By Alex Webbe

A powerful Piaget team rolled over Audi 9-4 Sunday morning in the finals of the Polo Gear-RoxWorld TV Invitational at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington

Opening goals from Lucas Lalor and Marc Ganzi staked Piaget to an early 2-0 lead before a goal from Melissa Ganzi closed out the chukker.  Piaget left the field with a 2-1 edge.

Lalor added another goal to the Piaget total in the second, followed by a goal from Walter Scherb.  Hector Galindo kept Audi from being shut out by scoring a goal, but Piaget continued to lead, 4-2.

Goals were hard to come by in the third period.  Runs up and down the field resulted in little success for either team until Scherb scored to give Piaget a 5-2 halftime lead.

After a scoreless fourth period, Audi got back on the scoreboard with a penalty goal from Galindo.   A third goal from Scherb kept Piaget ahead by three goals, 6-3 to end the chukker.

Scherb added two more goals in the final chukker, one coming on a 280 yard run with the ball while Lalor added another goal to the growing Piaget lead.  Melissa Ganzi notched her second goal of the match, but Piaget was just too much to handle, taking the game and the tournament title in a 9=4 win.

Scherb led all scoring with five goals.  Lalor added three and Marc Ganzi scored once in the victory.

Galindo and Melissa Ganzi scored two goals apiece for Audi.

Luis Lalor was named MVP for his offensive and defensive contributions to the Piaget win while Hector Galindo’s 7-year-old Chestnut mare, Lily, took Best Playing Pony honors.

PONY EXPRESS TAKES CONSOLATION

Pony Express took top honors by virtue of net goals, with each of the three teams scoring win in the three team round-robin for the tournament consolation match.

Elangeni Ranch opened the three-team competition with an 8-7 win over Elangeni Ranch in a high-scoring three chukker affair that had Pony Express 7-goaler Tomas Goti scoring four first chukker goals for the early 4-2 lead.

Elangeni Ranch responded with three goals in the second frame, picking up a pair from Juan Chavanne and a single goal from Diego Coscio.  Goals from Bob Daniels and Goti kept Pony Express on top, but the lead had been cut to a single goal, 6-5.

Diego Coscio’s three goals in the final chukker for Elangeni Ranch more than offset the single goal from Tommy Biddle, and Elangeni Ranch took the three-chukker contest 8-7.

Elangeni Ranch held the field for the ensuing three chukkers but had little luck finding the offense that powered it to the 8-7 win over Pony Express.

Newport/Port Mayaca picked up a single goal from Gene Goldstein in the first chukker and another single goal from teammate Chris Nevins in the second period for a 2-0 lead.  After two scoreless chukkers, Elangeni Ranch finally got a goal from Coscio in the third, but came up short in the 2-1 loss to Newport/Port Mayaca.

The final leg of the consolation round of play had Pony Express returning to meet Newport/Port Mayaca in a hard-fought battle that wasn’t decided until the final chukker.

A first period goal from Pony Express’s Tommy Biddle was answered by a goal from Newport/Port Mayaca’s Gene Goldstein for a 1-1 tie, with both teams making it clear that this would not be a high-scoring affair.

Defenses continued to limit the opportune goal shots by both teams with Stevie Orthwein converting a penalty shot for Newport/Port Mayaca only to be countered by a penalty goal from Biddle.

Biddle proved to be the difference in the final chukker, accounting for two goals while teammate Goti added a goal from the field.  Orthwein scored his second goal of the game, but it would be Pony Express on the winning end of a 5-3 score.

Based on net goals, Pony Express took top honors.  Elangeni Ranch finished second and Newport/Port Mayaca finished third.

Juan Chavanne was named MVP in the round-robin while 61, Tomas Goti’s 8-year-old black mare, was named Best Playing Pony.