Chile (in red) and the USA team(in white) ready to start play in Tianjin, China for the 2015 Snow Polo World Cup.
It wasn’t exactly what the US team (Del Walton, Mike Azzaro and Tommy Biddle) had anticipated in the opening round of the 2015 Fortune Heights Snow Polo World Cup as they watched Chile (Martin Zegers, Tano Vial and Ignacio Vial Mazieres) jump out to an early 2-0 lead on first chukker goals from Ignacio Vial Mazieres. Mazieres wasted no time in capturing the lead for Chile, scoring his first goal with just 32 seconds gone in the opening period of lay. As both teams struggled to control the flow of the play, a Chilean attack gave Mazieres the opportunity he needed to add a second goal and put Chile up by two goals, 2-0 less than three minutes later. Tommy Biddle finally got the USA on the scoreboard at the 5:20 mark but it was Chile with the early 2-1 lead.
Tano Vial stretched the Chilean lead to two goals, 3-1, with the opening goal of the second chukker. Less than two minutes later Biddle responded with a goal for the USA, 3-2. Mazieres scored his third goal of the game at 5:14 to end the period with Chile in control of a 4-2 score.
The third and final chukker in preliminary round play didn’t start out any better for the US team. Vial’s second goal of the day came in the opening 12 seconds of the period and had Chile on top of a 5-2 score. Biddle scored just a minute later, 5-3, and added a final goal at 3:11, but that was where the rally stalled. Chile held on to record the 5-4 win.
Mazieres scored three goals for Chile. Vial added two for the victory. Biddle scored all four goals for the US team.
The US team will try to get back in it on Saturday when they face a Spanish team (Juan Clemente Marambio, Pelayo Berazardi and Santiago Marambio), a 4-2 opening round loser to the defending championship Hong Kong trio (Juan Britos, John Fischer and Pablo Juaretche).