NEWS

The Farmington Polo Club (Farmington, Connecticut) welcomed four teams from Wednesday, August 17 through Saturday, August 20 to play in the Northeastern Circuit Masters Cup. Players came from surrounding tri-state polo clubs to participate in the competitive 4- to 6-goal tournament. The semifinals were played mid-week with beautiful weather.

The first game found Aspetuck (Dana Barnes, Sophia DeAngelis, James DeAngelis, Costi Caset) meeting Willow Tree (Michael DiValentino, Al Keshvarzian, Nando Pelosini, Luis Alfredo Rodriguez). Captained by Caset, Aspectuck took the early lead, putting two goals on the board. Willow Tree fought back in the second chukker with goals from Rodriguez and Pelosini to put Willow Tree ahead by one. After halftime, the third chukker was left tied at 5-all. Apectuck’s father-daughter duo James and Sophia DeAngelis generated a great defensive effort in the second half, but it was Willow Tree who walked away the victors, 7-5.

The second semifinal featured GTFO (Michael Zacharski, Lazaro Gorosito, Zach Grob, Pedro Gutierrez) facing Cedar View Polo (Alison Patricelli, Julian Pettinato, Drew Gale, Winston Painter). Guiterrez dominated the field for GTFO, scoring three goals quickly in the first chukker. Painter scored two beautiful goals in the second chukker and would go on to score his third goal in the last chukker, but it wasn’t enough, as GTFO put more goals on the scoreboard from Gorosito and Zacharski to overtake Cedar View Polo.

The consolation and final matches were played back-to-back as the highlighted Saturday match at Farmington Polo Club. Hundreds of spectators showed up eager to watch the action-packed matches sponsored by McLaren Boston. Aspetuck swiftly defeated Cedar View in the consolation match. After a halftime divot stomp and tailgate prize giveaway, the final was underway. Each chukker was left tied until ultimately GTFO scored within the last 40 seconds to edge past Willow Tree 7.5-7.

Proud of GTFO’s win in their inaugural year together, Zacharski shared, “It's been a strong first year for GTFO and we really enjoyed this tournament. We had great support from the crowd and our extended polo family. The fields are amazing, and the tournament had some great teams and tough players. We had to really maximize every opportunity and focus on the throw-ins and knock-ins and work to move the ball forward. We had a great run and a lot of fun in this tournament, and we look forward to some great polo at the next one.”

Nando Pelosini was awarded MVP for his six-goal contribution, while 8-year-old thoroughbred Cambria, owned and played by Zach Grob in the first chukker, took home Best Playing Pony honors. Praising the club’s immaculate fields and his team’s valiant efforts, Pelosini noted, "It is always a pleasure to join the competitive polo at the Farmington Polo Club. The field conditions combined with the help of my teammates allowed me to earn MVP. It was a tough game that came down to the last seconds and I look forward to returning to the club soon where the polo is well organized and a joy to play."

Aspetuck’s Caset also chimed in on the competitiveness of the tournament, adding, "The tournament we had here was a big success. [It] was very competitive and the field played great. Although my team didn't win the tournament, I was very pleased playing with three club members. To see them play their best and work so hard out on the field against tough teams made me feel like the club has helped them raise their level, and that is one of our main goals here."

*This tournament recap article was submitted for publication by Farmington Polo Club. Learn more about how to submit USPA tournament articles here or send your submission to Communications Coordinator Madelyn Blum at mblum@uspolo.org.

All photos courtesy of ©CJ Yopp.