Los Amigos players on the attack, L to R-Stewart Armstrong and Lucas Lalor, in round-robin in the Aspen Valley Polo Club’s 2016 Emma Challenge Cup.
A powerful and balanced Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, Tony Calle, Nic Roldan and Alex Gooding) attack stampeded over a stunned Aspen Valley (Ale Poma, Grant Ganzi, Julio Novillo Astrada and Juancito Bollini) defense Friday morning at the Sopris Mountain Field to score a dominating 15-7 win in the opening match of the 2016 Emma Challenge Cup.
Nic Roldan opened the scoring with a goal from the field followed by a 30-yard penalty conversion from teammate Tony Calle for the early 2-0 lead. Julio Novillo Astrada got Aspen Valley on the scoreboard with the final goal of the chukker. Flexjet left the field on top of a 2-1 score.
Ale Poma accounted for the only goal in the second period as both teams concentrated on defense. Flexjet was unable to mount a successful attack. After two chukkers of play the score was all even at 2-2.
The third period belonged to the Ganzis. Grant Ganzi scored twice for Aspen Valley while Grant’s mother, Melissa Ganzi lit up the scoreboard with three goals, all from the field. At the end of the first half it was Flexjet with the narrow 5-4 advantage.
A refocused Flexjet team rode onto the field for the start of the second half and took immediate control of the game. Calle added three goals (one on a penalty shot) with teammate Alex Gooding scoring his first goal of the game from the field. Grant Ganzi supplied the only goal of the chukker for Aspen Valley on a short penalty conversion but trailed by four goals, 9-5.
The Flexjet offense continued to roll in the fifth as Roldan converted a 60-yard penalty shot to open the chukker, 10-5. Melissa Ganzi added a goal from the field, 11-5, before Aspen Valley finally responded. Poma scored Aspen Valley’s first goal of the period, 11-6. Roldan and Grant Ganzi (penalty goal) exchanged goals to close the chukker with Flexjet in front by five goals, 12-7.
There was no let up from Flexjet in sixth chukker action. Melissa Ganzi scored the first goal of the chukker followed y back-to-back goals from Gooding. Aspen Valley was held scoreless and fell by the final score of 15-7.
Melissa Ganzi led the field in scoring with five goals. Calle scored four times with Gooding and Roldan each adding three goals for the win. Two of Grant Ganzi’s four goals came on penalty shots for Aspen Valley. Poma accounted for two goals with Astrada adding a single score in the loss.
Tonkawa edges Los Amigos and La Karina to play in final
Los Amigos (Alejandra Foster, Carlitos Gracida, Lucas Lalor and Stewart Armstrong) snuck past La Karina (Paul Foster, Brian Boyd, Sebastian Merlos and Gabriel Gracida) by a single goal, 3-2 in the first three chukkers of Friday afternoon’s round-robin at Jeff Hildebrand’s High Mesa Field.
The two teams traded goals in the first chukker with Carlitos Gracida giving Los Amigos the 1-0 lead with a goal from the field. La Karina 9-goaler Sebastian Merlos tied the score at 1-1 for the final score in the chukker.
Carlitos Gracida was first on the scoreboard in the second with his second goal of the game. Brian Boyd came through for La Karina, however, and leveled the score at 2-2 to end the period.
Both defenses were at their best in the final chukker of play but it was Alejandra Foster with the game winner for Los Amigos as La Karina was unable to produce any effective offense in the final seven minutes of play.
Tonkawa 6, La Karina 4
La Karina held the field for the second three chukker leg of the round-robin as a fresh Tonkawa team (Jeff Hildebrand, Teo Calle, Tincho Merlos and Jimmy Seward) rode onto the field.
This time it was Sebastian Merlos with the first goal of the game, 1-0. Agustin Merlos (younger brother of Sebastian) leveled the score at 1-1 while a goal from team captain Jeff Hildebrand had Tonkawa in the lead, 2-1 at the end of the chukker.
La Karina fought back in the second period with consecutive goals from Merlos and Gabriel Gracida, 3-2. A La Karina foul sent Agustin Merlos to the penalty lien where he converted the shot from 60-yars out to tie the game at 3-3.
La Karina jumped in front, 4-3, on a 40-yard penalty conversion from Gabriel Gracida as the third period got underway, when Tonkawa took control of the reins. Hildebrand tied the game at 4-4 with his second goal of the match and then gave his team the 5-4 lead with his second goal of the chukker. Jimmy Seward scored the final goal of the period for the 6-4 Tonkawa win.
Tonkawa 2, Los Amigos 2
The final three chukkers of the round-robin would feature Los Amigos (1-0) and Tonkawa (1-0), with the winner earning a spot in Sunday’s Emma Challenge Cup final.
Agustin Merlos scored first for Tonkawa but Stewart Armstrong fired back. Consecutive goals from former 7-goaler Steward Armstrong gave the 2-1 lead to Los Amigos as the chukker ended.
Goals were hard to come by in second period play. Both defenses were tight with Tonkawa’s Teo Calle scoring the only goal of the chukker. With one period left to play the score was tied at 2-2.
The Tonkawa defense continued to hold in the third and final chukker, but the Los Amigos defenders were equally miserly. The final horn sounded the end of the scoreless chukker, 2-2.
Both Los Amigos and Tonkawa had identical 1-0-1 records, and had tied one another in head-on-head competition. The final decision would be made on goals scored, with Tonkawa leading in both gross goals, with eight, and net goals, with two. It would be Tonkawa going to face Flexjet in the final of the Emma Challenge Cup at 11am on Sunday at the Aspen Valley Polo Club. The tournament final would be followed by a subsidiary round-robin between Aspen Valley, Los Amigos and La Karina.
The Aspen Valley Polo Club is located at 3275 County Road 100, Carbondale, CO. The public is welcome to watch polo in a relaxed atmosphere. Admission and parking are free. The club’s Polo Hotline is 970-710-1663.