NEWS

Story courtesy of the International Polo Club Palm Beach

The last day of bracket play for Brackets I and II in the 2021 C.V. Whitney Cup® saw Scone (David Paradice, Peke Gonzalez*, Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfo Cambiaso) end with a 2-0 record in Bracket I, defeating Cessna (Chip Campbell, Ezequiel ‘Gallego’ Martinez Ferrario, Mariano ‘Nino’ Obregon Jr., Jared Zenni*) 14-7 on Wednesday, February 24. Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Lucas Escobar*, Guillermo ‘Sapo’ Caset, Francisco Elizalde) grabbed a crucial 14-12 victory over Pilot (Curtis Pilot, Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini*, Gonzalito Pieres, Facundo Pieres) in the second game of the day thanks to the impressive 11-goal performance from Caset at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

Returning to competition after claiming victory in Sunday’s feature game, Scone used a dominant second half to capture their second decisive win, defeating Cessna 9-3. Gonzalez stepped into the spotlight for Scone, leading all players with eight goals on accurate 75% shooting. The dynamic Scone attack overwhelmed Cessna in the later stages of the game behind an accurate passing attack from Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, the duo combining for seven assists on 10 field goals. Cessna remained close in the opening half but conceded four penalties to Scone in the final two chukkers in the 14-7 defeat.

The first play of the game saw the father-son combination give Scone the 1-0 lead as Poroto found Adolfo Cambiaso on the receiving end of a pass. Conceding only a Penalty 3 conversion to Zenni, the first chukker went in favor of Scone with Adolfo Cambiaso coming forward to produce all three Scone goals. Withstanding the early run from Scone, Cessna responded with their best chukker of the game, scoring three unanswered goals, two from Obregon Jr. to quickly turn a two-goal deficit into a one-goal lead. Scone’s early struggles from the penalty line found them trailing towards the end of the first half, but turned their fortunes around when utilizing Gonzalez at the front of the game. Both Poroto and Adolfo Cambiaso set up goals for Gonzalez to give Scone the narrow 5-4 advantage.

The beginning of the second half featured Cessna fighting hard to match Scone, receiving a goal from Campbell to keep pace, but the game ultimately changed in the fifth chukker. Leading by two, Scone’s Gonzalez had a memorable seven-minute stretch, scoring all four goals for Scone on perfect two for two shooting from the field and penalty line. Unable to slow the potent Scone attack, Cessna was left in their defensive end and pressured in front of goal, resulting in two Penalty 1’s awarded to Scone, who earned the 14-7 victory.

A high-powered second game saw three 10-goalers on the field with Caset emerging as an unstoppable force for Tonkawa, finishing with 11 goals on 10 for 14 shooting from the field in the victory over Pilot. Substituting for Cody Ellis*, Escobar faced his former team and excelled in pressuring the Pieres brothers off the ball to free space for Caset and Elizalde to attack goal, contributing to an 8-1 run over the third and fourth chukkers. Despite conceding five penalty goals to Pilot, Tonkawa’s efficient open play attack led them to the 14-12 victory and brought all three teams even with a 1-1 record in Bracket II.

From the beginning of the chukker Pilot demonstrated their ability to score quickly, building a 4-1 lead inside the first seven minutes. Receiving two goals each from Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres, Pilot applied pressure that resulted in four fouls committed by Tonkawa in the opening chukker. Focused on reducing the gap, Caset added two goals in the second chukker but Pilot continued to rely on Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres who allowed them to maintain their three-goal advantage. Everything changed in the third chukker after Tonkawa unleashed an unrelenting attack, scoring six goals in a span of minutes led by the play of Caset. Accounting for five of the six goals, while assisting on the other, Caset displayed a flawless performance that switched the momentum in Tonkawa’s direction, giving them the 9-7 lead at halftime.

Finding success with Escobar, Elizalde and Hildebrand working tirelessly off the ball, Tonkawa controlled possession at the start of the second half to complete their 8-1 run after two more goals for Caset. Pilot was held off the scoreboard from the field for the third consecutive chukker against an organized Tonkawa defense. After struggling to find the goal earlier in the game, Elizalde contributed with back-to-back goals, extending Tonkawa’s lead to five and leaving Pilot with little time to make a comeback. A valiant effort from Facundo Pieres with three goals in the sixth chukker brought Pilot within two, but ultimately they conceded victory to Tonkawa 14-12.

*Peke Gonzalez, Lucas Escobar, and Keko Magrini are Active Team USPA Members. Jared Zenni and Cody Ellis 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.