NEWS

The third annual Allied Services Cup was held the weekend of Saturday, June 3, at Texas Military Polo Club LLC (Poteet, Texas) in a unique outdoor arena often referred to as “the best little grass arena in Texas.” After weeks of rain, sunny skies treated the players to exceptional conditions and late games on Saturday to avoid the heat. The result was competitive play between four teams in two semifinals that came down to the final chukker. Led by the Armed Forces Committee, the Allied Services Cup competitors are required to have served in the military of any country in order to participate or be a military family member, creating a special meaning to all involved in the event. “It’s a really fun tournament and it means a lot to everyone that is on the field,” Ariel Mancebo shared. Defending champions Patton Legacy Sports met Williams Polo in Sunday’s final and emerged victorious, capturing the 14-11 victory to retain the Allied Services Cup title.

Williams Polo (Cody Goetz, Joss Leufrancois, Brady Williams) met Polo InterActive (Jose Velez, Gal Shweiki, Marcus Murphy, James Glew) in the opening semifinal. A back-and-forth contest, Williams Polo relied on the strong play of Leufrancois, who countered two early goals from Polo InterActive’s Murphy with five of his own. Leufrancois accounted for all his team’s goals in the first half to give Williams Polo a slim 5-4 lead. Picking up where he left off, Leufrancois added two more goals, while Goetz made an impact with two of his own to help propel Williams Polo to a 10-7 victory and the final.

The second semifinal featured returning champions Patton Legacy Sports (Lauren Sterr, Karl Hilberg, Ariel Mancebo) against Scuderia SA (Wes Alston, Fabian Osses, Nadir Khan) with the former beginning with two goals on handicap. A closely matched first half left no difference on the scoreboard as Patton Legacy Sports retained their two-goal lead with Sterr and Hilberg counteracting two goals from Scuderia SA’s Khan. Trading goals, Scuderia SA finally pulled even in the third chukker after two more tallies from Khan and one from Osses equalized the score 7-all. Drawing on their experience, Patton Legacy Sports dominated the final chukker of play, scoring five unanswered goals, four coming from Mancebo to secure the 12-7 victory.

Coming back early Sunday morning, the championship match between returning champions Patton Legacy Sports and Williams Polo began with a two-goal handicap advantage for Patton Legacy Sports. Their lead was erased in a matter of seconds as Brady Williams won the first bowl-in and hit a beautiful neckshot from center field for a two pointer to even the score in less than 10 seconds. Patton Legacy Sports settled in, receiving a field goal from Mancebo and penalty conversion from Hilberg to end the first chukker holding a small 4-3 lead. After exchanging goals early in the second chukker, Williams Polo turned to a two-point goal once again, this time off the mallet of Leufrancois, who unleashed a shot from almost midfield that found its way through the goal. The relentless attack from Williams Polo throughout the second chukker contributed to an 8-5 lead entering halftime.

The game tightened up in the third chukker, but Williams Polo maintained the lead. Adding his fourth and fifth goals of the match, Williams maintained Williams Polo’s three-goal lead despite the best efforts of three penalty conversions from Hilberg. The score 11-8 with one chukker remaining, Patton Legacy Sports capitalized on some early miscues and began to inch their way back. Receiving a Penalty 1 and then leaning on the penalty prowess of Hilberg, who excelled in his role converting three more attempts, Patton Legacy Sports jumped into their first lead since the second chukker. “Ariel and I had been discussing for weeks that I would take all the penalty shots” said Hilberg. “I added more penalty shot practice to my ongoing work up to this tournament.” Minutes remaining, Mancebo stepped up to score from the field, while Lauren Sterr found an opportune time for her first goal, sealing an 14-11 triumph over Williams Polo to defend their Allied Services Cup title.

Each competitor having served in the military or a military family member created another dimension to the event that was recognized by all involved. “As a national event and a military event, [winning] meant more. To play in an allied services event with players representing militaries from the U.S., Argentina, Mexico, Pakistan, U.K. and France on the day before the 79^th anniversary of D-Day means a lot to me as a retired Navy Officer and the son and nephew of five WWII Army and Navy veterans” shared Hilberg. Reuniting as a trio to defend their title, Sterr reflected on their second consecutive win. “It’s great to win this tournament in back-to-back years. Hoping the three of us can return next year and try to win it again!”

Displaying an impressive level of play to carry Williams Polo into the final, along with a crucial two-point goal as part of a four-goal performance, Joss Leufrancois was named the Most Valuable Player.

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Yammin, played by Ariel Mancebo and owned by Horsegate. “He’s one of the horses you want to play in the last chukker because he could really change the result. That’s what he did here today,” beamed Mancebo. “We’ve had him a long time. He has played a lot of interscholastic and several nationals with the Stefanakis boys”.

A second award for Best Playing Pony Thoroughbred was presented to Pippa, played and owned by Scuderia SA’s Nadir Khan. Lastly, Wes Alston was named as the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award, receiving a full polo bridle, courtesy of Jack Rabbit Tack.

Taking advantage of the USPA’s Tournament Support Program for the Allied Services Cup allowed Texas Military Polo Club LLC to waive tournament fees while receiving a professional umpire and $2,500 in prize money. The club would like to recognize the individuals that helped make the Allied Services Cup a success for the third year running including Jack and Trey Crea, Karl and Julie Hilberg, David and Debra Murrell, Robin Sanchez and Rusty Your Trusty EMT along with all of those who provided horses.

Photos courtesy of ©David Murrell