(L to R)-Facundo Obregon and Mariano Gonzalez battle for the ball in the Limited Edition 12-goal Series at the Grand Champions Polo Club. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Goose Creek (Maureen Brennan, Marc Ganzi, Juan Bollini Jr. and Mariano Gonzalez) took their first step in defending their 2015 Limited Edition 12-goal Series title by downing Valiente (Rob Jornayvaz, Juan Martin Obregon, Facundo Obregon and Lucas Arellano) Thursday afternoon, 11-9, at the Grand Champions Polo Club.
Facundo Obregon scored the first goal of the game for an early 1-0 Valiente lead. Goose Creek responded with a 30-yard penalty goal from Mariano Gonzalez that tied the game at 1-1 and a goal from team captain Maureen Brennan that allowed Goose Creek to ride off the field at the end of the first chukker with a 2-1 edge.
Gonzalez extended the Goose Creek lead to 3-1 with a goal from the field that opened the second period. Back to back goals from Juan Martin Obregon closed out the scoring in the chukker for a 3-3 tie.
Gonzalez countered with three consecutive goals (one on a penalty conversion) to give Goose Creek a 6-3 lead. Juan Martin Obregon scored a goal for Valiente, 6-4. Gonzalez ended the scoring in the third period with his second penalty goal of the chukker that gave Goose Creek a 7-4 halftime lead.
Juancito Bollini scored the first two goals of the fourth chukker as Goose Creek stretched their lead to five goals, 9-4. Facundo Obregon converted a 60-yard Penalty shot but it was Goose Creek with the 9-5 advantage with two chukkers left to play in regulation time.
Gonzalez and Facundo Obregon exchanged goals in the fifth period, with Obregon scoring a goal from the field and Gonzalez converting a 30-yard foul shot. After five periods, the four goal Goose Creek held, 10-6.
Marc Ganzi’s first goal of the day pushed the Goose Creek lead to five goals, 11-6, when Valiente rallied. Two goals from Juan Martin Obregon and a single goal from Facundo Obregon cut the Goose Creek lead back to just two goals, but time was on the side of the defending champ. At the sound of the final horn, the score stood at 11-9 with Goose Creek riding off with the victory.
Gonzalez led all scoring with seven goals (four on penalty conversions). Bollini was credited with two goals with Ganzi and Brennan adding single goals for the win. Juan Martin Obregon scored five goals to lead the Valiente attack. Facundo Obregon added four goals in the loss.
Limited Edition 12-goal play is scheduled to resume on Friday, January 15th with an 11am game between Dutta Corp (Tim Dutta, Timmy Dutta, Carlitos Gracida and Piki Diaz Alberdi) and Mt. Brilliant/Faraway Polo (Bo Goodman, Hutton Goodman, Julian Daniels and Juan Monteverde). A second game in the tournament featuring Palm Beach Equine (Agustin Arellano, Ezequiel Zubiaurre, Gringo Colombres and Scott Swerdlin) and Travieso (Teo Calle, Tony Calle, Pedro Falabella and Felipe Viana) is on tap to follow at 3pm.
The Grand Champions Polo Club is located at 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 33414. The matches are free of charge and the public is invited to attend. The Grand Champions Polo Hotline is 561-373-0073.