Audi team captain Marc Ganzi scored four goals Thursday afternoon as his Audi team beat McLaren14-9 to earn a berth in the 2015 East Coast Open semifinals at the Greenwich Polo Club.
Turkish Airlines (Bruce Colley/Joe Meyer, Joaquin Panelo, Tomas Garcia del Rio and Stevie Orthwein) received three goals by handicap from the 20-goal Audi lineup (Marc Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Nic Roldan and Miguel Novillo Astrada) and quickly ran it up to 4-0 on a penalty conversion from Tomas Garcia del Rio, but that would be where their offense would stall. Four consecutive Audi goals tied the game at the end of the chukker, 4-4. Marc Ganzi scored Audi’s first goal of the game on a well-placed pass from Miguel Astrada followed by a goal from the field from Juancito Bollini. Astrada scored on a 30-yard penalty shot with 1:37 on the clock to cut the Turkish Airlines lead to a single goal, 4-3. Another foul sent Astrada to the penalty lien again for a 60-yard attempt. Partially blocked, teammate Ganzi tapped it through to level the score at 4-4 to end the chukker.
Turkish Airlines continued to struggle with their offense in the second period, with opportunities to score but with shots going wide. Fouls hurt them again with Astrada converting twice for penalty goals for Audi. After two chukkers it was Audi with a two goal, 6-4 edge.
Audi blew the game wide open in the third period. Astrada scored his fourth goal of the game from the penalty line followed by a goal from the field from Nic Roldan to make it 8-4. Del Rio converted a 60-yard penalty shot for Turkish Airlines, 8-5, but the rest of the first half belonged to Audi. Another penalty goal from Astrada was followed by Roldan’s second goal of the game, 10-5, and a pair of goals from Ganzi (on passes from Roldan_ ended the first half with Turkish Airlines trailing Audi by seven goals, 12-5.
Joaquin Panelo pumped some life into the Turkish Airlines side with the opening goal of the fourth chukker, 12-6. Both defenses stood firm with Astrada adding a 60-yard penalty goal to maintain the seven goal Audi advantage, 13-6.
Goals were scarce in the fifth with both teams marking their opposites closely. Nic Roldan picked up the only goal in the chukker, extending the Audi lead to eight goals, 14-6.
Panelo got Turkish Airlines on the scoreboard in the opening minute of the sixth period, 14-7. Stevie Orthwein scored his first goal of the game to cut the Audi lead back to six goals, 14-8, as time continued to run down on the clock. Joe Meyer scored the final goal of the game just before the final horn sounded as Audi rode off with the 14-9 victory. The win boosts Audi into the East Coast Open semifinals with a 2-0 record. Turkish Airlines falls to 0-2.
Astrada scored all six of his goals on penalty shots. Ganzi added four goals; Roldan was credited with three goals; and Bollini scored once for the win. Panelo and Del Rio scored three goals apiece for Turkish Airlines. Meyer and Orthwein each scored once in the loss.
KIG 16, McLaren 12
The 19-goal McLaren team (Chris Brant, Nick Manifold, Joao Paulo Ganon and Tommy Biddle) received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal KIG entry (Bash Kazi, Valerio Zubiaurre, Mariano Obregon and Pelon Escapite) but watched as Valerio Zubiaurre tied the game on a goal from the field, 1-. Tommy Biddle took the lead back for McLaren on a 40-yard penalty conversion, 2-1 and Brazilian 7-goaler extended the lead to two goals, 3-1 with his first goal of the day. KIG’s Mariano Obregon scored the final goal of the chukker on a well-executed backhand shot that had them trailing McLaren, 3-2.
Ganon stretched the McLaren lead to two goals with the opening goal of the second period, 4-2. Pelon Escapite converted a 150-yard penalty shot for a goal for KIG to trail, 4-3. Biddle closed out the scoring in the second chukker with a goal from the field followed by a 30-yard penalty conversion to keep McLaren in front by three goals, 6-3.
The third chukker belonged to KIG as they scored six unanswered goals to move ahead of McLaren, 8-6. Escapite scored the first two goals of the chukker before teammate Mariano Obregon fought off Ganon to score the tying goal, 6-6. Escapite scored from the ensuing throw-in to give KIG their first lead of the game, 7-6, and then added his fourth goal of the chukker to put KIG on top, 8-6, at the end of the first half.
Two minutes into the fourth chukker, Biddle muscled his way through a crowd of defenders to score and cut the KIG lead back to a single goal, 8-7. Consecutive goals from Obregon, Escapite (on a steal) and Zubiaurre had KIG up by four goals, 11-7. Biddle converted a 60-yard penalty shot for the final goal of the chukker and an 11-8 advantage.
A 60-yard penalty goal from Biddle opened the scoring in the fifth period, cutting the KIG lead back to two goals, 11-9, but there was no rally in the making. KIG responded with four straight goals (three penalty goals from Escapite and a goal from the field from Zubiaurre) to move in front by six goals, 15-9. Biddle converted a30-yard penalty shot to end the period but it was KIG in control of the game, 15-10.
Obregon‘s fourth goal of the game stretched the KIG lead to six goals in the opening 30 seconds of the final chukker. McLaren fought back, but there was little give in the KIG defense. A penalty goal from Biddle and a gal from the field from Nick Manifold were all the offense they could produce in the sixth chukker as KIG celebrated the 16-12 victory.
Escapite led the field with nine goals on the day. Obregon scored four times and Zubiaurre added three goals for the win. Biddle’s eight goals (six on penalty shots) set the pace for McLaren. Ganon scored twice, manifold added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap.
East Coast Open action continues on Saturday, August 29th with a 4pm game between Airstream (Peter Orthwein, Guille Aguero, Matias Magrini and Michel Dorignac) and KIG. It’s a critical game for both teams with identical 1-1 records as they both hope to qualify for the tournament semifinals. Although the game is not open to the public, the game will be livestreamed on Chukker TV (chukkertv.com).