By Alex Webbe
Empire 10 (Eric Hammon, Craig Steinke, Mariano Fassetta and Ashton Wolf) fought off a second half rally by Tentnology (Gery Warner, Artie Cameron, Miguel Gutierrez, Ernie Ezcurra and Nicolas Maciel) to register a 12-11 win in the 8-10 goal Emerald Cup at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California Friday morning.
Tentnology received two goals by handicap from the 10-goal Empire 10 team and added single goals by Artie Cameron and Nicolas Maciel while Empire got first chukker goals from Eric Hammon Mariano Fassetta and Ashton Wolf. After the opening chukker of play, Tentnology held a narrow 4-3 lead.
Empire picked up a goal from Hammon in the second period and single goals from Fassetta and Wolf in the third while holding Tentnology scoreless as they built up a 6-4 halftime lead.
A goal from Fassetta in the fourth had Empire on top of a 7-4 score when Tentnology rallied. A pair of goals from Miguel Gutierrez and a single goal from Nicolas Maciel had it all even at 7-7 after four chukkers of play.
Tentnology went ahead 8-7 with a goal from Cameron in the fifth but an energized Empire foursome fought back with a vengeance. Fassetta tied it up at 8-8 followed by Craig Steinke’s 9-8 go-ahead goal. Wolf closed out the period with his third goal of the day for a solid 10-8 lead with one chukker to go.
Wolf scored first for Empire in the sixth chukker, for an 11-8 advantage, but Tentnology wasn’t ready to give up. Two goals from Maciel were followed by a tying goal, 11-11, from Ernie Ezcurra (substituting for Gutierrez in the fifth and sixth chukkers). Hammon tallied the winning goal for Empire in a 12-11 victory.
Fassetta and Wolf scored four goals apiece for Empire. Hammon added three goals and Steinke accounted for a single goal in the win.
Maciel was high scorer for Tentnology with four goals. Gutierrez and Cameron scored two goals each and Ezcurra contributed a goal to the cause.
GYPSY/TRI-TECH 13, TRINITY 8
In an afternoon match in Emerald Cup play Gypsy/Tri-Tech (Suzanne Figi, Graham Bray, Gaston Von Wernich and Chris Maloney) rode out to a unimpressive 5-4 halftime lead before overpowering a Talented Trinity (Rich Paicius, Robin Paicius, Mariano Gutierrez and Agustin Zavaleta) team in a 13-8 victory.
Mariano Gutierrez scored the first goal of the contest but Gypsy/Tri-Tech stormed back. Consecutive goals from Chris Maloney, Gaston Von Wernich and Graham Bray gave them an early 3-1 lead.
Trinity took control of the second chukker, picking up goals from Rich Paicius and Gutierrez while holding Gypsy/Tri-Tech scoreless. The score was now all even at 3-3.
Gypsy/Tri-Tech took the lead back on goals from Bray and Maloney while Trinity managed but a single score by Agustin Zavaleta. After the first three chukkers Gypsy/Tri-Tech defended a narrow 5-4 lead.
Single goals from Bray and Maloney were countered by a single score from Trinity’s Zavaleta. Gypsy/Tri-Tech had extended their lead to two goals, 7-5.
In the most explosive chukkers of the game, the two teams combined for seven goals with Von Wernich scoring three goals and teammate Bray adding a single goal as Gypsy/Tri-Tech moved ahead, 11-8. Trinity picked up two goals from Zavaleta and a single goal from Gutierrez but Gypsy/Tri-Tech had moved in front by three goals, 11-8.
Single goals from Bray and Suzanne Figi went unanswered in the final chukker as Gypsy/Tri-Tech rode on to the 13-8 win.
Bray was responsible for five Gypsy/Tri-Tech goals. Von Wernich scored four times and Maloney added three goals with Figi adding a single goal in the team victory.
Zavaleta led the Trinity attack with four goals. Gutierrez scored three times and Rich Paicius added a goal.