Women Championship Tournament Final Stage: Day One Round-up
In the first game of the final round of the Women Championship Tournament (WCT), the foursome of PoloSkilz emerged victorious over Speedwell by a commanding four-goal margin at the International Polo Cup in Wellington. Natascha Baecher, the Dutch player,
lit the lamp five times to make PoloSkilz victory possible.
In the opening set of play, Speedwell obtained a goal in the head of handicap and established their early dominance in the game. However, the lead could not last for long and Kristi Outhier connected on a penalty-shot to level the score at 1-1. It was the
only offence from the two sides in the period and both the sides held a 1-1 deadlock with them.
In the second chukka action, Angela York converted a penalty-shot to put Speedwell ahead on the score-board. The strikers of PoloSkilz were not sitting motionless, as Baecher scored three unanswered goals out of which two were taken on penalty-shots while
other from the field. The period ended with PoloSkilz sitting on top with a convincing two-goal advantage, 4-2.
In the second half, the speed of the game further increased and three goals were scored in the seven and half minutes of play. Outhier and Baecher scored one goal each, while Maureen Brennan managed it a single goal for Speedwell. The chukka ended with PoloSkilz
holding a three-point lead, 6-3 in the game.
Baecher was at her best form and scored off another spot shot in the final set of play while Outhier added a goal from the field. Jennifer Williams marked a goal to close out the scoring, as Speedwell lost the game by four goals.
Baecher was highest scorer of the game with five impressive notches while Outhier accounted for three goals in the PoloSkilz win. The Speedwell troika of Williams, York and Brennan scored one goal each while obtained a single point in the head of handicap.
Goose Creek versus Prima
In the second game of the day, the Goose Creek team edged past Prima by two goals, 5-3 and moved forward in the next round. Sunny Hale, the sole striker of Goose Creek, was in action and led all the strikes in the crucial game.
It was Prima which opened the game by a penalty-goal in the hands of Alina Carta, but failed to block strikes from the opposite side. Hale connected on a long penalty-shot and added a goal from the field to take a lead for his team. The chukka ended with
Prima trailing by a narrow one goal, 2-1, advantage.
In the second frame, Tiffany Busch scored a goal from the field and tied the game at 2-2. The resilient defence of Prima kept Goose Creek off the score-board and period ended with both teams holding a 2-2 dead-lock with them to the sidelines.
Hale, the legendary striker of Goose Creek, notched a couple of goals in the third set of play while holding Prima scoreless in the period. In the final chukka, Hale scored off a spot shot while Busch scored a goal from the field for Prima. Goose Creek won
the game by two points, as the final horn sounded.
Hale set the pace for Goose Creek with all five goals, while Busch and Carta scored two and one goal respectively, in the loss.
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