Women’s polo: Urban Dog defeats Yuma 4-2
By DIANE HENSLEY
INDIO – The buzz from several competitors in the Debii $ Conant Memorial Women’s tournament on Saturday was that no team would beat two-goaler Caroline Anier and the Urban Dogs in the A flight.
Anier didn’t disappoint them on Sunday at Eldorado Polo Club.
She scored two from the field, a penalty conversion and was given one on handicap for the 4-2 win against Yuma.
Backed by Kim Garced and supported by forward Susan Stovall and Julie Roenisch at No. 2, the one-goal Urban Dogs stacked up as the underdogs against the three-goal Yuma team quarterbacked by Therese Volmer. But a smart Urban Dog defense easily defrayed the handicap difference–allowing Volmer just two goals in the match out of Yuma’s 12 attempts.
Yuma’s Volmer and No. 2 Dana Aschinger put together the plays, got to the plays, but couldn’t complete them. Offensive drives were pushed off course. Well placed shots were picked off. Hazing and hooks laid waste to an open passing game strategy, and at least two minutes of playing time ticked off the clock for frequent throw-ins from the sideline.
Anier set the bar for Yuma early in the match on an end-to-end run to break the 1-1 tie in the first chukker. Yuma’s Erica Gandomcar’s penalty four conversion attempt went wide and Anier took the knock in. Her 45-yard shot took a hop to the right and Volmer backed it into the pack; directly in line with an approaching Anier. Stovall held off Aschinger and Garced headed off Parker while the pack circled back. Anier rode through backed by Roenisch and made the break for goal, clearing the posts with a 30-yard offside. A trailing Gandomcar reached unsuccessfully for the hook. Anier scored a second field goal to go up 3-1 with 34 seconds remaining on a short tap-in.
Neither team scored in the second chukker and the last half was punctuated with the single penalty conversions by Volmer and Anier.
In other flights, Deer Creek beat Voice Objects 5-3 in the B flight final and in the C flight finals, Aspen defeated Sudoka 4-3.