Group play concluded in the 2018 Maserati of Santa Barbara USPA America Cup, with Restoration Hardware remaining undefeated with a 4-0 record, advancing directly to the finals on Sunday, August 12 at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. Their opponent will be decided on Friday with Klentner Ranch squaring off against Lucchese. Despite the narrow one-goal loss to Restoration Hardware in their final group game, Lucchese qualified for the semi-finals with a 2-2 record, led by tournament scoring leader Facundo Obregon with 27 goals, while Klentner Ranch displayed an impressive performance throughout the tournament with their only loss coming to Restoration Hardware 12-11 in overtime.
The second week of play began with a hard-fought game between Farmers & Merchants Bank (FMB) and Restoration Hardware, with the latter claiming the 11-9 victory. After a first chukka that was all Restoration Hardware due to perfect 3 for 3 shooting, FMB missed their four shot attempts to fall behind by two goals. That deficit remained consistent throughout the game as FMB found their stride, converting five of their remaining eight shot attempts, but Restoration Hardware remained in the lead despite inaccurate 6 for 16 shooting. Led by four goal performances from Geronimo Obregon and Inaki Laprida, Restoration Hardware grabbed their second win of the tournament to remain undefeated.
The second game of the week featured a dominant second half performance from Lucchese as they ran away with the game in a commanding four-goal victory over Sol de Agosto. An even opening two chukkas saw the teams tied at 2-2, but Lucchese dominated the 3rd, 4th and 5th chukkas, outscoring Sol de Agosto 10-2, with a balanced offense that saw Facundo Obregon and Jeff Hall all score at least one goal in each chukka during the run. Converting just two of their eight penalty attempts in the game kept Sol de Agosto from competing with a Lucchese team that cruised to a four-goal victory.
Looking for their first win of the tournament, FMB faced Lucchese in a game that saw FMB display a strong opening half. Led by their defensive efforts, FMB held Lucchese to just three goals on six shot attempts to open up a two-goal lead by halftime. FMB’s down fall in the game proved to be their indiscipline, as ten fouls over the fourth and fifth chukkas, allowed Lucchese to grab the lead behind the penalty shooting of tournament scoring leader Facundo Obregon, who finished with 9 goals in the 12-9 Lucchese victory.
The feature game on Sunday between the two remaining undefeated teams lived up to the anticipation as overtime was needed to decide the winner. Early in the game, Klentner Ranch dominated possession, keeping Restoration Hardware off the scoreboard in the opening two chukkas to race out to a 5-0 lead. Restoration Hardware was able to find their offensive form in the game thanks to efficient 7 for 9 penalty shooting from Inaki Laprida. Klentner Ranch’s five-goal lead quickly shrunk to two and in an impressive sixth chukka, Laprida scored two more goals to send the game into overtime. Despite both teams committing 11 fouls, Klentner Ranch received just two penalty shots at goal, while Laprida converted his seventh penalty in the overtime chukka to seal the 12-11 victory for Restoration Hardware.
The final two games to determine seeding for the semi-finals saw Klentner Ranch bounce back from their only loss to defeat Sol de Agosto 11-8. Never trailing in the game, Klentner Ranch was led by the duo of Jesse Bray and Mariano Obregon as they combined for all 11 of their team’s goals. Having their chances from the field, Sol de Agosto struggled throughout the game to convert their opportunities, shooting just 3 for 13 to fall to Klentner Ranch and see their hopes off a spot in the semi-finals end.
The final group game saw undefeated Restoration Hardware secure their #1 seed and a spot in the finals, defeating Lucchese 12-11 in a hard-fought game. After the first chukka, the teams were never separated by more than one goal at the end of each chukka, with a few plays determining the outcome in the game. A foul ridden game with 31 fouls, Lucchese found their offense from the penalty line, converting 7 of their 10 attempts, while Restoration Hardware dominated open play, scoring 10 of their 12 goals from the field. Ultimately, four goals each from Santiago Von Wernich, Inaki Laprida and Geronimo Obregon proved to be too much in the victory.
Play resumes Friday with a semi-final between Klentner Ranch and Lucchese, with the vwinner facing Restoration Hardware in Sunday’s final.