Hanalei Bay defeats Long Beach 11-8
By DIANE HENSLEY
INDIO –- Inside men Agustin Zavaleta and Federico von Wernich led a fourth-chukker turnaround and ended Long Beach’s hopes for recovery in the sixth with an 11-8 victory in the 16-goal league at Eldorado Polo Club Sunday.
The win lifted Hanalei Bay to a 3-1 record and handed Long Beach its fourth straight loss. Grant’s Farm Manor/Windsor Capital remains undefeated at 4-0.
A slow start by Hanalei Bay gave Long Beach a three-goal advantage by the end of the second chukker. Long Beach’s No. 3 Mariano Uranga struck the first blow in the match on a short offside pass received from teammate Henry Walker in the first 50 seconds. Long Beach then capitalized on a failed penalty conversion by von Wernich with two minutes remaining. Urango took the knock-in and fired a long pass to No. 2 Diego Cavanagh. Cavanaugh outran Hanalei’s Matt Walker and scored unchallenged for a 2-0 lead after the first.
Cavanagh fought off heavy hazing by Zavaleta midway through the second chukker before maneuvering through the pack for a short tap-in. Out of the line-up, Henry Walker got the tap and sent it to Uranga, who positioned, swung and hit a 90-yard bomb through the posts. Down 3-0, with :46 left on the clock, Hanalei Bay’s von Wernich scored on a steal from Henry Walker, angled away from the pack and fired as a trailing Uranga looked on.
Hanalei Bay put three on the boards in the third to come within one at 5-4. Zavaleta picked off a ball left by Henry Walker at midfield and charged through a bump by Cavanagh to score from 80 yards. Zavaleta hit a long ball off a penalty five conversion picked up by teammate Ron Bonaguidi. On Bonaguidi’s miss, von Wernich was there for the follow and save with a 30-yard offside through the posts.
The turning point for Hanalei Bay came late in the third on a dramatic series of plays that demonstrate the kind of resilience and resourcefulness needed to engineer a comeback. First, Zavaleta blocked Long Beach’s 60-yard penalty four shot to win the knock-in. He hit left to a waiting von Wernich, who positioned for the connect and the shot of the day—sending a bullet downfield more than 200 yards.
Long Beach traded goals with Hanalei Bay for tie scores in the fourth and fifth. Hanalei Bay pulled ahead on two penalty conversions by von Wernich and an impressive break by Zavaleta out of a throw-in at the 60-yard line.
League competition resumes Friday.
HANALEI BAY 11, LONG BEACH 8
GOALS
Hanalei Bay: Federico von Wernich 6, Agustin Zavaleta 5, Roberto Zedda, Ron Bonaguidi.
Long Beach: Diego Cavanagh 6, Mariano Uranga 2, Henry Walker, Matt Walker.