Steve Krueger scored the winning goal in overtime to lift Maserati to a 14-13 win in overtime, earning them a berth in the USPA Silver Cup final. (Photo by David Lominska)
Wildcat (Doug Blumenthal, Santi Wulff, Ruki Baillieu and Julio Gracida) received two goals by handicap from the 20-goal Farmers and Merchants Bank lineup (Dan Walker, Felipe Vercellino, Lucas Criado and Memo Gracida) in the opening match of the 2015 United States Polo Association Maserati Silver Cup at the Santa Barbara Polo Club Friday, but watched as Farmers and Merchants Bank scored three consecutive goals to take the lead, 3-2. FMB team captain Dan Walker scored the opening goal of the day followed by a pair of goals from Argentine 8-goaler Lucas Criado.
Australian 7-goaler Ruki Baillieu scored Wildcat’s first goal from the field to tie the game at 3-3 on a well-executed nearside cut shot in the opening minutes of the second period. A 30-yard penalty conversion by Chile’s Felipe Vercellino gave the lead back to FMB, 4-3. Santi Wulff closed out the chukker with his first goal of the game to level the score at 4-4.
FMB took control of the flow of the game in the third chukker. A 30-yard penalty conversion from Walker was followed by a goal from Vercellino to push FMB ahead, 6-4. Wildcat was held scoreless and trailed by two goals at the end of the first half.
Baillieu cut into the FMB lead with his second goal on the day, 6-5, but that was all the offense Wildcat would muster in the period. Former 10-goaler Memo Gracida responded with his first goal of the afternoon, 7-5, and Vercellino converted on a severe neck shot that extended the FMB lead to three goals, 8-5.
A Wildcat foul sent Vercellino to the penalty line where he converted from 60-yards out, giving FMB a four goal advantage, 9-5, when the Wildcat team rallied. Baillieu scored on a tail shot from teammate Wulff, who followed it up with a goal of his own on a shot from just under 150-yards, 9-7. Baillieu’s second goal of the chukker came with one second on the clock and cut the FMB lead down to a single goal, 9-8, with one chukker left to play in regulation time.
FMB quickly put any thoughts of a come-from-behind win on the shelf with opening goals from Criado and Walker for an 11-8 FMB lead. Wulff scored on a 30-yard penalty shot for Wildcat, but the momentum remained with FMB. Vercellino gave FMB a three goal lead, 12-9 at the midway mark of the chukker as the Wildcat team struggled to get back into the game. Baillieu scored the final goal of the game on a nearside neck-shot but the game belonged to Farmers and Merchants Bank, 12-0.
Vercellino led the FMB attack with six goals. Walker, Criado and Gracida added two goals apiece for the win that will send them to the Sunday final. Baillieu scored five times for the Wildcat team. Wulff was credited with three goals and the team received two goals by handicap.
Maserati 14, Lucchese 13 OT
Maserati (Steve Krueger, Jesse Bray, Mike Azzaro and Justin Klentner) received four goals by handicap from the 20-goal Lucchese polo team (John Muse, Facundo Obregon, Santi Torres and Jeff Hall) and quickly added to it with the first two goals of the game to make it 6-0. Jeff Hall converted a 40-yard penalty shot to get Lucchese on the scoreboard, 6-1. Mike Azzaro stretched the lead back to six goals, 7-1, with Santi Torres scoring the final goal of the period to trail Maserati, 7-2.
Facundo Obregon cut the lead back to four goals with the opening goal of the second period. Azzaro countered with a goal from the field, 8-3. A Maserati foul in the goalmouth resulted in a Penalty 1, awarding Lucchese a goal, 8-4.
The teamwork of the Lucchese players was impressive but they weren’t finishing the plays and were leaving goals on the field. Azzaro scored on another 30-yard penalty shot and Krueger added his second goal on the day. Lucchese was shutout in the third chukker and at the end of the first half Maserati found themselves in the driver’s seat with a 10-6 lead.
Obregon opened the second half with his third goal on the day, 10-5, and another foul by Maserati in the goalmouth resulted in a second Penalty 1 and another Lucchese goal, 10-6. Obregon continued swinging a hot mallet and scored for the fourth time, cutting the Maserati lead to three goals, 10-7. Krueger scored the final goal of the period, allowing Maserati to ride off the field with an 11-7 advantage.
Scoring was muted in the fifth with Obregon converting a 40-yard penalty shot that was answered by a goal from the field from Azzaro. Maserati continued to lead by four goals, 12-8.
Lucchese rallied in the fifth chukker with Obregon scoring the first goal of the chukker on a well-placed pass by Hall. Hall scored on a 30-yard penalty shot and for the third time in the game, Lucchese was awarded a goal on a Penalty 1 called against Maserati, cutting the lead back to a single goal, 12-11. Hall followed up a run by Obregon, putting the ball through the Maserati goalposts to tie the fame for the first time all day, 12-12. With time running down on the clock, Krueger scored to give Maserati the go-ahead goal. A Maserati foul gave Obregon another opportunity at a 40-yard penalty shot with 1:16 left in regulation time. He drained it and forced the game into a sudden-death overtime chukker.
After a brief intermission both teams returned to the field and it was Maserati on the attack. The momentum was with the Maserati team as Jesse Bray took the throw-in from the boards and sent it downfield to a streaking Krueger who was attacking the Lucchese goal. An attempted defensive stroke was made by Torres with the ball jumping over his mallet. Kruger unloaded a perfectly timed neck-shot that sent the ball over the goal line for the 14-13 Maserati win and a date with Farmers and Merchants Bank in the final of the 2015 USPA Maserati Silver Cup, Sunday afternoon at 2pm at the Santa Barbara Polo Club. The final will be streamed live on polochannel.com.
Krueger and Azzaro scored five goals each for Maserati, and the team received four goals by handicap. Obregon’s seven goals (three on penalty conversions) led the Lucchese attack. Hall added two goals and Torres scored once in the overtime loss. Lucchese also received three goals on Penalty 1s.