(L to R)-Audi’s Carlucho Arellano attempting to hook the mallet of FlexJet 8-goaler Nic Roldan in 20-goal USPA North American Cup at the Grand Champions Polo Club. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Brandon Phillips, Julio Arellano and Brad Blake) showed opening chukker strength in the 2015 USPA North American Cup at the Grand Champions Polo Club Friday morning. They picked up a pair of goals from 8-goaler Julio Arellano (one on a penalty conversion) and a goal from Brad Blake. A talented Travieso team (Tony Calle, Jesse Bray, Facundo Obregon and J.J. Celis) was limited to a single goal from Facundo Obregon and trailed by two goals, 3-1.
Arellano’s third goal of the game came in second chukker action, giving Postage Stamp Farm a comfortable 4-1 advantage. Jesse Bray responded with his first goal of the day for the only other score in the chukker. After two chukkers of play, Postage Stamp Farm rode off the field on top of a 4-2 lead.
The fact that Travieso received an opening round bye might have worked against them in their opening match, but by the third period their teamwork began to gel. Goals from Tony Calle and Obregon tied the game at 4-4, and disciplined defense kept Postage Stamp Farm off the scoreboard for the first time. At the end of the first half it was all even at four goals apiece.
Goals were hard to come by as the fourth chukker began. J.J. Celis gave Travieso their first lead of the game, 5-4, with a goal at the 5:51 mark of the fourth period. Postage Stamp Farm got it back on a Penalty 1, a foul by Travieso in their own goal mouth that resulted in Postage Stamp Farm being awarded a goal. The period ended with the score deadlocked at 5-5.
Play was tight throughout the fifth chukker with Brandon Phillips scoring once from the field and once on a 30-yard penalty shot. Travieso got single goals from Obregon and Celis. The score remained tied at seven goals apiece with one chukker left in regulation play.
Two minutes into the sixth chukker Arellano scored to give Postage Stamp Farm an 8-7 edge. A minute later it was Obregon with the tying goal, 8-8. The teams raced up and down the field in search of the winning goal, but time expired. The score remained level at 8-8, and both teams rode off the field to get fresh horses for the sudden-death overtime chukker.
With fresh horses under them the two teams lined up for the throw-in, with Travieso’s Jesse Bray taking control of the ball and racing down the field to score the winning goal for Travieso in the opening 15 seconds of the overtime.
A disappointed Postage Stamp Farm team left the field while Travieso celebrated the win and a berth in the final of the USPA North American Cup.
Obregon’s four goals let the Travieso attack. Bray and Celis added two goals each and Calle was credited with a goal in the victory. Arellano’s four goals set the pace for the Postage Stamp Farm offense. Phillips scored twice, Blake chipped in a goal and the team received a goal on a Penalty 1.
FlexJet 12, Audi 10
Audi (Marc Ganzi, Jeff Blake, Sugar Erskine and Carlucho Arellano) received one goal by handicap from a talented FlexJet foursome (Melissa Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Nic Roldan and Juan Bollini) in the second USPA North American Cup semifinal of the day and quickly added to it on a 30-yard penalty conversion from Marc Ganzi for a 2-0 Audi lead, and led 6-5 at the end of the first half before five goals in the final two chukkers in a 12-10 loss.
Following Audi’s 2-0 start, Nic Roldan scored four straight goals (three on penalty shots) to move FlexJet in front, 4-2.
Audi bounced back in the second period on a pair of goals from Sugar Erskine. A determined Audi defense kept FlexJet from scoring in second period action and the score was tied at 4-4.
Jason Crowder gave the lead back to FlexJet with his first goal of the game in the first 30 seconds of the third chukker, 5-4. Jeff Blake leveled the score at 5-5 a minute later and Carlucho Arellano scored the final goal of the first half to give Audi the 6-5 lead.
Marc Ganzi opened the fourth period with a 30-yard penalty goal followed up by a goal from Blake midway through the period. Audi was on a run and boasted a three goal, 8-5 advantage. Roldan got FlexJet back into the thick of it with back-to-back goals that cut the Audi lead back to a single goal, 8-7. Erskine’s third goal of the game came with just 18 seconds on the clock and kept Audi in front by two goals, 9-7.
Roldan continued to swing a hot mallet as the fifth chukker got underway. Consecutive penalty goals from the American 8-goaler tied the game at 9-9 at the 5:12 mark, but Audi stormed back as the pace of the game quickened. Once again it was Erskine with the chukker ending score that put Audi back on top, 10-9.
FlexJet pulled out all of the stops in the final seven minutes of the game. Roldan led off with a 50-yard neck shot for the tying goal, 10-10.Crowder’s second goal of the day gave FlexJet an 11-10 edge, but there was no quit in the Audi lineup. An Audi foul with 2:38 left in regulation time proved to be the final straw. Roldan converted from the shot on goal for a 12-10 lead, and then tightened up the FlexJet defense to hold off a last minute rally for the 12-10 victory.
Roldan scored nine times in the FlexJet win, including six penalty conversions. Crowder added two goals and Bollini scored once. Erskine’s four goals set the pace for the Audi attack. Marc Ganzi and Blake scored two goals each. Arellano was credited with a goal and the ream received one goal by handicap.
FlexJet and Travieso will meet in the final of the 2015 USPA North American Cup on Sunday, November 15th at 10am at the Grand Champions Polo Club.
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.