US Polo, Valiente-Blanco thrash Mt. Airy-Willow 13-9
Santiago Bottaro marked the game winner in the final chukker, as the foursome of Valiente-Blanco held on to take a 13-9 victory over Mt. Airy-Willow Farm in the ongoing South Florida Challenge.
The competition between the fabled teams was held at the field of International Polo Club in Wellington, where hundreds of people were present to double the joy of Valiente.
The Valiente had some key blows in the opening game, wrapped up some from Santiago Bottaro in the second half, and preserved their lead in the final period to finish a long trip with a triumph.
The foursome of Mt. Airy Willow had thrashed Mt. Brilliant-Faraway by a huge margin in the first contest of the tournament. On the other hand, Valiente was playing the first game of the event.
A see-saw battle was observed in the first half of play where both squads displayed impressive games and jollied up the watchers.
The match started at a very high tone as Brandon Phillips of Airy-Willow marked a pair of goals from penalty shots in the very first minutes of the opening chukker.
Later on, Bob Jornayvaz of Valiente scored off two penalty shots and tied the scores, 2-2 at the end of the frame.
At the start of the second chukker, Airy-Willow obtained a goal by handicap followed by a pair of goals from Brandon Phillips, of which one came from a penalty shot while another from the field.
From the opposite side, Bottaro scored the first goal of the match and showed his presence in the field. Airy-Willow snuck ahead with a 5-3 lead at the end of the second frame.
The attackers of Valiente geared up in the third frame and levelled the score at the end of the first half. Bottaro notched a pair of goals from the field and a penalty shot to put his foursome ahead in the goal-scoring race.
Later on, Adrian Wade of Airy-Willow added one goal, which was answered by Bottaro in the last moments of the frame. The duo foursomes went into the second half with an even score of 6-all, which made the match more interesting and suspenseful.
In a strategic move, Valiente further tightened its defence in the second half and blocked numerous hits from the opponent strikers. On the other side their goal-striking machines were continuously attacking the Airy-Willow goal.
The fourth frame was opened with two goals by Bottaro, which increased Valiente’s lead to two goals. While its defensemen blocked numerous Airy-Willow attacks and put them under intense pressure.
Later on, outstanding US player, Jeff Blake, of Valiente accounted for his first goal of the match and extended the lead up to three goals, 9-6. Airy-Willow remained scoreless in the fourth frame.
Airy-Willow was not ready to give up and bounced back in the second last frame of the game with a pair of goals by Phillips and Adrian Wades. Phillips converted a penalty shot while Wades scored from a field attempt to cut Valiente’s lead to one goal, 9-8.
From the other side, Blake nailed another goal followed by a score from Bottaro, who marked his seventh in the match. Valiente took a three-goal lead, 12-8 at the end of the fifth frame.
In the final chukker, the tight defence of Valiente had not allowed opponents to level the score. The duo foursomes marked one goal apiece and Valiente acquired the victory by 13-9.
Phillips marked the last goal for Mt. Brilliant while Bottaro scored the closing goal for the Valiente side.
The top scorer of the match was Santiago Bottaro with eight goals for the winning side while Brandon Phillips scored six times for the losing side.
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