Five goals from Gene Goldstein lifted Newport/ELG to a 9-8 win over Flat Out in the finals of the Joanne Schwetz Memorial Sunday morning at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington.
Gene Goldstein scored the first goal of the game followed by a goal from teammate Mariano Gonzalez and an early 2-0 Newport/ELG lead. Brandon Phillips finally got Flat Out on the scoreboard to close the opening chukker, trailing by a single goal, 2-1.
The two teams exchanged single goals in the second period with Goldstein scoring for Newport/ELG and Phillips coming through for Flat Out. Flat Out continued to trail by a gal, 3-2.
Phillips scored for the third time of the day in the third chukker, knotting the score at 3-3, but Newport/ELG wasn’t through. Single goals from Avery Chapman and Gonzalez ended the first half with Flat Out falling behind by two goals, 5-3.
Goldstein and Gonzalez added single goals in the fourth chukker, but Phillips responded for Flat Out with a pair of goals to keep his team in the hunt. The fourth period ended with Newport/ELG ahead, 7-5.
Two more goals from Goldstein (one from the field and one by penalty) had Newport/ELG on top, 9-6. Paul Knapp accounted for the only Flat Out goal of the fifth chukker.
Phillips put it into overdrive for the final chukker. Supported by a solid defensive effort that kept Newport/ELG from scoring, Phillips added two more goals from the field to come to within a goal of the lead, 9-8, but that was where it ended. With Flat Out pressuring the Newport/ELG goal, the final horn sounded, giving Newport/ELG the 9-8 win.
Goldstein led his Newport/ELG team with five goals, and was named MVP for his efforts. Gonzalez scored three times and Chapman added a goal for the win.
Brandon Phillips led all players with seven goals on the day, including a pair of coast-to-coast runs for goals. Paul Knapp scored once in a losing effort.
“I was very pleased with the play of Paul (Knapp) and Jocelyn (Grouix) today,” Phillips offered. “They (Newport/ELG) were a good team, but I have to believe that we had the momentum at the end of the game, another 30 seconds and who knows,” he smiled.
AUDI RED 5, RUBY Q 3
In a low-scoring affair, Audi Red (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, and Dale Schwetz) beat Ruby Q, 5-3, in the Joanne Schwetz Memorial subsidiary Sunday afternoon.
Audi Red’s Grant Ganzi scored the opening goal of the game with a well-placed shot from the field. Wes Finlayson scored the tying goal for Ruby Q on a penalty conversion and it was all even at 1-1 after the first chukker of play.
Second chukker goals from Grant Ganzi and teammate Jason Crowder were complimented by stellar defense as Audi Red shut out Ruby Q to take a 3-1 lead.
Crowder managed a single goal in the third, while for the second consecutive chukker; Ruby Q was unable to score. At the end of the first half, Audi Red held a 4-1 advantage.
A goal from the field from Dale Schwetz in the fourth went unanswered as Audi Red extended its lead to four goals, 5-1.
Ruby Q managed single goals from Finlayson in the fifth and Joey Casey in the sixth, but it would be enough.