NEWS

Aspen (Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini*, Ignacio Arbelbide, Lucas James, Stewart Armstrong) claimed their first victory of the 2021 Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) on Sunday, January 24. Defeating Palm Beach Equine (Constancio ‘Costi’ Caset*, Robi Bilbao, Gringo Colombres, Scott Swerdlin) 10-8, Aspen was led by five goals from Magrini, keeping Palm Beach Equine off the scoreboard in the final chukker to emerge victorious on the U.S Polo Assn. Field 1.

After suffering a narrow loss to Beverly Polo in the opening game, Aspen came out strong and showcased an impressive offensive performance in their second game of the season. Involved in five of his team’s six field goals, Magrini led the offense while James’ superb defensive skills held Palm Beach Equine to just three field goals in the game. With a total of 17 shots at goal, Aspen nearly doubled Palm Beach Equine in attempts, controlling much of open play to lead after all but one chukker. Despite receiving nine penalty attempts, Palm Beach Equine converted just five, while shooting 33% from the field in what was ultimately the difference in the 10-8 defeat.

Palm Beach Equine took the lead in the first few minutes of the game after Caset scored a Penalty 2, but Aspen’s Arbelbide and Magrini quickly responded to end the first chukker in their favor 2-1. Unable to score a field goal throughout the entire first half, Palm Beach Equine continued to perform from the penalty line, tying the score after Caset’s second penalty conversion. However, Aspen inched back into the lead as the two teams traded goals. The low-scoring game carried through the end of the first half as Aspen maintained their narrow one-goal lead after trading penalty conversions in the final minutes of the third chukker.

The closely-matched game saw the two teams remain within one goal, despite the efforts of Aspen’s Magrini, who scored his fourth and fifth goals in the fourth chukker. Colombres scored a goal from the field for Palm Beach Equine, breaking past the Aspen defense to bring the scoreboard to 6-5. Continuing to trail by one after each chukker, Palm Beach Equine finally broke through in the fifth, tying the score 8-all after goals from Caset and Bilbao. Aspen had opportunities to keep the lead but missed attempts from the penalty line and the field left the final chukker to determine the winner. Palm Beach Equine could not overtake Aspen’s organized defense in the sixth chukker, leaving them scoreless and allowing Aspen to reclaim the lead. Receiving a field goal from Arbelbide and penalty conversion from James, Aspen sealed the 10-8 victory.

Ylvisaker Cup competition will continue on Tuesday, January 26, with Beverly Polo (1-0) taking on Tamera (0-1) at 3:00pm ET. All games will be livestreamed exclusively on Global Polo TV.

*Kristos “Keko” Magrini is an Active Team USPA Member and Constancio ‘Costi’ Caset is a Graduating Team USPA Member. 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.