By Alex Webbe
Mike Azzaro reminded the polo community of just how frightened the English were of his presence on the US team in the 2009 Westchester Cup match. An injury that sidelined him just days before the match led to a narrow 10-9 win. Azzaro opened the scoring with a 30-yard penalty conversion followed by a goal from the field for a 2-0 USA lead. Argentina rebounded with a goal from the field from Juan Ambroggio at the 3:48 mark. Just one minute later, Raul Laplacette tied it up on a penalty shot, 2-2 to end the first chukker.
Jeff Hall opened the second chukker with a 30-yard penalty goal to put the USA back on top, 5-2, but the lead was short-lived. Argentina peeled off four consecutive goals over the course of three minutes to surge ahead, 6-3. Single goals from Ambroggio and Laplacette (penalty conversion) and a pair of goals from Marcos Araya (one by penalty, one from the field) had Argentina taking a 6-3 lead into the third chukker.
The United States tightened up its defense in the third, shutting Argentina out for the first time, but couldn’t generate any offense of its own. With neither team scoring, the first half ended with the USA falling behind, 6-3.
Neither team could score for the opening minutes of the fourth chukker until Hall scored on a penalty shot at 4:39, but Araya answered with a penalty conversion of his own, 7-4. A last second foul by Argentina allowed Azzaro to convert a 60-yard penalty shot and the period ended with Argentina in front, 7-5.
Scoring is at a premium in the fifth, with both defenses playing well. Kampsen clips teammate Azzaro’s horse and sends him to the ground. Time is halted while he is taken to the team tent for treatment before returning to the field to play on. An Argentine foul puts Hall at the penalty line at 6:17 where he converts a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal. That would be the only scoring of the chukker as the US cut the lead to a single goal, 7-6.
Mason Wroe opened the final chukker with the tying goal, 7-7, but Laplacette responds less than a minute later with a gal from the field to regain the lead, 8-7. The USA presses the attack, but Argentina turns aside one rush after another. Santiago Cernadas extends the led to two goals, 9-7 with his first goal of the game with 1:28 left to play, but the USA continues to attack. Kris Kampsen finally scored to cut the lead to a single goal once again, 9-8, but time ran out on them and Argentine took the cup with the 9-8 win.
Araya and Laplacette scored three goals apiece for Argentina. Ambroggio added two goals and Cernadas scored once in the win.
Azzaro and Hall each scored three times. Kampsen and Wroe added single goals in the loss.
Azzaro was named MVP while the New Zealand bred Montana, out of the Wanstead Polo Club in Central Hawkes Bay, and played by the Argentine team, was honored as Best Playing Pony.
“We killed ourselves,” said Kampsen after the game. “After Cernadas scored in the sixth, there just wasn’t enough time left for us.”
Kampsen did score the final goal of the game in the hard-fought game with 39 seconds left in regulation time. The two teams returned to midfield but Argentina won the throw-in and with it, the game as time expired.
| Argentina | USA | ||
| Santiago Cernadas | 6 | Kris Kampsen | 6 |
| Marcos Araya | 6 | Mike Azzaro | 7 |
| Gaston Moore | 6 | Jeff Hall | 7 |
| Raul Laplaccette | 6 | Mason Wroe | 4 |
| Total | 24 | Total | 24 |
Youth Final – Score Breakdown
Chukka 1 Argentina 2:2 USA
Chukka 2 Argentina 6:3 USA
Chukka 3 Argentina 6:3 USA
Chukka 4 Argentina 7:5 USA
Chukka 5 Argentina 7:6 USA
Chukka 6 Argentina 9:8 USA