MVP Sapo Caset, scored twelve goals in Lucchese win.
The final of the 2014 USPA Silver Cup was everything it was advertised to be with Lucchese (John Muse, Jeff Hall, Sapo Caset and Tommy Collingwood) falling behind ERG (Scott Wood, Remy Muller, Agustin Merlos and Sebastian Merlos) by four goals in the sixth and coming back to tie it up and win it in overtime.
The two teams had met just over a week ago when Lucchese beat ERG 13-12 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. Sunday afternoon at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, things were different.
Agustin Merlos scored the first goal of the game to give ERG the early edge, 1-0. Lucchese responded with a 30-yard penalty conversion from Sapo Caset and a goal from the field from Jeff Hall, 2-1.
Sebastian Merlos tied it with the opening goal of the second chukker, 2-2. Single goals from Caset and Hall ended the period with Lucchese in possession of a 4-2 lead.
ERG’s Agustin Merlos exploded in the third, scoring three straight goals that gave ERG a 5-4 advantage. Sebastian Merlos added a goal from the field to make it 6-4 before Lucchese could answer. Caset scored on a 60-yard penalty shot to cut the lead to a single goal, 6-5, and then tied it on a 30-yard penalty conversion, 6-6. Agustin Merlos closed out the first half with a penalty goal of his own that put ERG in front, 7-6.
Remy Muller scored his first goal of the game for ERG in the fourth chukker for a two goal, 8-6 advantage, but Lucchese fired right back. Caset scored three consecutive goals (one on a 60-yard penalty shot) to put Lucchese back on top, 9-8. Agustin Merlos scored his sixth goal of the game to tie it up at 9-9.
ERG took control of the game again in the fifth with Lucchese fouls causing them problems. Agustin Merlos converted three 30-yard penalty goals and added another goal from the field Caset scored a single goal for Lucchese as they fell behind by three goals, 13-10, going into the final chukker of regulation play.
Lucchese lost the opening throw-in of the sixth that saw ERG’s Sebastian Merlos blister the ball through the goal posts to make it 14-10. That was when Lucchese stepped up to the plate. Caset quickly added two goal s from the field, 14-12. Hall scored Lucchese’s third goal of the chukker to make it a one goal game, 14-13 as the pace continued to quicken. An ERG foul gave Lucchese the opportunity to tie the game, which Caset did on a 30-yard penalty goal, 14-14. The two team struggled for control of the ball, but time expired, forcing the two teams into a sudden-death overtime chukker.
After a brief intermission the two teams returned to the field to determine the winner of the 2014 USPA Silver Cup.
ERG took control of the opening throw-in and had Muller racing toward the Lucchese goal. A slight miscue, however, negated the ERG effort, and the Lucchese team knocked in. The ball was carried up and down the field for the first couple of minutes of the overtime period when Hall found a streaking Caset with a pinpoint pass that Caset buried between the ERG goalposts for the 15-14 win.
Caset led all scorers with an impressive 12 goals, (six on penalty conversions) and was named MVP for his efforts. Hall added three goals for the victory. Agustin Merlos scored ten goals for ERG (five on penalty shots). Sebastian Merlos added three goals and Muller was credited with a goal in a losing effort.