Palm Beach Illustrated powerhouse Facndo Obregonscored foru goals for the win at the International Polo Club. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
The final of the 2016 Joe Barry Memorial Cup is going to be a family affair this year with Jim Zenni’s Villa del Lago Villa del Lago (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Hilario Ulloa and Gringo Colombres) facing his son, Jared’s Palm Beach Illustrated (Nacho Badiola, Jared Zenni, Facundo Obregon and Jesse Bray) lineup.
In Monday’s Joe Barry Memorial Cup semifinals, Palm Beach Illustrated knocked off previously undefeated Enigma (Jerome Wirth, Jeff Hall, Matias MacDonough and Carlucho Arellano), 9-6 while Villa del Lago sent Dubai (Rashid Albwardy, Carlos Gracida, Diego Cavanagh and Alejo Taranco) packing after an 11-10 win.
Nacho Badiola got the ball rolling in the opening chukker of the first Joe Barry Memorial Cup semifinal of the day with a goal from the field. Teammate Jesse Bray made it 2-0 with his first goal of the day. Jeff Hall got Enigma on the scoreboard, 2-1, but Facundo Obregon answered back with a goal for Palm Beach Illustrated, 3-1. Carlucho Arellano scored the last goal of the period, bringing Enigma to within a goal of the lead, 3-2.
Palm Beach Illustrated shut down the Enigma offense in the second chukker of the match while adding goals of their own. Obregon scored twice in the period (once on a 60-yard penalty shot) and the Palm Beach Illustrated lead grew to three goals, 5-2 after two periods.
Both defenses tightened in the third chukker with the ball being carried up and down the field with little success. Argentine 7-goaler Matias MacDonough scored the only goal of the period, cutting the lead back to just two goals, 5-3, at the end of the first half.
Both defenses were operating at peak performance in fourth chukker action, and goals were hard to come by. Bray’s second goal of the game was the only scoring in the period and put Palm Beach Illustrated on top by three goals again, 6-3.
Obregon and Arellano traded penalty goals in the fifth, with Obregon converting from 30-yards out while Arellano made good on a 60-yard shot, 7-4. Bray added the final goal of the chukker for an 8-4 advantage with just one chukker left in regulation play.
Badiola’s second goal of the game had Palm Beach Illustrated in front by five goals, 9-4, but Enigma continued to press. Arellano took advantage of a couple of Palm Beach Illustrated fouls in the final chukker, converting twice, but a healthy lead and time were on the side of Palm Beach Illustrated as they ran out the clock in a 9-6 win.
Villa del Lago 11, Dubai 10
Villa del Lago (Jim Zenni, Guille Aguero, Hilario Ulloa and Agustin Obregon) earned their second final of the young winter season by edging Dubai (Rashid Albwardy, Carlos Gracida, Diego Cavanagh and Alejo Taranco). 11-10 in the final match of the day.
Villa del Lago 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa put the first points on the scoreboard as he converted a pair of penalty shots for goals and a 2-0 lead. Dubai answered back with single goals from Alejo Taranco and Carlitos Gracida. The first chukker ended in a 2-2 tie.
It was Dubai’s turn to turn opposing fouls into goals with Diego Cavanagh scoring on two 30-yard penalty shots. Villa del Lago came up with a single goal from the field from Agustin Obregon but trailed 4-3 at the end of the second chukker.
Ulloa led the Villa del Lago attack into third chukker action, scoring once from the field and once on a penalty shot. A disjointed Dubai attack was unable to score and fell behind, 5-4 as the first half ended.
The fourth chukker was all Villa del Lago as they had their way with Dubai. Villa del Lago reeled off five straight goals before Dubai responded. Ulloa scored three of his four goals on penalty conversions with Agustin Obregon adding a goal from the field. Cavanagh scored the final goal of the chukker but it was Villa del Lago with the commanding 10-5 lead with two chukkers to play.
Dubai rallied in the fifth with Cavanagh scoring on a pair of 60-yard penalty shots. Ulloa added a goal from the field with Gracida scoring the final goal of the chukker to cut the Villa del Lago lead to three goals, 11-8.
Villa del Lago was focused on defense in the final seven minutes of the match, as Dubai struggled to climb back into the game. Cavanagh scored his first goal from the field that cut the Villa del Lago lead down to two goals. Cavanagh scored again, bringing Dubai to within a goal of the lead, but the final horn sounded before Dubai could mount that final attack and Villa del Lago rode off with the 11-10 victory.
Ulloa scored nine goals on the day (five on penalty shots). Obregon scored twice for the win. Cavanagh scored seven times for Dubai (three from the penalty line). Gracida added two goals and Albwardy scored once in the loss.
The Villa del Lago win will send them to Friday’s 3pm final against Palm Beach Illustrated.