in Sunday’s 10am final.
Estrada led the FlexJet attack with six goals. Mandelbaum scored three times and FlexJet got single goals from Ganzi and Bollini for the win. Phillips scored a team-high five goals for Postage Stamp Farm. Blake added three goals and Finlayson scored twice in a losing effort.
Travieso downs Audi and Dutta Corp.
In round-robin competition Friday afternoon Travieso (Grant Ganzi, Tony Calle, J.J. Celis and Jesse Bray) scored wins over Audi (Marc Ganzi, Gene Goldstein, Guille Aguero and Carlucho Arellano) and Dutta Corp. (Tim Dutta, Timmy Dutta, Carlitos Gracida and Nic Roldan) to make it to the final of the 2015 Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup.
Travieso charged out to a blistering 4-1 lead in the opening chukker of the first leg of the three team round-robin. Jesse Bray scored the opening goal followed by two goals from Tony Calle and a goal on a Penalty 1 called against Dutta Corp. Dutta Corp got on the scoreboard with a goal from Tim Dutta and trailed 4-1.
The second period was defensive in nature, and in spite of a number of runs up and down the field, neither team was able to score. Travieso continued to lead by three goals, 4-1.
Nic Roldan scored on a breakaway for the opening goal of the final chukker of the three period mini-match, 4-2, but that would be as close as they would get. Consecutive goals from Grant Ganzi (penalty conversion) and Jesse Bray extended the Travieso lead to four goals, 6-2, with just three minutes on the clock. Carlitos Gracida scored the final goal of the game for Dutta Corp but the win went to Travieso, 6-3.
Audi 6, Dutta Corp. 5
Dutta Corp. remained on the field to face Audi while Travieso got to sit out for three periods, and the battle continued.
Carlucho Arellano struck first for Audi at the 5:55 mark of the first chukker. Timmy Dutta countered with a goal for Dutta Corp., 1-1. Nic Roldan gave Dutta Corp. the lead with the final goal of the opening period, 2-1.
A 60-yard penalty conversion from Carlitos Gracida stretched the Dutta Corp. lead to two goals, 3-1, when Audi fought back. Gene Goldstein scored a goal from the field, 3-2, with just under four minutes left in the chukker; Roldan answered back for Dutta Corp., converting a penalty shot for a goal, 4-2. Marc Ganzi kept Audi in it with his first goal of the game with 1:04 left in the chukker. Dutta Corp. continued to lead, but Audi had cut the margin to a single goal, 4-3.
Guille Aguero scored twice in a row, tying Dutta Corp., 4-4 and then giving the lead to Audi, 5-4. Arellano made it 6-4 with just over a minute on the clock and Dutta Corp. trying to regain the momentum they entered the game with. Timmy Dutta scored the final goal of the game but it was Audi with the 6-5, come-from-behind victory.
Travieso 5, Audi 3
In the final three chukkers of the day Audi and Travieso would put their 1-0 records on the line, with the winner earning an invitation to face FlexJet in the final.
Audi opened with a 40-yard penalty conversion from Carlucho Arellano followed by a goal from the field from teammate Gene Goldstein. Jesse Bray scored the final goal of the chukker, keeping Travieso within a goal of the lead, 2-1.
Bray scored on a 60-yard penalty shot in the second period that tied the game at 2-2. Tony Calle made it 3-2 with a goal from the field for the only other scoring in the chukker. With one period remaining in regulation play. Travieso held a fragile one goal advantage, 3-2.
Grant Ganzi scored the first goal of the final chukker in the opening two minutes of play, 4-2, and added another on a penalty shot with 1:11 left in the game. Audi was unable to coordinate a successful attack and fell, 5-2.
Travieso and FlexJet will face one another in Sunday’s final at 1pm with the consolation round-robin between Audi, Postage Stamp Farm and Dutta corp. taking place at 10am.
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. The Grand Champions Polo Hotline is 561-373-0073.