NEWS

Story courtesy of the International Polo Club Palm Beach

The fourth game of the 2021 Ylvisaker Cup brought all four teams even with a 1-1 record as Tamera (Alejandro Poma, Lucas Escobar*, Diego Cavanagh, Luis Escobar) defeated Beverly Polo (Bill Ballhaus, Peke Gonzalez*, Jorge “Tolito” Fernandez Ocampo Jr., Hilario Figueras) 14-10 on Tuesday, January 26. The dynamic duo of Cavanagh and Lucas Escobar combined for 11 goals, leading Tamera to the four-goal victory at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida.

Losing their first game to Palm Beach Equine, Tamera entered the game determined to win against Joe Barry Memorial finalists Beverly Polo. Spearheading the offensive attack, Cavanagh and Lucas Escobar allowed Tamera to be dominant for much of the game, quickly erasing the two-goal deficit on handicap to lead from the second chukker onwards. Beverly Polo’s Figueras continued to give a strong performance, shooting a perfect four for four from the penalty line, but it was not enough to overcome being heavily outshot by Tamera 23-10. Controlling open play, Tamera held Beverly Polo to just 30% shooting, while scoring 12 goals from the field to capture the impressive 14-10 victory.

Tamera quickly claimed the lead in the opening chukker with three consecutive goals by Cavanagh to set the tone. Figueras’ Penalty 2 conversion ended the first chukker, leaving the two teams tied 3-all. Beverly Polo added two penalty conversions in the second off the mallet of Figueras, but it did not slow down Cavanagh. He added another to the tally while assisting on both of Luis Escobar’s goals to give Tamera the 6-5 lead. Having found their stride from the field, Tamera carried their momentum into the third, adding goals from Poma and Lucas Escobar to land all four players on the scoreboard and give Tamera the 8-6 advantage at halftime.

Led by their defense in the second half, Tamera kept Beverly Polo off the scoreboard in the fourth, receiving back-to-back goals from Lucas Escobar to extend their lead to four. Desperate to close the gap, Beverly Polo fought hard in an intense fifth chukker that saw both teams add three goals, but the duo of Cavanagh and Lucas Escobar proved to be a significant factor in the win. Maintaining their four-goal advantage entering the sixth 13-9, Tamera held on for the remainder of the chukker to claim the 14-10 victory.

Ylvisaker Cup competition will continue on Saturday, January 30, with Beverly Polo (1-1) taking on Palm Beach Equine (1-1) at 3:00pm ET. All games will be livestreamed exclusively on Global Polo TV.

*Lucas Escobar and Peke Gonzalez are Active Team USPA Members. 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.