White Birch (Joaquin Panelo, Jose Donoso, Matias Magrini and Peter Brant) and Cinque Terre (Alessandro Bazzoni, Gringo Colombres, Joao Ganon and Brandon Phillips) scored wins in Friday’s semifinals of the 20-goal Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup at the Greenwich Polo Club, and will be facing one another in Sunday’s finals.
Airstream 6-goaler, Kris Kampsen
Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz, Naco Taverna, Tommy Biddle and Nick Manifold) received three goals by handicap, but it was White Birch that got scored the first goals of the game. Matias Magrini converted a penalty shot followed by a goal from the field from Jose Donoso. The first chukker ended with Heathcote leading 3-2 without scoring a goal.
Second period play saw Magrini and Joaquin Panelo score consecutive goals for a 4-3 lead. Tommy Biddle converted a penalty shot for a goal, ending the second chukker in a 4-4 tie.
Nick Manifold opened the scoring in the third with a penalty conversion to put Heathcote ahead, 5-4, but that would be the last lead that they would enjoy. Goals from Peter Brant and Panelo ended the first half with White Birch on top of a 6-5 score.
Donoso scored the only goal for White Birch to open the second half while a re-focused Heathcote foursome fought to stay in the game. Biddle added two more goals (One on a penalty shot) to the Heathcote column to knot it up at 7-7 as the chukker ended.
White Birch took control of the game in the fifth, with Magrini and Panelo adding single goals. A smothering White Birch defense kept Heathcote from scoring. At the end of the chukker, White Birch held a 9-7 advantage.
Two more White Birch goals in the sixth (one from Magrini and another from Panelo) went unanswered in an 11-7 White Birch win, moving them into Sunday’s tournament finals.
Magrini and Panelo scored four goals apiece for White Birch. Donoso added two goals and Brant was credited with a goal in the victory. Biddle scored three goals for Heathcote (two on penalty shots). Manifold added a goal and the team received three goals by handicap in the loss.
CINQUE TERRE 14, AIRSTREAM 13
Cinque Terre scored seven goals in the last two chukkers of the game against Airstream (Peter Orthwein, Kris Kampsen, Guille Aguero and Mariano Gonzalez) to record a 14-13 win and earn the second berth in the finals of the Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup on Sunday where they will face Peter Brant’s White Birch team.
The 19-goal Cinque Terre team received one goal by handicap, with Peter Orthwein scoring the first goal of the game from the field for a 1-1 tie. Cinque Terre team captain Alessandro Bazzoni scored the closing goal of the chukker for the 2-1 edge.
Three more Cinque Terre goals went unanswered in the second period. Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon converted a penalty shot followed by goals from the field from Bazzoni and Gringo Colombres. After two chukkers Cinque Terre held a comfortable 5-1 edge over Airstream.
Brandon Phillips put Cinque Terre ahead 6-1 with his first goal of the game, but that was when the Airstream offense came alive. Kris Kampsen opened the Airstream scoring in the period with his first goal of the game. Mariano Gonzalez added two more, cutting the Cinque Terre lead to two goals, 6-4. Colombres closed out the chukker with a goal from the field and Cinque Terre found themselves on top at the end of the first half, 7-4.
The Airstream attack took its revenge out on Cinque Terre in the fourth with a punishing assault, and fouls cost them dearly. Kampsen connected on three penalty and shots and Mariano Gonzalez added two goals from the field. After four chukkers of play Airstream had passed Cinque Terre and boasted a 9-7 lead.
Ganon scored three goals for Cinque Terre in the fifth (one on a penalty shot) but single goals from Orthwein and Kampsen kept Airstream in the lead going into the sixth chukker, 11-10.
Colombres tied it up at 11-11 with the first goal of the sixth chukker, and put them ahead, 12-11, with the second goal of the period. Phillips stretched the Cinque Terre lead to two goals, 13-11 when Kampsen started an Airstream uprising. Two goals from the angular 6-goaler had it all even at 13-13 with time running out. A foul buy an Airstream defender was a costly mistake as Ganon converted the penalty shot for the goal and the 14-13 win.
Kampsen was high scorer with seven goals. Gonzalez added four goals and Orthwein scored twice in a losing effort. Ganon was credited with five goals for Cinque Terre (three on penalty shots). Colombres added four goals while Bazzoni and Phillips scored two goals apiece.
Cinque Terre will meet White Birch in the tournament finals on Sunday at 3PM at the Greenwich Polo Club.