Day two of the C.V. Whitney Cup at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC) featured doubleheader action between Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez, Lucas ‘Luckitas’ Criado Jr., Adolfo Cambiaso) and La Elina (Matt Coppola, sub. Juan Monteverde, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni), followed by Shack Attack (Santino Magrini, Ignacio ‘Nachi’ Viana, sub. Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini, Santiago Toccalino, Matias Magrini) versus newcomer Two Trees (Will Johnson, Juan Sánchez Elia, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Mariano Aguerre).
Returning to the Gauntlet of Polo for the first time since 2018, Valiente quickly re-established themselves as contenders with an impressive roster including 10-golaler Cambiaso and additions of recent 18-goal Joe Barry Memorial and Ylvisaker Cup champions Criado Jr. and Gonzalez. Taking advantage of La Elina’s early fouls, Criado Jr. converted twice at the line, as a scoreless second chukker led into two additional penalty goals to give Valiente a 4-1 lead at the half. Struggling to ignite an offensive spark, Hall, Zenni and Monteverde combined for all La Elina’s second half goals, but a total of ten fouls committed in the match allowed Criado Jr. to go a perfect 6 for 6 in conversions and lead Valiente to the 11-6 win.
Featuring the brother-duo of Santino and Keko Magrini, Shack Attack began their efficient day from the field on three unanswered goals. Responding for Two Trees in the second, Astrada sent back-to-back conversions through the posts, but Shack Attack’s 70% shooting from the field gave them a firm 7-4 advantage at the break. Outscoring their opponents for the third time in the match, Toccalino added his name to the scoreboard, as Astrada continued to lead Two Trees’ attempted comeback converting 3 penalty goals on 4 attempts. Hanging onto a one goal lead, back-to-back drives from Keko Magrini created much needed separation and lifted Shack Attack to their first victory of the tournament, 13-10.
Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, February 15
Scone (0-1) vs Dazos (0-0) at 11:00am ET
Dutta Corp/Show+ (0-1) vs Park Place (0-0) at 3:00pm ET
Photo Credit: David Lominska