(L to R) Peco Polledo backs up SD Farms team captain Sayyu Dantata on one of his three goals on the day as SD FArms ran over High Ground/GSA, 13-8 Thursday afternoon in 16-goal competition at the Grand Champions Polo Club. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
SD Farms (Sayyu Dantata, Peco Polledo, Andres Weisz and Allan Martinez) broke open a 6-6 halftime tie with seven second half goals to register a 13-8 win over High Ground/GSA (Henry Porter, Joe Meyer, Facha Valent and Matias Magrini) in the 16-goal Santa Rita Abierto Thursday afternoon at the Grand Champions Polo Club.
High Ground/GSA received one goal by handicap from the 16-goal SD Farms lineup but it was SD Farms 5-goaler Alan Martinez who tied it with a 40-yard penalty conversion as the opening chukker got underway. Facha Valent scored the only other goal of the chukker to give High Ground/GSA the 2-1 lead. The two teams traded goals in second chukker action with Martinez adding another 40-yard penalty goal to the SD Farms total along with a goal from the field from teammate Peco Polledo. High Ground/GSA picked up goals from Joe Meyer and Henry Porter to maintain the narrow lead, 4-3 at the end of the chukker.
SD Farms rallied for three goals in the third. Team captain Sayyu scored twice and Polledo added a goal. High Ground/GSA former 10-goaler Matias Magrini converted a 60-yard penalty shot and added a goal from the field to knot the score at 6-6 at the end of the first half.
SD Farms combined three goals on offense with an oppressive defense that held High Ground/GSA scoreless in the fourth chukker. Two penalty conversions from Martinez and a goal from the field from Dantata lifted SD Farms into the lead, 9-6.
Martinez opened the scoring in the fifth with a 60-yard penalty conversion that was countered by goals from Valent and Magrini (penalty goal). Andres Weisz scored his first goal of the day from the field. With one chukker remaining in regulation play it was SD Farms with the three goal lead, 11-8.
The SD Farms defense shutout High Ground/GSA for the second time on the day in sixth chukker action. Martinez added two more goals from the field as SD Farms cruised to a 13-8 victory.
Martinez led all scoring with seven goals (five on penalty shots). Dantata added three goals; Polledo scored twice and Weisz was credited with a goal for the win. Magrini’s three goals led the High Ground/GSA attack. Valent scored twice with Meyer and Porter each adding a goal.
The win keeps SD Farms undefeated at 2-0 while the loss was the second in as many outings for High Ground/GSA, 0-2.
Postage Stamp Farm 11, Travieso 10
Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Tommy Collingwood, Brandon Phillips and Jeff Blake) jumped out to a f-3 lead before hanging on to beat a talented Travieso lineup (Teo Calle, Tony Calle, Felipe Viana and Alfredo Capella) 11-0 in Santa Rita Abierto action later in the day.
Tommy Collingwood scored three times in the first half for Postage Stamp Farm with Brandon Phillips and Jeff Blake each adding a goal for the 5-3 halftime lead. Travieso countered with a pair of goals from Alfredo Capella and a goal from Felipe Viana.
Three fourth chukker goals from Postage Stamp Farm extended their lead to five goals, 8-3. Single goals from Collingwood, Phillips and Blake were complimented by shutout defense as Travieso struggled to find the Postage Stamp Farm goal.
A concerted Travieso effort in the fifth chukker cut the lead down to two goals. Tony Calle and Capella each scored from the field and Viana converted a pair of 40-yard penalty shots for goals. Postage Stamp Farm continued to lead but Travieso was closing the gap, 9-7.
Travieso came up with three sixth chukker goals with Teo Calle and Capella scoring from the field and Viana adding a penalty goal. Phillips, however, added two more goals to the Postage Stamp Farm total on penalty conversions to carry the day with a hard-fought 11-10 Postage Stamp Farm victory.
Phillips led all scoring with five goals (three on penalty shots). Collingwood was credited with four goals and Blake scored twice for the win. Viana and Capella each scored four times for Travieso. Teo Calle and Tony Calle scored one goal apiece in the loss.
The win boosted the Postage Stamp Farm record to 1-1 while Travieso fell to 0-2.
The Grand Champions Polo Club is located at 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 33414. The matches are free of charge and the public is invited to attend. The Grand Champions Polo Hotline is 561-373-0073.