White Birch 7-goaler Ezequiel Ferrario (white jersey) getting crashed in on by Fred Mannix (#4) and Rodrigo Andrade (#2) in the semifinal of the 2016 USPA C. V. Whitney Cup at the International Polo Club Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Audi (Marc Ganzi, Gonzalo Pieres, Rodrigo Andrade and Fred Mannix) earned a spot in the final of the 2016 C. V. Whitney Cup Thursday afternoon with a 9-8 win over White Birch (Hilario Ulloa, Ezequiel Ferrario, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant) Thursday afternoon.
In a cautious start, Freddie Mannix was credited with the first goal of the game and the only score of the opening chukker of play. Both teams had a number of opportunities to score but shots were either blocked or sailed wide. After one period of play it was Audi with a humble 1-0 advantage.
Second chukker goals from Gonzalito Pieres and Mannix were countered by a 40-yard penalty conversion by Hilario Ulloa, 3-1. Audi continued to dominate the action and a determined defense kept White Birch from scoring from the field for the second consecutive period.
White Birch reeled off three straight goals to open the third chukker. Mariano Aguerre scored his first goal of the day from the field followed by a pair of goals from Ulloa (one on a penalty shot). For the first time on the day, White Birch led, 4-3. Audi team captain Marc Ganzi tied the game at 4-4 with his first goal of the game and Pieres took the lead back for Audi, 5-4, with a 60-yard penalty conversion to end the first half.
Both defenses were at their best in early fourth chukker play. Ulloa tied the game for White Birch at 5-5 with just 2:17 left in the chukker. Brazilian 9-goaler Rodrigo Andrade ended the period with a go-ahead goal with just 18 seconds on the clock. After four chukkers Audi maintained the lead, 6-5.
Once again the fifth period started with both teams concentrating on their defense. After five minutes of play Mannix scored on a neck-shot from some 60-yrds out to give Audi a 7-5, two goal lead. White Birch fought back but there was no give by the Audi defenders. Pieres stole the ball from White Birch at midfield and raced down the field, scoring his third goal of the day with 52 on the clock for an 8-5 advantage.
White Birch pressed the attack from the opening throw-in of the final chukker. Taking advantage of an Audi foul, Ulloa cut the lead to two goals, 8-6, on a 60-yard penalty conversion less than two minutes into the sixth period. Two minutes later White Birch was awarded a goal on a rarely called Penalty 1, cutting the Audi lead down to a single goal, 8-7. With 3:14 left in the game Audi knocked the ball in with Mannix sending the ball to Ganzi, Ganzi to Andrade and Andrade powering through the opposition to score the team’s ninth goal of the contest to go up, 9-7. White Birch struggled to put together a cohesive attack, and finally scored on a 60-yad penalty conversion from Ulloa, but time was on the side of Audi. A stubborn defense refused to yield another goal, with White Birch falling short, 9-8, and Audi advancing to the final of the C. V. Whitney Cup.
A balanced Audi attack saw Mannix and Pieres scoring three goals apiece. Andrade added two goals and Ganzi scored once in the win. Four of Ulloa’s game high six goals came on penalty conversions. Aguirre scored once and the team received a goal on a Penalty 1.
The victory sends Audi against the defending C. V. Whitney Cup Championship Orchard Hill team (Polito Pieres, Julian De Lussareta, Facundo Pieres and Steve Van Andel) on Sunday at 3pm.