Mariano Gonzalez led the field in scoring with seven goals.
Monty Waterbury Cup play continued today at the Bridgehampton Polo Club with Equuleus (Joe DiMenna, Martin Pepa, Magoo Laprida and Mariano Gonzalez) and CT Energia (Alessandro Bazzoni, Nick Manifold, Joao Ganon and Kris Kampsen) fighting down to the wire before an overtime goal gave the win to Equuleus, 12-11.
CT Energia received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal Equuleus lineup but Mariano Gonzalez scored the opening goal of the game, 1-1. The two teams traded goals throughout the balance of the first chukker with Kris Kampsen scoring one goal from the field and another on a penalty conversion. Magoo Laprida scored the second goal of the day for Equuleus. With the assistance of one goal by handicap, CT Energia left the field with a 3-2 edge.
The defenses took control of the game in the second with single penalty goals from each team signaling the only scoring in the chukker. Brazilian 8-goaler Joao Ganon converted a 40-yard penalty shot for CT Energia while Laprida kept Equuleus in the hunt with a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal. After two periods of play, CT Energia maintained their one goal lead, 4-3.
The gloves came off in the third with a total of seven goals being scored, five on penalty shots. Gonzalez tied it up at 4-4 on a 30-yard penalty shot followed by three consecutive CT Energia scores (two from Kampsen on short penalty shots and a goal from the field from team captain Alessandro Bazzoni for a 7-4 advantage. Laprida cut the lead to two goals, 7-5, with his third goal of the game. Gonzalez closed out the chukker with a pair of penalty shots for goals (one from the 30-yard line and one from the 60-yard mark). At the end of the first half it was all even at 7-7.
There was no let-up by either team as the fourth chukker got underway. Gonzalez drilled the ball through the CT Energia goal posts to give Equuleus an 8-7 lead, but Kampsen answered back with a penalty goal for CT Energia, 8-8. A 60-yard penalty conversion from Gonzalez returned Equuleus to the lead, 9-8. Bazzoni leveled the score again with his second goal of the game to end the chukker, 9-9.
Scoring was at a premium once again in the fifth period. Single penalty goals from Laprida (30-yarder) and Ganon (60-yarder) kept the game deadlocked, 10-10.
Gonzalez converted a 30-yard penalty shot to open the sixth, to put Equuleus ahead 11-10, but CT Energia jumped right back into the fight. Bazzoni’s third goal of the game tied it again at 11-11. Gonzalez had an opportunity to put it away on a 60-yard penalty shot attempt, but Kampsen blocked it, forcing the game into sudden-death overtime.
The overtime chukker lasted less than two minutes with Gonzalez making a run deep into CT Energia’s end of the field before getting hooked and losing the ball. A trailing Laprida jumped on it, however, and drove it through the goal posts for the 12-11 victory.
Gonzalez led all scoring with seven goals on the day (five on penalty conversions). Kampsen’s five goals led the CT Energia attack.
There’s a bit of a family flavor to the Monty Waterbury Cup for the Ganzi’s with Marc’s father, Wally Ganzi winning it in 1997 with the Palm Restaurant Locusts (Wally Ganzi, Adam Snow, Owen Rinehart and Dale Schwetz) and again in 1999 with J. W. Hall, Sugar Erskine and Tommy Biddle.
Melissa Ganzi, Marc’s wife and the captain of the high-goal Flight Options polo team, won the Monty Waterbury Cup in 2001 at the Saratoga Polo Club with Jaime Huidobro, Juan Bollini and Henry Du Toit on the Eureka team.