Black Watch, Crab Orchard Reach Final Of Ylvisaker
Cup At International Polo Club Palm Beach
WELLINGTON,
Florida Facundo Pieres scored the final three goals, including
a 20-yard neck shot 26 seconds into overtime, to lift Black Watch
over San Saba 13-12 in the semifinals of the 22-goal Ylvisaker Cup
Thursday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Black
Watch plays Crab Orchard, which defeated Pony Express 11-9 in the
second semifinal.
Black
Watch trailed 8-3 after two chukkers, but rallied in the final chukker
to force overtime. Pieres led Black Watch (3-1) with seven goals
while Nacho Figueras scored four goals and Nacho Astrada added two
goals.
Agustin
Merlos led San Saba (1-2) with six goals while Hector Galindo scored
three goals and Tommy Lee Jones added two goals.
Crab
Orchard (3-1) scored the first four goals of the game, three by
Julio Arellano, and never trailed. Arellano finished with a team-high
seven goals while Julio Gracida and substitute Rosendo Usandizaga
added two goals apiece. Usandizaga replaced patron George Rawlings,
who was out of town at his fathers 90th birthday party. Rawlings
is expected to return in time for the championship match.
Alex
Agote of Pony Express (1-2) scored three unanswered goals in the
final minutes of the fifth chukker to cut the margin to 9-8. But
Arellano answered with a goal in traffic early in the sixth chukker
to put Crab Orchard ahead 10-8.
Usandizaga
clinched the victory by jumping on a loose ball in front of the
goal and tapping it home with 2:46 remaining. After a 40-yard penalty
shot by Agote with 2:01 remaining, Crab Orchard turned up the defensive
pressure in the final minutes, never allowing Pony Express a chance.
Six-goaler
Jeff Blake of Pony Express was replaced by his younger brother,
Brad, a 4-goaler, to start the second half. The elder Blake was
hit in the hand early in the game and could not continue.
The
Ylvisaker Cup in named in honor of William T. Bill Ylvisaker,
a polo pioneer who founded Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in the
late 1970s and was elected into the Polo Hall of Fame in 1996. Ylvisaker,
who has been involved in polo for some 50 years, has won numerous
major polo tournaments, including the prestigious U.S. Open in 1972.
The
polo matches are open to the public. Tickets for the Sunday games
at the International Polo Club Palm Beach are available at the gate,
beginning at $10 each. For information, call (561) 204-5687 or visit
the club website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
International
Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South in Wellington.
From I-95, take the Forest Hill Boulevard exit and go west approximately
12 miles. Turn left onto South Shore Boulevard and go two miles.
Turn left onto Pierson Road, travel about one mile and then make
a right onto 120th Avenue South. The club is on the right. From
Floridas Turnpike, take Exit 93 (Lake Worth Road) and go west
about six miles. Make a right onto 120th Avenue South. The club
is on the left.
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