By Alex Webbe
Luis Escobar led the way with five goals as Elegani Ranch
outscored Piaget 10-7 to score the first win of the fall season in the 2011
USPA Fall Plate at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington Sunday
afternoon.
J. J. Celis scored the first goal of the game for Elegani
Ranch on a penalty shot but Piaget responded with single goals from Sergio
Sylvestre and Marc Ganzi. Piaget left
the field after the first chukker with a narrow 2-1 advantage.
Two penalty goals from Escobar and a goal from the field
from Diego Cossio were accompanied by a miserly defense that held Piaget to a single goal from Leo
Mandelbaum, as Elegani Ranch took a 4-3 lead.
“It was a strange day for me,” said Piaget’s Marc Ganzi. “One minute the ball seemed to be sitting
right in front of me and the next minute it was somewhere else, very
frustrating.”
Ganzi led Piaget with eight goals in Friday’s win and was
hoping to take the season’s first cup championship.
Three more Elegani Ranch goals in the third and shutout
defense had Piaget trailing 7-3 at halftime.
Escobar added two more goals from the field and Cossio added his second
goal of the game.
Cossio had Elegani Ranch ahead by five goals, 8-3 after
opening the fourth chukker with a goal, but Sylvestre answered for Piaget to
keep them from getting shutout in the period.
At the end of four periods of play, Elegani Ranch held on to an 8-4
lead.
Cossio and Sylvestre exchanged single goal in the fifth
as Piaget couldn’t seem to find its scoring punch. Elegani Ranch continued to lead by four
goals, 9-5, with one chukker left to play.
Escobar’s fifth goal of the contest pushed the Elegani Ranch
lead to five goals at 10-5, but Piaget continued to battle back. Ganzi scored the final goal of the game for
Piaget but it was Elegani Ranch who took the cup with a 10-7 victory.
Escobar led all scoring with five goals. Cossio added four and Celis accounted for a
goal in the win.
Ganzi and Sylvestre scored three goals apiece for
Piaget. Mandelbaum scored once in a
losing effort.
AUDI
10, FLAT OUT 6
In earlier action, Audi relied on a balanced attack to
run off with the consolation round of the 2011 USPA Fall Plate in a 10-6 romp
over Flat Out.
Paul Knapp got Flat Out on the scoreboard with a goal
from the field in the opening chukker, but three consecutive goals from Audi
(Timmy Sharma, Joey Casey and Jason Crowder) gave Audi an early 3-1 edge.
Casey scored the only goal of the second chukker as Audi
played lights-out defense, extending its lead to 4-1.
Flat Out rebounded in the third, getting a pair of goals
from Kris Kampsen and single goals from Jota Chavanne and Paul Knapp. Juan Bollini scored on a well-placed
backhander to keep Audi from getting shutout as the teams left the field at the
end of the first half in a 5-5 tie.
Crowder got hot in the fourth, scoring a pair of goals
for Audi before Kampsen got flat Out on the scoreboard with his third goal on
the day. At the end of four chukkers
Audi led, 7-6.
Both defenses stiffened in the fifth, with Crowder
managing the only goal of the period.
Audi stretched its lead to two goals, 8-6.
Crowder and Casey added single goals in the final period
while Flat Out failed to score for the second straight chukker as Audi rode off
with the 10-6 win.
Crowder scored four times for Audi. Casey added three goals; Bollini accounted
for two and Sharma added a goal.
Kampsen led the Flat Out offense with three goals. Knapp scored twice and Chavanne added one
goal.
Polo action will continue at the Grand Champions Polo
Club next week with the USPA Kay Collee Memorial Cup.