Tony Calle scored seven times for Casablanca in their sixth chukker loss to Travieso Friday afternoon at the Aspen Valley Polo Club. (Photo by Alex Pacheco)
In a scoring battle between Casablanca’s Tony Calle and Travieso’s Sebastian Merlos, Merlos, the former Argentine 10-goaler came out on top as Travieso (Brian Boyd, Teo Calle, Sebastian Merlos and Alex Gooding) came up with four final chukker goals to sneak past Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, Tony Calle, Lucas Lalor and Juancito Bollini) in an 11am Friday morning match at the Sopris Mountain Ranch field.
Travieso took the early lead on a goal from the field from Travieso team captain Teo Calle. A penalty goal from Sebastian Merlos had Travieso in the lead, 2-0. Juancito Bollini got Casablanca on the scoreboard with the final goal of the chukker to trail Travieso, 2-1.
Casablanca came alive in the second period with Tony Calle scoring twice and Bollini adding another goal. Merlos converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal and Alex Gooding scored once from the field. After two chukkers of play the score was all even at 4-4.
Tony Calle added three more goals in the third while Casablanca held Travieso scoreless. A goal from the field and penalty goals from 30 and 40-yards had Casablanca in the lead at halftime, 7-4.
For the second straight chukker Casablanca shut down the Travieso attack with Tony Calle scoring the only goal of the period. With two periods left in regulation play, Casablanca extended their led to five goals, 8-4.
Gooding opened the scoring in the fifth chukker with a goal from the field, 8-5. Lucas Lalor countered with his first goal of the day to restore Casablanca’s four goal lead, 9-5. Penalties proved costly for Casablanca, however, with Merlos scoring twice on 40-yard penalty shots. The fifth period ended with Casablanca defending a two goal advantage, 9-7.
An aggressive Travieso attack scored three straight goals on penalty shots from Merlos, giving Travieso their first lead since the second chukker, 10-9. Tony Calle leveled the score at 10-10 with a 30-yard penalty shot, but it was Merlos’s fourth penalty conversion of the period that gave the win to Travieso, 11-8.
Merlos led all scoring with eight penalty goals. Gooding added two goals and Teo Calle scored once for the win. Tony Calle (Teo’s son) led the Casablanca attack with seven goals (three on penalty conversions). Bollini scored twice and Lalor added a goal in the loss.
Tonkawa 6, Flexjet 3
Tonkawa (Segundo Merlos/Santos Bollini, Marc Ganzi, Julio Novillo Astrada and Jimmy Seward) took the field without team captain Jeff Hildebrand but still managed to outpace Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, Lauren Sherry, Carlitos Gracida and Justo Saavedra) to win a 6-3 defensive battle.
Carlitos Gracida scored the first goal of the game for an early 1-0 Flexjet lead. Marc Ganzi countered with a goal from the field for Tonkawa for the 1-1 tie at the end of the opening chukker.
Flexjet shutout the Tonkawa offense for the next two periods while managing only a single goal in the third by Lauren Sherry. At the end of the first halt it was Flexjet holding on to a delicate 2-1 lead.
A reorganized Tonkawa team took control of the game in the fourth chukker as they ran up three unanswered goals to move in front, 4-2. Marc Ganzi scored the first goal of the chukker on a 60-yard Safety and added another goal from the field. Julio Novillo Astrada’s first goal of the day ended the fourth period with Tonkawa in the lead, 4-2.
Tonkawa continued to roll in the fifth. Jimmy Seward added two more goals while the Tonkawa defense shut down the Flexjet attack. With one chukker left to play it was Tonkawa in control of a 6-2 contest.
Tonkawa concentrated on defense in the final chukker, holding Flexjet to a single penalty goal from Melissa Ganzi as they rode off the field on the winning end of a 6-3 game.
Marc Ganzi led Tonkawa with three goals. Seward scored twice and Astrada added a goal for the victory. In a lackluster offensive show, Melissa Ganzi, Gracida and Sherry each scored a goal in the Flexjet loss.
Travieso and Tonkawa will meet in the final of the Chukker TV Challenge Cup on Sunday at 11am at the Aspen Valley Polo Club. The Subsidiary match between Flexjet and Casablanca is scheduled to follow at 1pm.
The Aspen Valley Polo Club is located at 3275 County Road 100, Carbondale, CO. Everyone is welcome to watch polo in a relaxed atmosphere. Admission and parking are free. The club’s Polo Hotline is: 970-710-1663.