Elangeni Ranch grabs maiden victory in USPA Fall Classic: US Polo Update
Hector Galindo picked up five points during Elangeni Ranch’s match against Audi and led the former to success, earning the first win in the USPA (United States Polo Association) Fall Classic Polo Tournament.
Elangeni Ranch recorded the win by 11-8 goals in the tense match of the event that took place at the Grand Champions Polo Club, in Wellington, Florida, United States.
The defenders from the two teams struggled in the field as they faced shot after shot by their opponents. Both, Elangeni Ranch and Audi, wanted to establish their dominance at the scoreboard.
It was Audi that showed a clean sweep performance in the first set of play, destroying the defence of Elangeni Ranch during the seven and a half minutes of play. Audi received a goal in the head of lower handicaps while its attackers built on it, increasing
the lead up to three points.
Luis Escobar converted a penalty shot while Melissa Ganzi accompanied him by a goal from the field. Audi was leading the scoreboard by three-nil, at the completion of the first chukka.
The second period was a replay of the first period but in different way. This time Elangeni Ranch dominated the ball under their control, scoring three goals and holding the opponents at bay throughout the frame.
Diego Cossio helped his team with two notches while Jota Chavanne accounted for a single goal. After the two frames’ action, the duo foursomes locked horns at three-all.
The two teams struck two goals in the third round, continuing the stalemate at the scoreboard. Hector Galindo performed the action for Elangeni Ranch while Melissa Ganzi and Juan Bollini were the scorers for Audi.
After three sets of play, Audi and Elangeni Ranch were hanging on to a five-all deadlock.
Interestingly, the two foursomes swapped one goal each in the fourth and fifth set of play, upholding the impasse till the final chukka.
Juan Bollini and Hector Galindo exchanged goals in the fourth period while Ganzi and Chavanne switched points in the second last period. The score was seven-all, with seven minutes left to play.
The final frame was an enthralling period filled with numerous attacks and counterattacks. The frame opened with a penalty conversion from Chavanne but it was countered by a goal from Bollini in the very next minute.
In the waning minutes of the final period, Galindo and his teammate, Chavanne, registered two and one goals, respectively, bagging the triumph for Elangeni Ranch by 11-8.
Hector Galindo was the highest point-scorer of the match with five notches while his teammates, Chavanne and Cossio added four and one goals, respectively in the win.
From the other side, Juan Bollini and Melissa Ganzi marked three goals each while their defender, Escobar accounted for a single goal in the loss.
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