By Alex Webbe
Barrossa opened the 2012 Champions Cup at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California with a resounding 14-9 win over Tentnology while Gypsy/Tritech managed to hold on to capture a hard-fought 10-9 victory at the expense of Trinity in the 8-10 goal tournament.
Barrossa (Jessie Bray, Erik Wright, Santiago Trotz and Jef Graham) spotted Tentnology (Gery Warner, Artie Cameron, Nicolas Maciel and Miguel Gutierrez) two goals by handicap, but struck early and often, registering four unanswered goals in the first chukker of play. Wright scored on a pair of penalty shots with Bray and Trotz adding single gals for the early 4-2 lead.
Second chukker goals from Trotz and Bray had Barrossa up by four goals, 6-2. Maciel managed to get Tentnology on the scoreboard with a single goal to end the period trailing Barrossa, 6-3.
Bray added two more goals from the field in the third, but Tentnology managed to pick up three goals as Maciel scored once from the field before converting on a pair of penalty shots. Tentnology had narrowed the gap, but trailed by two goals, 8-6, at the end of the first half.
The two teams exchanged goals in the fourth with Bray adding two more goals to the Barrossa pot. Tentnology got single goals from Maciel Gutierrez. After four chukkers Barrossa continued to lead by two goals, 10-8.
Barrossa scored three more goals in the fifth while Tentnology’s attack fell short. Trotz scored once from the field and converted a 40-yard penalty shot. Bray scored his seventh goal of the game. Barrossa rode into the final chukker of play with a 13-8 advantage.
Trotz opened the sixth chukker with a goal that had Barrossa on top of a 14-8 score. Cameron retaliated with a single goal, but Barrossa took home the 14-9 win.
Bray led all scoring with seven goals. Trotz registered five goals and Wright added a pair of goals.
Maciel led Tentnology with five goals. Cameron and Gutierrez scored single goals and the team received two goals by handicap.
GYPSY/TRITECH 10, TRINITY 9
Gypsy/Tritech (Suzanne Figi, Luis Rios, Graham Bray, Gaston Von Wernich and Chris Maloney) charged out to an 8-4 halftime lead but struggled to hold on to the lead in its 10-9 win over Trinity (Rick Paicius, Robin Paicius, Clemente Zavaleta and Agustin Zavaleta) in Champions Cup action.
Von Wernich scored the first goal of the match on a 60-yard penalty shot. Agustin Zavaleta responded in kind with a penalty goal for a 1-1 tie. Von Wernich added two more goals from the field and the first chukker ended with Gypsy/Tritech holding a 3-1 advantage.
Trinity got a single goal from Agustin Zavaleta in the second period, but Maloney answered with a goal for Gypsy/Tritech. The second period ended with Gypsy/Tritech ahead, 4-2.
Trinity managed to come up with single goals from Agustin Zavaleta and Clemente Zavaleta, but Gypsy/Tritech responded with four goals of their own. Von Wernich scored once from the field and once on a penalty shot. Bray and Figi added single goals as Gypsy/Tritech built a commanding 8-4 halftime lead.
Bray scored the only goal of the fourth chukker as Trinity was unable to break through the Gypsy/Tritech defense. After four periods of play, Gypsy/Tritech led Trinity by five goals, 9-5.
Trinity rallied for four goals in the fifth chukker. Three goals from the field from Agustin Zavaleta and a goal from Clemente Zavaleta were countered by a single goal from Von Wernich. Gypsy/Tritech continued to lead, but Trinity was with two goals of the lead, 10-8.
Defenses took to the forefront in the final chukker of the game. Agustin Zavaleta managed a 60-yard penalty goal, but that was where the Trinity rally stalled. Without scoring another goal, Gypsy/Tritech celebrated the 10-9 victory.
Von Wernich led the Gypsy/Tritech team with six goals. Bray added two goals and teammates Figi and Maloney were credited with single goals in the win.
Agustin Zavaleta led all scoring with seven goals. Clemente Zavaleta scored twice in the loss.