After battling Merchant Hub (Matias Bullrich, Toto Collardin, Michel Dorignac and Luis Escobar) to a 6-5 halftime lead, Mansour (Ben Soleimani, Hilario Ulloa, Adam Snow and Santi Von Wernich) scored ten goals in the second half to capture the 2013 USPA Lucchese America Cup Sunday afternoon at the Santa Barbara Polo Club.
Hilario Ulloa scored five goals in the Mansour win.
Mansour took an early 2-0 lead on goals from team captain Ben Soleimani and former 10-goaler Adam Snow. A tepid first chukker offense by Merchant Hub kept them scoreless in the first seven minutes of the game.
Second chukker goals from Merchant Hub’s Toto Collardin and Michel Dorignac were countered by a 60-yard penalty conversion from Snow and a goal from the field from Soleimani. After two periods of play, Mansour held its two goals lead, 4-2.
Third chukker goals from Hilario Ulloa and Snow had Mansour up by four goals, 6-2 before Merchant Hub answered the call. A pair of goals from Luis Escobar and a single goal from Collardin cut the Mansour lead to, 6-5, to end the first half of play.
Escobar tied it up in the opening minutes of the fourth chukker, 6-6, on a 40-yard penalty conversion before consecutive goals from Ulloa had Mansour back in the lead, 8-6. Dorignac and Snow exchanged goals in the final minutes of the period and Mansour left the field with a 9-7 advantage.
Mansour owned the field in the fifth chukker. Five unanswered goals left Merchant Hub in a tailspin as Mansour extended their lead to seven goals, 14-7. Ulloa scored twice while teammates Soleimani, Santi Von Wernich and Snow (penalty conversion) added single goals.
Escobar opened the final chukker with a goal, 14-8, followed by a pair of goals from Soleimani, 16-8. Escobar and Collardin scored single goals to end the match with Mansour celebrating the 2013 USPA Lucchese America Cup Championship.
Soleimani, Ulloa and Snow scored five goals apiece. Soleimani was named MVP for his efforts. Von Wernich added a goal in the win. Escobar was credited with five goals for Merchant Hub. Collardin added three goals and Dorignac scored twice in the loss.
Hilario Ulloa’s mare Simpatica was honored as Best Playing Pony.
LUCCHESE 11, ERG 10
Lucchese 10-goaler Pelon Stirling scores eight times in leading Lucchese (Andres Weisz, Tavi Usandizaga, Pelon Stirling and John Muse) to an 11-10 win over ERG (Scott Wood, Sugar Erskine, Paco de Narvaez and Jeff Blake) in Sunday morning’s consolation match.
Pelon Stirling scored six of his game high eight goals in the first three chukkers as Lucchese built up a comfortable 8-4 halftime advantage over ERG.
Sugar Erskine helped power ERG back into the game in the second half with three more of his six goals on the day, but ERG fell just short in the 11-10 Lucchese victory.
Five of Stirling’s game high eight goals came on penalty shots. Tavi Usandizaga scored twice and Andres Weisz added a goal in the win. Erskine’s six goals from the field set the pace for ERG. Paco de Narvaez scored twice and Scott Wood and Jeff Blake each added a goal in the loss.