La Dolfina won the first Semi-final of the U.S. Open Polo Championship on Wednesday 17th April, winning 13-11 against Coca Cola at the National Polo Center.
A fast pace was set in the first chukka with long open and running plays. La Dolfina scored early followed by a quick reply from Polito who scored off a long range assist from Keko. Tied up at 1 all, the rest of the chukka saw the teams rally, moving the ball from attacking zone to attacking zone without conversions.
Coca Cola couldn't afford to make any mistakes as La Dolfina were quick onto every ball. With attacking team plays, Poroto took advantage of any loose balls and fed them to Tomas Panelo as Rufino and Alejandro took their men and cleared spaace.
Tactical play from Coca Cola wasn't enough to keep up with La Dolfina and they pushed ahead in the second chukka with 4 goals.
Another 4 goal chukka saw La Dolfina double Coca Cola's score by the end of the 4th chukka and it seemed like the game was a wrap. Coca Cola slowly pulled back however in the last chukka.
A clean match with only 2 penalty shots in total and all field goals made for a dynamic game for the spectators, but with La Dolfina shooting 48% from the field (number 1 in the Gauntlet) and Poroto surpassing Hilario Ulloa to be the highest scorer in the trilogy of tournaments, it was as predicted as the final whistle blew. La Dolfina took their place in the Final to see if they can go 2 for 1 in Gauntlet finals this season adding the U.S Open Polo Championship title to their USPA Gold Cup win.
The Teams:
Chukka Breakdown:
Score Progression:
Game Statistics:
10 goaler Poroto Cambiaso impressed in the Semi-final against Coca Cola with skills including:
- Long range accuracy
- Picking up loose balls
- Turning defense into attack
- Running with the ball
Check out this video of him doing what he does best:
Selected Match Highlights:
Poroto hits the ball up to Rufino who loses his defending player Keko to pick up the pass and run it to goal: