The USPA President’s Cup began this past weekend with four action packed games. The fall 8 Goal Tournament Series is held throughout the month of September and continues into the first weekend of October. Matches are played Saturdays and Sundays on the beautiful Santa Barbara Polo fields.
Saturday, September 10th
Klentner Ranch def. Lucchese
The battle of the five goalers took center stage in the first match of the day as Santi Wulff and Jesse Bray each led their team on the hunt for their first victory. Armed with a strong defense in the Klentners and Fargey, Bray was able to take advantage of his teammates assistance and win the first game of the President’s Cup with Klentner Ranch.
Film Finances def. Gipsy Farm
Leigh Brecheen and her Film Finances team joined in the mix for the second tournament of the fall. Rhett Merrill, Patrick Uretz, Martin Donovan and Leigh Brecheen took on the Gipsy Farm team. Warwick Prendiville, a new addition to the Gipsy Farm team, aided in the offensive lineup of the team with Paige Beard playing up front, Charlie Walker playing two and Henderson rounding out the back.
Sunday, September 11th
Klentner Ranch def. Film Finances 9-8 OT
Klentner Ranch took a strong lead in the first chukker of play against Film Finances, but saw their lead dissipate quickly as Film Finances honed their accuracy on the penalty line, scoring seven of their eight total goals on penalty conversions. Late in the sixth chukker, Klentner Ranch was forced to turn on the heat as they trailed by one goal with around one minute remaining. Bray took advantage of a broken play, tying the score and sending the match to overtime. A back shot pass from Fargey landed in the perfect spot to be scooped up by Bray who took off running to the goal. Klentner Ranch advances with a 2-0 record.
Lucchese def. Gipsy Farm 10-6
The first half of play proved to be a hard fought match with the score remaining within a goal or two the first three chukkers. Guided by former high goal player, Joe Henderson, Charlie Walker and Warwick Prendiville took advantage of momentum created in the first chukker. After halftime, Wulff returned to the field with a vengeance scoring a handful of goals in a few minutes. Gipsy Farm battled to lessen the margin, but lacked sufficient time to overcome the goals scored by Wulff.
The next round of play will take place on Saturday, September 17. The match between Film Finances and Lucchese will be a virtual semifinal as the winner advances to the final against Klentner Ranch.
-
- Charlie Walker
-
- Cholo Donovan
-
- Conrad Kissling
-
- Dayelle Fargey
-
- Jesse and Santi
-
- Jesse Bray
-
- Joe Henderson
-
- John Muse
-
- Leigh B.
-
- Leigh Breecheen
-
- Paige Beard
-
- Warwick