The winning Forbes Plunkett polo team (L to R)-John gobin, Armando Huerta, Brandon Plunkett and Hillary Blythe. (Photo by Sandy Klein)
A sold defensive effort and two goals apiece from Brandon Plunkett and Armando Huerta carried Forbes Plunkett (Brandon Plunkett, Hillary Blythe, John Gobin and Armando Huerta) to a 4-2 win over Pony Express (Justin Daniels, Oliver Firestone, Richard Dudman and Juan Salinas) Saturday morning at the Santa Clara Polo Club in the consolation final of the 2017 Victoria Performance Cup.
Brandon Plunkett opened the scoring with a goal from the field in the first chukker for the early 1-0 lead. Pony Express responded with a goal from Richard Dudman before both defenses stiffened. The first chukker ended in a 1-1 tie.
Hillary Blythe, MVP.
A second goal from Brandon Plunkett went unanswered as the Forbes Plunkett defense shut the door on the Pony Express attack. Forbes Plunkett continued to press but were unable to expand their one goal, 2-1 advantage as the first half ended.
Armando Huerta extended the Forbes Plunkett lead to two goals, 3-1, in third period action as Pony Express continued to have difficulties coordinating their offensive efforts. For the second straight chukker, Pony Express was held scoreless as they trailed by two goals going in to the final period of play.
Huerta’s second goal of the day put Forbes Plunkett on top, 4-1, before Pony Express was able to mount a successful attack. Justin Daniels scored the final goal of the match, with the 4-2 win going to Forbes Plunkett.
Brandon Plunkett and Armando Huerta led all scoring with two goals apiece for the win, with teammate Hillary Blythe earning MVP honors. Richard Dudman and Justin Daniels scored single goals in the Pony Express loss.
On Sunday, January 22nd three teams will participate in a round-robin final that will feature Ymas (Jocelyne Groulx, Jacobo Bacariza, Luis Escobar and Benji Daniels), Santa Clara (Francisco Escobar, Lucas Escobar, Landon Daniels and Mariano Obregon) and Santa Clarita (Kaisser Maakar, Max Torokvei, Magoo Laprida and Alex Silvestre).
The Santa Clara Polo Club is located at 12293 50th Street South, Wellington, FL, 33467. The matches are free of charge and the public is invited to attend