FlexJet team captain Melissa Ganzi scored the go-ahead goal in the second chukker of their 13-11 win over Palm Beach Illustrated in Ylvisaker Cup action on Wednesday.
(Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Palm Beach Illustrated’s (Tommy Collingwood, Jared Zenni, Facundo Pieres and Michel Dorignac) Facundo Obregon scored nine of his team’s 11 goals, but it wasn’t enough as FlexJet (Melissa Ganzi, Cody Ellis, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Rodrigo Andrade) got a solid performance out of Cody Ellis and veteran Miguel Novillo Astrada to carry the team to a 13-11 win Wednesday morning in Ylvisaker Cup competition at the International Polo Club.
Palm Beach Illustrated scored the first two goals of the day with Obregon converting a 60-yard penalty shot and following it up with a goal from the field, 2-0. Ellis pushed a long shot at goal from Astrada through the goalposts with 2:29 on the clock for the final goal of the period, 2-1.
Rodrigo Andrade tied it with a 40-yard penalty conversion in the opening seconds of the second chukker, 2-2.
Ellis redirected a penalty shot at goal for FlexJet’s first lead of the game, 3-2. Michel Dorignac followed up a run at goal by teammate Tommy Collingwood to level the score at 3-3. FlexJet team captain Melissa Ganzi blasted the ball through the Palm Beach Illustrated goalposts from 70-yards out to regain the lead, 4-3. Ellis scored his third goal of the game at 1:12 for a two goal, 5-3 lead.
Ellis found himself on the scoring end of a pass from Andrade in the first 30 seconds of the third period as the FlexJet lead grew to three goals, 6-3. Obregon answered back with a goal from the field following a 140-yard run, 6-4. Astrada converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal, 7-4, with Obregon answering back in kind with a penalty goal of his own, 7-5. Astrada pushed the FlexJet lead back to three goals after taking the ball from end to end for a goal to make it 8-5 with 1:16 left in the period. Obregon responded for Palm Beach Illustrated by scoring on a 60-yard penalty shot to end the first half with FlexJet on top, 8-6.
The Palm Beach Illustrated’s defense stepped it up in the fourth chukker, allowing just a single goal on a 30-yard penalty shot from Astrada. Dorignac countered with a goal from the field for Palm Beach Illustrated, but FlexJet maintained their two goal advantage, 9-7.
Consecutive penalty goals from Obregon led off the fifth, and tied the score at 9-9. Astrada drive the ball between the Palm Beach Illustrated uprights for a 10-9 edge. Obregon scored his third penalty goal of the chukker, 10-10, but it was Astrada who scored the final goa of the period for an 11-10 FlexJet lead.
A Palm Beach Illustrated foul opened the sixth period, with Astrada converting from 30-yards out, 12-10. A minute later Obregon misfired on a 60-yard penalty shot, with a Palm Beach Illustrated defender knocking the ball over the backline for a Safety. Obregon made good on the second penalty shot, cutting the FlexJet lead back to a single goal, 12-11. With the FlexJet offense and defense working, the Palm Beach Illustrated attack was stymied. Ellis scored the final goal of the game on a pass from Ganzi for the 13-11 victory.
Obregon led all scorers with nine goals (seven on penalty shots). Dorignac added a pair of goals in the loss. Astrada was credited with six goals for FlexJet. Ellis scored five times with Andrade and Ganzi adding single goals for the win.
The win evened FlexJet’s record at 1-1 in Ylvisaker Cup play. The loss was the first for Palm Beach Illustrated (0-1) in their opening game of the tournament.
Ylvisaker Cup action continues with a Thursday match between Audi (Marc Ganzi, Lucas Lalor, Nic Roldan and Fred Mannix) and Enigma (Jerome Wirth, Jeff Hall, Matias MacDonough and Carlucho Arellano). Audi (1-0) will be looking for their second win of the tournament while Enigma enters the game at 0-1.