By Alex Webbe
The Grand Champions Polo Club kicked off the 2012 fall season with a showdown between Piaget (Juancito Bollini, Dale Schwetz, Juan Bollini and Joey Casey) and Audi (Johnny Lavine, Peter Rizzo, Jason Crowder and Joaquin Panelo) for the 14-goal Challenge Cup, with Piaget riding off with an 11-7 win on the Palm City Polo Club fields in Boca Raton.
Audi scored first with Jason Crowder stroking it though the goalposts from the field followed by a penalty conversion from Piaget’s Juancito Bollini. Joey Casey closed out the opening chukker with a goal from the field for a 2-1 Piaget lead.
Juancito Bollini opened the second period with a goal from the field followed up with Casey’s second goal of the game. Audi responded with single goals from Johnny Lavine and Peter Rizzo. Piaget held a narrow 4-3 lead going into the third.
Piaget owned the field in the third chukker. Dale Schwetz scored his first goal of the game and Casey added two more. At the end of the first half, Piaget was on the winning end of a 7-3 score.
After a brief halftime intermission Juancito Bollini kept the Piaget ball rolling with his third goal of the day. Crowder answered for Audi, converting a penalty shot and scoring his second goal from the field. Audi cut into the lead, but Piaget was in control of an 8-5 game.
Schwetz added another goal in the opening minutes of the fifth chukker and Juancito Bollini’s fourth goal of the game stretched the Piaget lead to four goals, 9-5. Rizzo kept Audi from being shutout with his second goal of the afternoon. With one chukker left in regulation time, Piaget was enjoying a 10-6 advantage. Crowder’s goal from the field in the sixth was countered by Juancito Bollini’s fifth goal of the game for an 11-7 Piaget win.
Piaget’s Juancito Bollini led all scoring with five goals. Casey scored four times and Schwetz was credited with two goals.
Crowder set the pace for the Audi attack with four goals. Rizzo scored twice and Lavine added a single goal in the loss.