NEWS

Story courtesy of International Polo Club Palm Beach

The first game of elimination play in the 2021 U.S. Open Polo Championship® featured a play-off between Aspen/Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta*, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Gringo Colombres, Stewart Armstrong) and Santa Clara (Will Johnston, Felipe Vercellino, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Luis Escobar), with the winner advancing to a quarterfinal match-up against Pilot on Sunday, April 11. After an evenly matched first half, Aspen/Dutta Corp shot an accurate 67% in the second half to pull ahead and defeat Santa Clara 9-6, securing their place in the quarterfinal.

A defensive game was seen between Aspen/Dutta Corp and Santa Clara as they did not concede anything easy in the must-win game. Inaccurate shooting plagued both teams in the opening half, but it was Aspen/Dutta Corp that excelled in the second half, led by the combination of Dutta and Colombres. Despite not scoring from the field, Colombres assisted on three goals in the second half, passing effectively to goal, while Dutta finished accurately to lead the team with four goals. Armstrong played an outstanding back position, limiting the opportunities for Santa Clara to break way for open runs to goal and help push Aspen/Dutta Corp into the quarterfinal with their first win of the tournament.

In the opening chukker, Aspen/Dutta Corp looked to strike first, attacking goal in the opening minutes, but were unable to convert their chances from the field. The pressure left Santa Clara on the defensive and they ultimately committed a foul that led to a Penalty 2 conversion for Colombres in the first goal of the game. Santa Clara’s Astrada provided a quick response for Santa Clara, scoring his first goal of the game and tying the score at 1-all. Missed opportunities around goal for both teams resulted in zero field goals for the remainder of the first half as the only offense came from the penalty line where Vercellino and Colombres traded penalty conversions to end a low-scoring first half at 2-all.

With a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, Santa Clara came out of halftime led by 9-goaler Astrada, who scored back-to-back goals, giving his team their first two-goal advantage of the game. However, after recording zero field goals in the first half, Aspen/Dutta Corp finally broke through before the conclusion of the chukker, receiving two quick field goals from Alberdi and Dutta, restoring the tie at 4-all.

With the momentum on their side, Aspen/Dutta Corp pushed forward and controlled the fifth chukker due to the play of Dutta. Converting a pass from Colombres for his second goal, Dutta then worked the ball in front of goal and a lay-off for Armstrong was sent through the posts to give Aspen/Dutta Corp the 6-4 lead entering the final chukker.

A Penalty 2 conversion from Colombres began the sixth chukker and was quickly followed by another goal from Dutta, ending a run of six consecutive goals that left Santa Clara facing a significant four-goal deficit. Astrada continued to try and pull Santa Clara within reach, playing well on both sides of the ball but his sixth chukker goal was not enough to overcome the second half performance from Aspen/Dutta Corp, falling in the 9-6 defeat.

The quarterfinals begin on Saturday, April 10, at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (Wellington, Florida) with Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Mackenzie Weisz, Nico Pieres, Julian de Lusarreta) facing La Indiana (Nico Escobar*, Jeff Hall, Polito Pieres, Michael Bickford) at 10:00am ET, while Cessna (Camp Campbell, Ezequiel Martinez Ferrario, Mariano Obregon Jr., Jared Zenni*) takes on Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa, Matt Coppola*) at 4:00pm ET.

*Timmy Dutta and Nico Escobar are Active Team USPA Members. Jared Zenni and Matt Coppola are Graduating Team USPA Members. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.