The final game of group play resulted in Emlor booking their place in Thursday’s shootout in the Justerini & Brooks Prince of Wales Trophy, defeating MT Vikings 15-13 at Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club.
On any other day, 13 goals on 57% shooting from the field and 100% shooting from the penalty line would lead to victory, but MT Vikings fell two goals short in a high-scoring match against Emlor. Converting seven of his nine penalty attempts, Agustin Merlos’ penalty accuracy was the difference as Emlor continued to keep MT Vikings out of reach with consistent offense in each chukka. From the field, Alfredo Bigatti’s impact was crucial in Emlor’s victory, finishing with four goals and three assists to help lead them to the two-goal victory and remain undefeated in the tournament.
The opening chukka saw MT Vikings use the pass effectively to race into the lead, receiving one field goal each from Sebastian Merlos, Juan Martin Zubia and Chris Mackenzie. In a game featuring multiple runs, Emlor answered back with three consecutive goals due to the play of Merlos and Bigatti. Scoring his second goal of the chukka, Bigatti gave Emlor the 5-4 lead at the conclusion of the second chukka, a lead they would build on in a dominant end to the half. Long passes forward from Enlor set up Spencer McCarthy to score two goals in the third chukka as Emlor dominated possession and kept MT Vikings in their defensive half. Scoring the final four goals of the half, Emlor’s potent offense resulted in a commanding 9-5 lead at halftime.
Reorganizing during the halftime break, MT Vikings slowed the Emlor attack with Sebastian Merlos leading the defensive effort, allowing Zubia and Mackenzie to drive forward. The change in strategy led to a four-goal chukka for MT Vikings and quickly reducing the lead from four to just one to set up an exciting final two chukkas. Displaying end-to-end polo, Emlor and MT Vikings exchanged goals with Bigatti leading the charge for Emlor and Zubia responding with a goal and an assist for MT Vikings. Maintaining their one-goal lead into the sixth chukka, Emlor secured the win after McCarthy capped off a strong performance with his third goal to finish with the 15-13 victory.