NEWS

Following over four weeks of competition, Equuleus (Hugo Tagliaferro, Martin Pepa, Mariano Gonzalez Sr., Joseph Dimenna, sub. Martin Rodriguez) and Go Guri (Daniella Gotlib, Juan Gimenez Villamil, Sebastian Merlos, Quinn Evans) went-head-to-head to crown the inaugural champion of the General George S. Patton Jr. Cup, hosted by the Hamptons Polo Club in Watermill, New York. Proudly joining the ranks as a USPA national event, an outstanding sixth chukker effort from Equuleus halted Go Guri’s momentum to earn a gripping comeback victory.

A back-and-forth battle between Go Guri’s Merlos and Equuleus’ Gonzalez Sr., the two leading scorers contributed all goals in the first half. Successful from the penalty line, Gonzalez Sr.’s four penalty conversions were matched by Merlos. Leading his team from the number four position, Merlos’ firepower included three field goals to place Go Guri at a 5-4 advantage at the break.

Go Guri’s consistent scoring, with two goals in all but one chukker, continued throughout the second half. In the fourth, Gonzalez Sr. made his fourth Penalty 2 conversion to tie the match 5-all, but efforts from Merlos and Villamil vaulted Go Guri back into the lead. Pepa and Tagliaferro broke through in the fifth with three goals to kick-start Equuleus’ comeback. Despite efforts from Evans and Merlos in the sixth, Equuleus’ organized attack of three goals off the mallet of Pepa combined with a field goal from Rodriguez delivered a narrow 12-11 win.

All photos courtesy of ©Agustina Lacroze.