By Alex Webbe
Brandon Phillips scores seven goals in leading Willow/Blanco to a convincing 12-7 win over Santa Clara/Mt. Airy in the 2011 Jan Pamela Challenge at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida.
The victory will propel Willow/Blanco into next Friday’s finals of the competition where it will face Jan Pamela/Little Owl.
Santa Clara/Mt. Airy drew first bold, getting the opening goal from Francisco Bilbao Willow/Blanco on a 60-yard penalty conversion, but Willow/Blanco roared back in the second period with goals from Phillips and Jeff Blake. Adrian Wade managed a goal for Santa Clara/Mt. Airy, and the chukker ended in a 2-2 tie.
Fouls got Willow/Blanco into trouble in the third as two more goals from Phillips were countered by three penalty goals from Bilbao. The first half ended with Santa Clara/Mt. Airy leading 5-4.
Defense was the word of the chukker for Willow/Blanco as they shut out Santa Clara/Mt. Airy in the fourth period and added goals by Phillips and Blake for a 6-5 edge.
Tom (Sikes) worked hard at positioning and riding the opposition off,” said Phillips, “key passes from him laid the groundwork for the win.”
Goals from Bilbao and Wade evened the score at 7-7 in the fifth chukker, with Phillips scoring a goal for Willow/Blanco.
As hard as Santa Clara/Mt. Airy battled to stay in the game, the final chukker was all Willow/Blanco. Blake scored for the third time while teammates Phillips and Mike Egan added two goals apiece. Disciplined defense kept Santa Clara/Mt. Airy off the scoreboard as Willow/Blanco rode off the field with the 12-7 victory.
Phillips led all scoring with seven goals. Jeff Blake accounted for three goals and Mike Egan scored twice.
Francisco Bilbao led the Santa Clara/Mt. Airy attack with five goals. Adrian Wade added two in the loss,
JAN PAMELA/LITTLE OWL 11, EFG BANK 5
Earlier in the day, Jan Pamela/Little Owl jumped out to a commanding 7-2 halftime score before drubbing EFG Bank 11-5 in a one-sided battle.
Jan Pamela/Little Owl received one goal by handicap and got goals from Steve Dalton and Wayne Garrison in the first chukker while EFG was looking for an offense. Jan Pamela/Little Owl took an early 3-0 lead.
Jan Pamela/Little Owl was up 5-0 before EFG finally scored in the second. Three goals from Dalton had Jan Pamela/Little Owl holding a five goal lead as the EFG attack was limited to a single goal from Cristina Fernandez.
Dalton added another goal in the third and EFG responded with a goal from Pelon Escapite. Jan Pamela/Little Owl led by five goals at the end of the first half, 7-2.
Sterling Gianicco gave EFG some hope in the fourth, scoring twice while the team held Jan Pamela/Little Owl scoreless for the first time all morning. Jan Pamela/Little Owl continued to lead, but EFG was trying to creep back into contention, trailing 7-4.
The lapse in offense for the Jan Pamela/Little Owl team was short-lived as they returned to the field with a vengeance in the fifth. Two goals from J. P. Uihlein and single goals from Dalton and Joe Wayne Barry was combined with stellar defense, and EFG found itself trailing by seven goals at the end of the fifth, 11-4.
With Jan Pamela/Little Owl sitting on top of a comfortable lead and wanting to conserve their horses for another day, EFG managed a final goal in the sixth by Fernandez for the 11-5 win.
Dalton led Jan Pamela/Little Owl with six goals. Uihlein scored twice and teammates Garrison and Barry added single goals in the win. Jan Pamela/Little Owl received one goal by handicap.
Fernandez and Gianicco scored two goals apiece for EFG. Escapite accounted for a single goal in the loss.
The victory will put Jan Pamela/Little Owl in next week’s finals against Willow/Blanco.