MVP Nic Roldan scores for Piaget in final of 2014 Piaget Snow Polo Championship. U.S. Polo Assn.’s Tommy Biddle in pursuit.
In a defensively oriented final, Piaget (Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hall and Nic Roldan) eked out a 4-3 win over team U. S. Polo Assn (Grant Ganzi, Brandon Phillips and Tommy Biddle) Saturday afternoon in the final of the 2014 Piaget World Snow Polo Championship at Rio Grande Park in Aspen, Colorado.
The opening chukker was all Piaget with Nic Roldan scoring once from the field and once on a penalty conversion. The U.S. Polo Assn. was unable to break thru the Piaget defenses and trailed 2-0 after the first chukker.
Tommy Biddle scored the first goal of the game in the opening minutes of the second period, converting a penalty shot to get the U.S. Polo Assn. on the scoreboard, 2-1. Biddle added the tying goal as the U.S. Polo Assn. flexed their defensive muscles to end the first half all even at 2-2.
Goals continued to be hard to come by in third chukker play. Jeff Hall scored the only goal of the period on a penalty shot as Piaget galloped out to a narrow 3-2 advantage.
Grant Ganzi tied it in the fourth with his first goal of the day, 3-3. With Piaget pressing the attack, a U.S. Polo Assn. foul sent Hall to the penalty line where he converted the shot for what would be the final goal of the day. As the final horn sounded, Piaget celebrated their 4-3 win and the 2014 Piaget World Snow Polo Championship.
Hall and Roldan scored two goals apiece for the win. Biddle led the U.S. Polo Assn. attack with two goals. Grant Ganzi scored a single goal in the loss.
Audi 11, Flex Jet 8
Audi (Melissa Ganzi, Kris Kampsen and Roberto Gonzalez) scored an impressive 11-8 win over Flex Jet (Tommy Kato, Martin Pepa and Luis Escobar) in spite of the fact that veteran Juan Bollini had to be replaced by Roberto Gonzalez at the eleventh hour.
Luis Escobar opened the scoring in the battle for third place on a goal from the field, but the 1-0 Flex Jet lead would be short-lived. Roberto Gonzalez tied it with a goal from the field while consecutive penalty conversions from Kris Kampsen had Audi in front by two goals, 3-1. Audi team captain Melissa Ganzi scored the final goal of the chukker as Audi rode off the field with a 4-1 lead.
Kampsen added two more penalty goals in the third and teammate Gonzalez tallied his second score of the game as Audi stretched their lead to five goals, 7-2. Tommy Kato converted a penalty shot for Flex Jet to end the first half.
A determined Flex Jet effort I the third period resulted in three goals as Martin Pepa scored twice and teammate Escobar added a goal from the field. Audi continued to press their attack with Gonzalez and Melissa Ganzi adding single goals. With one chukker left to play Audi remained in the lead, 9-5.
Escobar opened the final chukker with a goal from the field, 9-6, with Kampsen responding with a goal for Audi, 10-6. Pepa’s third goal of the game cut the Audi lead to three goals, 10-7. Melissa Ganzi scored her third goal of the game as the Audi lead grew to four goals, 11-7. Escobar tried to rally the Flex Jet team with his fourth goal of the day, but the day belonged to Audi as they rode off with the 11-8 win.
Kampsen scored a game high five goals for Audi. Melissa Ganzi and Gonzalez added three goals apiece for the third place finish. Escobar’s four goals set the pace for Flex Jet on the day. Pepa added three goals and Kato scored once in a losing effort.
The awards ceremonies followed the last game with Piaget’s Nic Roldan being named MVP for the second year in a row (he was named MVP last year when he led the St. Regis team to the title). He was joined by Audi’s Kris Kampsen, MVP of the subsidiary final and Aspen Valley Polo Club’s Alejandro Novillo Astrada, MVP of the consolation match.
The eight-year-old grey mare Piaget (owned by Halo Polo and played by Marc Ganzi) received Best Playing Pony honors.