By Alex Webbe
Wins by Audi and Newport set the finals in Sunday’s USPA Kay Colee finals at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington as the Florida fall season moves into its
second week of play.
Dawn Jones set the bar high for all players that would follow, scoring eight times in the opening game of the day as Audi scored a resounding 13-7 win over Elangeni
Ranch.
Elangeni Ranch received three goals on handicap from the 16-goal Audi team and quickly added to it on a goal from 7-goaler Sugar Erskine, but Jones got Audi on the
scoreboard with her first goal of the game to trail 4-1.
The Audi offense exploded for four unanswered goals in the second chukker, getting
single goals from Juan Bollini and Joey Casey. Jones converted a penalty shot for a goal and added another from the field as Audi took the lead, 5-4, after the first two periods of play.
Jones scored the opening goal of the third chukker on another penalty goal before Elangeni Ranch’s Timmy Sharma responded with a goal. A pair of goals from Jason Crowder and Casey’s second goal of the game closed out the scoring in the first half with Audi riding off with a 7-5 advantage.
Elangeni Ranch had no answers for the Audi defense, finding itself unable to score in
the fourth period as Jones scored three times.
Audi stretched its lead to seven goals, 12-5, with just two chukkers left to play.
Sharma struck first for Elangeni Ranch in the fifth with a goal, but Jones broke
through the defense and found herself on the scoring end of a pass for her
eighth goal of the game. Erskine added another goal for Elangeni Ranch, but the deficit of five goals loomed before them with just seven minutes left in the game.
Action continued to race up and down the field, but the scoring was limited, with Elangeni Ranch team captain Brian Street scoring the only goal of the final chukker as
Audi celebrated the 13-7 win.
Jones led all scoring with eight goals. Crowder and Casey added two goals apiece and Bollini’s single goal gave Audi a total of thirteen on the afternoon. The victory
lifts Audi into Sunday’s 11 am finals.
Elangeni Ranch received three goals by handicap and got two goals apiece from Erskine and Sharma. Street added a goal in the loss.
NEWPORT WINS ROUND-ROBIN WITH WINS
OVER GRAND CHAMPIONS AND PIAGET
Newport scored wins over Grand champions and Piaget to earn a date with Audi in the finals of the 2011 USPA Kay Colee Memorial Cup with team captain Gene Goldstein scoring seven times in the double win.
Goldstein scored four times in the team’s opening 6-3 win over Grand Champions and added three more goals in its victory over Piaget.
Piaget and Grand Champions battled to a 5-5 tie in the final match-up of the day in what amounted to little more than a consolation match with the finals of the tournament already set.
Play will continue in the 2011 USPA Kay Colee Memorial Cup on Sunday at 11 am when Audi and Newport square off in the finals. A consolation round-robin will see Piaget, Grand Champions and Elangeni Ranch battling in the consolation round of the tournament.