Thermal, CA (March 30, 2008) – It is a proven fact that in any sport, one outstanding play, one mistake, or one span of time, can make or break a team. Such was the case on Sunday at the La Quinta Polo Club in the final of the Stormcat/Deco Tournament. The ‘one’ on this day was a time span of seven minutes and thirty seconds otherwise known as the fifth chukker.
Going into the fateful stanza, Craig Steinke and Bill Freeman’s Stormcat/Corleone led Sean Keys and Kelly Maloney’s Hidden Creek/Ohana by two goals, having successfully combined a handicap award of one and a strong defence into a score of 4- 2.
The fifth was not good for the Stormin’ Gangsters however as Hidden Creek/Ohana’s Keys, Graham Bray, and Dan Juarez got hot and in doing so, raised the flag four times with but one reply from Steinke and Freeman. The lead therefore changed hands and wouldn’t change again as Juarez potted one in the sixth to give Hidden Creek/Ohana the win by a score of 7 – 5.
Bray led the winners with three goals as Keys and Juarez contributed a pair each.
For Stormcat/Corleone and adding to the award of one, Fergus Gould had two with Freeman and Steinke getting one each.
Photo: Sean Keys, Daniel Juarez, Craig Steinke, David Ragland, Graham Bray and Kelly Maloney. More photos can be viewed at the La Quinta Web Site.
Stormcat/Deco Tournament Champions: Hidden Creek/Ohana – Sean Keys 1, Kelly Maloney, Graham Bray 5, Daniel Juarez 4.
tony gregg