US Polo Recap: Equuleus edge past Lechuza 8-7
Mariano Gonzalez scored six times, as Equuleus made it two in a row and notched an 8-7 victory over Lechuza in the Ylvisaker Cup. The exciting competition was held at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, Wellington, where Equuleus men delivered a wonderful
performance to win the second game in the tournament.
With the victory in the second round match, Equuleus succeeded to dominate the group as previously they defeated Zacara with a two goals difference, 8-6. The win also enhanced the confidence level of Equuleus for some upcoming hard fights.
The Equuleus’ men put their competitors, Lechuza, under intense pressure with clever moves combined with back and forth strikes. Gonzales and Adam Snow were the only attackers of Equuleus who scored eight goals and made the victory possible for their team.
The Lechuza were unable make a huge score after the first three periods of the contest, as it could only manage two goals at the half-time against the five of Equuleus.
Gonzales opened the first chukker with a pair of penalty shots and put opponent, Lechuza, under severe pressure. From the other side, Gaston Lisioli by marking a pair of goals tied the match at 2-all at the end of the second period.
The second and third chukkers completely belonged to Equuleus as it obtained three goals in the two chukkers while holding Lechuza goalless. Gonzales notched a pair of goals at the start of the second frame while on the other side the defensemen of Equuleus
shut down the attacking line of Lechuza. Later on, Snow scored off a penalty shot for Equuleus and extended the lead up to three goals, 5-2 after the three-chukker action.
Maureen Brennan, the replacement of Joe DiMenna, performed brilliantly at the number-four position and rode away the Lechuza’s strikes throughout the contest.
Gonzales and Snow marked a pair of goals of which one was scored on a penalty shot while other from the field to further stretch the Equuleus’ lead to four goals. Later on, Lechuza obtained first goal from the field in the hands of Lisioli and showed their
presence on the field. The Equuleus snuck ahead a four-goal, 7-3, advantage at the end of the fourth set of play.
The duo foursomes swapped one goal in the fifth period, 8-4, before Equuleus started to press the Lechuza defensemen. Gonzales scored off a penalty shot at the start of the chukker which was countered by a goal from Toto Collardin in the very next minute.
Equuleus was leading the game by four goals, 8-4 with one chukker left to play.
Lechuza though attempted to rev up in the final set of play but luck was not with them and they lost the game by a single goal. The chukker opened with a pair of penalty conversions by Lisioli to cut the Equuleus’ lead to two goals. Another Lechuza goal
went up on the scoreboard from Guille Aguero to decrease the lead down to one goal, 8-7.
Interestingly, the foursome of Equuleus despite leading throughout the game remained scoreless in the final period. The Lechuza men carried out numerous attacks but not enough time was remaining in regulation time and the final whistle announced the victory
of Equuleus, 8-7.
Gonzalez was the highest scorer with six impressive goals while his team-mates Adam Snow notched a couple of goals for the win.
From the other side, Lisioli scored four times while Aguero and Collardin accounted for two and one goal respectively in the losing effort.
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