La Herradura (blue) beat ERG 13-10 in tournament semifinal.
Wins by La Herradura (Billy Steta, Carlos Gracida, Memo Gracida, Jason Crowder) and Farmers and Merchants Bank (Danny Walker, Michel Dorignac, Lucas Criado and Henry Walker) in the El Encanto Polo Classic II set the stage for Sunday’s tournament finals in Santa Barbara Polo Club’s second 20-goal tournament of the season.
La Herradura will be heading into their second tournament final of the young 20-goal season on the wings of a 13-10 win over ERG (Scott Wood, Sugar Erskine, Paco de Narvaez, Jeff Blake) Friday afternoon.
Carlos Gracida scored the opening goal of the game and added another on a penalty conversion. Teammate Marianito Obregon added a goal for the first chukker lead. ERG picked up a single goal from Jeff Blake but trailed by two goals, 3-1.
ERG rebounded in the second chukker with team captain Scott Wood scoring twice (once on a penalty shot) and Sugar Erskine scoring his first goal of the day. Gracida scored a goal from the field for La Herradura, and the score was all even at 4-4 after two chukkers of play.
Defense took over in the third with Blake and Gracida exchanging goals. The first half came to a close with ERG and La Herradura tied at 5-5.
Obregon opened the second half with a go-ahead goal for La Herradura, but ERG responded with goals from Wood (penalty goal) and Paco de Narvaez. ERG broke the deadlock and took a 7-6 lead.
The fifth chukker belonged to La Herradura as they outscored ERG 4-2. Obregon added two goals for La Herradura with teammates Guillermo Steta and Jason Crowder chipping in single goals to take a 10-9 lead. ERG got two goals from de Narvaez (one on a 60-yard penalty conversion).
Obregon’s sixth goal of the game extended the La Herradura lead to two goals, 11-9. Gracida converted a penalty shot to make it 12-9. Wood’s fourth goal of the game cut the La Herradura lead to two goals, 12-10 late in the chukker. Steta scored the closing goal of the game for the 13-10 win and a date in the finals on Sunday at 1PM.
Obregon led all scoring with six goals. Gracida added four; Steta scored twice and Crowder added a goal for the victory. Wood’s four goals set the pace for ERG. De Narvaez was credited with three goals while Blake scored twice and Erskine scored once in a losing effort.
FARMERS AND MERCHANTS BANK 15, MANSOUR 10
Farmers and Merchants Bank earned the second finalist’s berth as they thrashed Mansour (Ben Soleimani, Adam Snow, Rico Mansur and Santiago Von Wernich) 15-10 in a fast-paced game later in the day.
Farmers and Merchants Bank spotted the 18-goal Mansour team two goals to start but wasted little time in getting them back. Three first chukker goals from Lucas Criado (one on a penalty conversion) and a single goal from Michel Dorignac had Mansour trailing 4-3 after the opening period of the game. Mansour team captain Ben Soleimani scored the only goal of the chukker.
The Mansour defense limited Farmers and Merchants Bank to a single goal from Criado, but their offense was unable to get anything g going. Farmers and Merchants Bank led after two periods, 5-3.
Mansour caught Farmers and Merchants Bank napping in the third chukker as Adam Snow scored three consecutive goals. Dorignac answered back with a goal for Farmers and Merchants Bank for a 6-6 tie at the end of the first half.
Four fourth chukker goals pushed Farmers and Merchants Bank back into the lead, 10-8, with Criado scoring three more goals and Dorignac adding a goal. Mansour managed a penalty goal from Rico Mansur and a goal from the field from Snow. With two chukkers left in the game, Farmers and Merchants Bank led by two goals, 10-8.
Farmers and Merchants Bank closed the book on Mansour in the fifth. Dorignac and Criado scored two goals apiece while the Farmers and Merchants Bank defense shut down the Mansour attack. The lead grew to six goals, 14-8, with one chukker left to be played.
Criado converted a 40-yard penalty shot for Farmers and Merchants Bank for his tenth goal of the match, 15-8. Snow scored the final two goals of the game (one on a penalty goal) as Farmers and Merchants Bank rode off with a convincing 15-10 victory.
Criado registered ten goals for Farmers and Merchants Bank (two on penalty shots), with Dorignac accounting for the remaining five goals. Snow registered six goals for Mansour. Teammates Mansur and Soleimani each scored a goal in the loss.