NEWS

After two full weeks of tournament play the final three bracket games on Sunday, August 25, went down to the wire to decide which four teams would qualify for the semifinals and continue on for a chance to win the Silver Air Pacific Coast Open trophy.

Sunday morning’s first match was between the Walker brothers of FMB and FMB Too! The stakes were high as the winner of the game would be guaranteed a spot in the semifinals. FMB’s Lucas Escobar scored the first field goal of the match to gain a one goal lead that FMB Too! would find difficult to overcome. FMB Too! had trouble scoring from the field, but Santi Wulff’s penalty shot accuracy kept them in the game trailing by one. A goal from the field by FMB’s Felipe Vercellino in the final chukker put their team up by two to win the game 6-4 and secure a coveted spot in the semifinal.

The second game of the day was equally as important as both Santa Clara and Sol de Agosto were striving for a win to keep themselves in the running. Sol de Agosto demonstrated strong shooting accuracy in the first half by scoring all their goals from the field. Down by five goals at the end of the fifth chukker 8-3, Santa Clara’s Nico Escobar came out firing in the sixth. Sinking two Penalty 4 conversions and two additional goals, Nico Escobar brought the score within one with only a minute remaining. Unfortunately for Santa Clara, they could not equalize the scoreboard to bring the game into overtime. Securing a narrow win 8-7, Sol de Agosto earned their place in the semifinals.

“The game was tight and there was a lot at stake,” Bautista Bello commented. One team would be in, and one team would be out. I am glad we were able to pull it off and have an opportunity to play the semifinal.”

The final match of the day was between Bensoleimani.com and Lucchese. Bensoleimani.com’s Tomas Alberdi* and Iñaki Laprida came out strong in the first half scoring two goals each. Lucchese struggled to add goals to their tally with only two goals scored by Jeff Hall in the first chukker. However, the momentum shifted in the second half as Lucchese began to take control of the game. Lucchese’s Jorge Cernadas scored four goals in the final chukkers to help Lucchese seal the win 9-7 and a place in the semifinals.

The USPA Polo Network will livestream the semifinals of the Silver Air Pacific Coast Open on Thursday, August 29. Lucchese will face Bensoleimani.com at 4:00pm ET and Farmers & Merchants Bank will play Sol de Agosto at 7:00pm ET. The finalists will move on to play the Silver Air Pacific Coast Open Final on Sunday, September 1, at 6:00pm ET.

Photos courtesy of ©David Lominska/Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club.

*Tomy Alberdi is a member of Team USPA. 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.