By Alex Webbe
Catamount (2-0) broke free from a back-and-forth battle with Mt. Brilliant Sunday morning at the International Polo Club for a 15-12 win over Mt. Brilliant (1-2) in 16-goal Everglades Classic competition.
Mt. Brilliant opened with goals from Chris Nevins (penalty goal) and Sugar Erskine for the early 2-0 lead. Two goals from Nic Roldan (one from the field and one by penalty) and a goal from Kris Kampsen had Catamount leading after the first chukker, 3-2.
Roldan and Kampsen added single penalty goals in the second period, but Mt. Brilliant answered back in force. Three goals from Nevins (two on penalty shots) and a rarely awarded Penalty 1 (an automatic goal) had Mt. Brilliant in front by one goal, 6-5.
A penalty conversion from Mt. Brilliant team captain, Bo Goodman, stretched the lead to two goals, 7-5, but the lead was short-lived. Kampsen responded with three goals (two on penalty shots and one from the field) for an 8-7 Catamount lead at the end of the first half.
Catamount team captain, Scott Devon blistered the Mt. Brilliant goal with three unanswered goals in the fourth, and Wes Finlayson scored a goal from the field. At the end of the chukker Mt. Brilliant trailed by five goals, 12-7.
Two more goals from Kampsen in the fifth had Catamount ahead, 14-7 before Mt. Brilliant picked up a penalty goal from Nevins. The fifth chukker ended with Catamount sitting on top of a six goal, 14-8 lead.
Mt. Brilliant staged a last chukker rally, getting a pair of goals from Erskine and single goals from Nevins and Costi Caset, but it wasn’t enough. Kampsen added another penalty goal as Catamount rolled to a 15-12 victory.
Kampsen set the bar for Catamount with eight goals (five on penalty shots). Roldan and Devin scored three goals apiece and Wes Finlayson scored a single goal in the win.
Nevins led the Mt. Brilliant team with six goals. Erskine added three goals and Goodman and Caset scored single goals in a losing effort.