NEWS

After a four-month showcase of endurance and talent, the NPC-16 Goal Championship reached its conclusion on Sunday, April 13, hosted by the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC) and played on Field 2. From January to April, four top-tier national qualifying tournaments took place across South Florida to produce the final four contenders: the Joe Barry Memorial at Port Mayaca Polo Club in Okeechobee, Florida, and the Ylvisaker Cup, Iglehart Cup and Outback Cup—all spearheaded by Patagones Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, under the banner of the Wellington Polo Tour.

Whittled down from a competitive field of 17 teams over the course of the season, the medium-goal finale brought together two standout squads: Joe Barry Memorial champions Zapican BMW (Max Torokvei, Vaughn Miller Jr., Ignacio “Nachi” Viana, Felipe Viana*) and Kaia (Larry Austin sub. Santos Teves, Lucas Criado Jr., Felipe “Pipe” Vercellino, Antonio Aguerre). After qualifying for the NPC 16-Goal Championship by winning the Iglehart Cup, Copperline Farm returned under the new name, Kaia, with original players Lucas Criado Jr. and Felipe “Pipe” Vercellino, joined by two new teammates. Ultimately, Kaia edged Zapican BMW 10-9 in regulation, breaking a 9-all tie in the final minutes after capitalizing from the penalty line.

Zapican BMW, the only team to play all four 16-goal tournaments, had faced Copperline Farm in the Iglehart Cup, and after falling 11-8, the players had a solid sense of what they were up against. “We played that team already–half of the team–but still it's pretty much Pipe and Luckitas. They're 14 [of the 16 goals],” said Nachi Viana. “They have a very strong team, well-mounted. Pipe is a super solid player, I've been playing him a lot the last couple of years, so it should be fun, I'm excited for it.”

In the semifinal prelude on Wednesday, April 9, Outback Cup winners, Palm Beach Equine (Scott Swerdlin, Antonio de Narvaez, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Raul “Gringo” Colombres) took on the newly formed Kaia team. Tied 3-all at the end of the second chukker, Kaia edged ahead 5-3 by halftime and continued to build momentum in the second half. Kaia continued to dominate adding five more goals to the tally for a 10-5 advantage in the fifth, with Vercellino using his scoring prowess to add a field goal, and an additional sixth-chukker penalty as part of his eight-goal contribution to Kaia’s eventual 13-10 victory.

Zapican BMW elected to make things interesting in a semifinal clash with Ylvisaker Cup winners Bientina (Valentino Carlotti, Santiago Llavallol, Federico “Fefu” Panzillo, Mariano Gonzalez Sr.). After the Joe Barry Memorial win, semifinals proved to be Zapican BMW’s nemesis, losing out on a place in the finals of the Ylvisaker Cup and Iglehart Cup at that stage. Sitting pretty at halftime on a 10-3 lead over Bientina, thanks to five goals from Nachi Viana—four from penalties—three from his brother Felipe and two from Miller Jr. Zapican BMW then squandered the advantage in the second half.

Bientina scored eight unanswered goals to take over the lead 11-10. However, Nachi Viana saved the day with 20 seconds left, engineering a goal that tipped the match into overtime. “When I went to the ball, I turned in midfield and I looked at the clock and we had 20 seconds,” said Nachi Viana. “All my life I would get in a rush, but this season in Wellington, I have seen those [final] seconds used well. I don’t know why, but that came to my head: ‘this is something you already learned this season, don't hurry,’ and that's why I took my time.” The nail-biter concluded in overtime as Felipe Viana scored the sudden death winner securing a field goal, off a pass from his brother.

Setting the tone early, Vercellino struck first in the championship final with a 60-yard penalty conversion for Kaia, drawn from pressure applied immediately off the first throw-in. After a slow start, Zapican BMW leveled the score 5-all at halftime.

Torokvei made an impact in the second half, scoring in the fourth to briefly give Zapican BMW a 6-5 lead. He later assisted Felipe Viana in the sixth to erase Kaia’s two-goal advantage. Tied 9-all, Vercellino sank a Penalty 2 in the final two minutes of the sixth chukker to capitalize on the game ratio of 12 fouls from Zapican compared to Kaia’s three to secure a 10-9 regulation time victory.

Felipe "Pipe" Vercellino was named Most Valuable Player, having contributed four goals from penalties to the victory. Machitos Rococo (Machitos Hollyday x Rosa), a 12-year-old bay mare played and owned by Criado Jr., earned Best Playing Pony honors after contributing to two pivotal goals in the second and sixth chukkers.

The NPC-16 Goal Championship final is now available On-Demand.

*Felipe Viana is Team USPA alumnus. 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.

All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.