Flat Out and Barbarossa Leather in USPA North America Cup finals

.

By Alex Webbe

.

 

Sluggish first half offenses gave way to wide open play in the final three chukkers as Flat Out recorded a hotly contested 9-8 win over Elangeni Ranch in the opening match of the 2011 20-goal USPA North American Cup Friday afternoon at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington.

Elangeni Ranch took an early 2-0 lead with the benefit of one goal by handicap and a penalty conversion from 7-goaler Luis Escobar.

Flat Out fought back in the second chukker, shutting down the Elangeni Ranch offense while picking up a goal from the field from 2-goaler Misha Rodzianko.  Elangeni Ranch continued to lead, but the margin was cut to a single goal, 2-1.

Goals from Brandon Phillips and Rodzianko had Flat Out owning a 3-2 lead in the third, but a well-deserved goal from Martin Estrada knotted it up at 3-3 to end the first half of play.

Scoring continued to be a problem for both teams in the fourth with Elangeni Ranch scoring the only goal of the chukker as Diego Cossio scored his first goal of the day.  Flat Out left the field trailing 4-3 with just two chukkers to play.

Nic Roldan scored twice for Flat Out in the fifth, but Escobar matched him with a goal from the field and a penalty goal.  Elangeni Ranch continued to lead, 6-5.

Flat Out’s offense erupted in the final period with Phillips and Roldan scoring two goals apiece while holding Elangeni Ranch to single goals from Estrada and Escobar.

The final horn sounded with Flat Out sitting on top of a 9-8 score and earning a berth in Snday’s finals.

Rodzianko, Phillips and Roldan scored three goals apiece for the flat Out win.

Escobar accounted for four goals for Elangeni Ranch.  Estrada added two goals and Cossio scored a single goal in the loss.

BARBAROSSA LEATEHR WINS ROUND-ROBIN, MOVES INTO FINALS

The final contest of the tournament pitched three teams against one another in round-robin play.  With Barbarossa Leather emerging as the winner, and qualifying for a berth in the USPA North America Cup finals against Flat Out at noon on Sunday, November 6.

Barbarossa Leather fought Piaget to a 3-3 tie before running away with an 8-2 win over Audi.  Melissa Ganzi scored the opening goal from the throw in for Piaget, with Barbarossa Leather’s Leo Mandelbaum evening the score at 1-1 with his first goal of the match.  Mandelbaum and Piaget’s Joey Case exchanged goals in the second period of the three-chukker mini-match.  Mandelbaum converted a penalty shot to give Barbarossa Leather a 3-2 lead.  Casey tied it up with his second goal of the game and the teams left the field win a 3-3 tie.

Barbarossa Leather held the field for a challenge from Audi with Piaget sitting down for a couple of chukkers.

Ruben Gracida scored the first goal of the contest with Audi, but a pair of penalty goals from Marc Ganzi had Audi driving off for an early 2-1 advantage.  Hector Galindo scored to tie it up for Barbarossa Leather, and the match was deadlocked at 2-2.

Goals from Gracida, Mandelbaum and Galindo were complimented by shutout defense for Barbarossa Leather, and after two chukkers of action, Audi found itself trailing 5-2.

Three more Barbarossa Leather goals went unanswered, with Gracida converting a penalty shot for a goal while Mandelbaum scored twice from the field for the 8-2 final score.

Barbarossa Leather earned a position in the finals of the North America Cup with a win over Audi (8-2) and a 3-3 tie with Piaget.

Mandelbaum scored six times on the day with teammate Gracida adding three goals and Galindo scoring twice.

Melissa Ganzi led the Piaget attack with three goals.  Casey added two goals to the Piaget scoreboard while Audi’s Marc Ganzi set the pace with three goals.  Gene Goldstein added two in the team’s 1-1 record.

Action will continue in the 2011 USPA North America Cup on Sunday with a consolation match slated to begin at 10am while the finals will kick off at noon.  Both matches will take place at the Grand Champions Polo Club.