Wrapping up bracket play in the USPA Gold Cup at the National Polo Center-Wellington, Thursday’s competition began between La Elina (Matt Coppola, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Escobar, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni) and Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez, Lucas ‘Luckitas’ Criado Jr., Adolfo Cambiaso) to determine the top seed in bracket III, followed by La Fe (Roberto ‘Robi’ Bilbao, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Francisco Elizalde, Louis Devaleix) taking on Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa, Jason Wates) for the leading position in bracket II.
Taking control of the match from the outset of play, Valiente’s Cambiaso, Gonzalez and Criado Jr. combined for seven unanswered goals, including two from 10-goaler Cambiaso at the penalty line. Attempting to make-up ground, Escobar and Coppola got La Elina on the board from the field, but two more conversions off the mallet of Criado Jr. ensured Valiente a 10-5 lead at halftime. Continuing to take advantage of La Elina’s foul troubles in the fourth, Criado Jr. sent two more penalty shots through the posts. Outscoring Valiente for the first time in the match, Zenni and Escobar each found success, but two more from Cambiaso sealed the victory for Valiente 16-11.
Capping off Thursday’s action, Elizalde got La Fe out to an early 2-0 lead, but a rapid response from Britos and Ulloa, including two conversions from Ulloa vaulted Park Place into a 5-3 lead at the break. Ramping up the scoring in the second half, Ulloa initiated the action for Park Place with three unanswered, as Elizalde responded with a three-goal run of his own. Trailing by two to being the final chukker, efforts from Alberdi and Bilbao in the field kept La Fe within striking distance, but an eight-goal effort from leading scorer Ulloa ultimately cemented Park Place’s victory 11-10.
Upcoming Schedule:
USPA Gold Cup Playoffs
Saturday, March 11
Pilot (1-0) vs Two Trees by Jefferies (0-2) at 10:00am EST
All games of the USPA Gold Cup playoffs will be livestreamed exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.
Photo Credit: David Lominska