Piaget loses to Port Mayaca in the USPA National 20-Goal Tournament: US Polo Update
Just when Piaget thought they took control of the match, Port Mayaca scored a series of goals in the final period, winning the match by 13-11. The cliff-hanging match of the USPA Twenty-Goal Tournament was played at the Grand Champions Polo Club, in Wellington,
Florida, United States.
Following a slow shooting pattern in the first three chukkas of play by both the foursomes, Port Mayaca shot eight goals in the second half while Piaget had only six goals.
It was a thrilling match where the duo locked horns on many occasions. However, Piaget failed to impress the opponents in the final chukka, losing the game by two goals.
Following the game, a few players spoke with the media about their games. J. J. Celis (Port Mayaca) described the game in these words, “They were a very tough team. It was a very difficult game”.
Port Mayaca’s skipper, Stevie Orthwein, commented, “It wasn’t an easy win. We worked hard for every goal we got.” Meanwhile, Luis Escobar gave the credit of the victory to the team’s effort as a whole.
He observed, “It was a total team effort. Everyone did their job and every man played his position. It was a good win”.
J. J. Celis started the game with a blaze and dominated the ball since the beginning minute of the first chukka. However, a 3-0 run in the later part of the period not only helped Piaget in reducing the lead, but took the team ahead and provided it the psychological
advantage.
Nic Roldan marked a brace of goals while Marc Ganzi accompanied him with a solitary penalty conversion, concluding the first frame with Piaget leading the game by 3-1.
Ganzi started the proceedings in the second frame by scoring through a field attempt, expanding the lead for Piaget up to three. At last, the Port Mayaca’s attackers came to life in the concluding minutes, reducing the Piaget’s lead down to a single point.
A solitary goal each from J. J. Celis and Leo Mandelbaum helped Port Mayaca to finish the second period with Piaget leading the score by 4-3.
Celis opened the third frame of action, levelling the score at four-all. Luis Escobar (Port Mayaca) and Nic Roldan (Piaget) switched one goal in the dying minutes, locking the score at five-all, at halftime.
In the fourth round, the duo displayed a thrilling game, continuing the stalemate after the seven and a half minutes of play.
Nic Roldan and Jeff Hall helped Piaget gain three goals while the troika of Orthwein, Mandelbaum and Celis marked one goal each for Port Mayaca. Both the foursomes were hanging onto an eight-all impasse, with two periods left to fight.
Piaget once again dominated the second last period by acquiring two goals while allowing Port Mayaca only a single notch. Piaget established a 10-9 lead at the end of the period.
The last chukka was quite a high-pressure period where the duo batted for the victory. Escobar and Orthwein accounted for two goals apiece for Port Mayaca. From the other side, Jeff Hall contributed another goal to Piaget but it did not save them from a
defeat.
Port Mayaca rode away from the field with a 13-11 victory in the heated match of the USPA Twenty-Goal Tournament.
Tags: