On the strength of wins in today’s semifinals, Bendabout (4-0) and Faraway (2-2) will meet in the finals of the 2011 Joe Barry Memorial Cup on Sunday, January 23 at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Bendabout scored the first win of the day in dispatching a previously unbeaten Lucchese team 12-8 while Faraway managed to hang on long enough to secure a win over Mt. Brilliant in a 10-9 nail bitter.
Bendabout and Lucchese struggled through the opening chukkers, with Lucchese taking advantage of one goal by handicap and adding a goal from the field from Andres Weisz. Bendabout got goals from the field from Inaki Laprida and Lucas Criado to even it at 2-2 after the first period of play.
Kris Kampsen scored twice in the second chukker (once from the field once on a penalty shot) as Lucchese took a 4-2 lead, but the two goal advantage was short-lived. Criado scored his second goal of the match, and the chukker ended with Lucchese holding on to a narrow 4-3 lead.
In the third chukker, however, Bendabout cranked p its offense and ran up five goals while holding a stunned Lucchese attack to a single goal. Disjointed efforts fell short for Lucchese as it searched for the combination that allowed it to run up a perfect 3-0 record coming in to the game.
Passes were intercepted, shots at goal went wide or were blocked and Bendabout took control of the game.
Bendabout added two more goals in the fourth chukker as Criado and Chris Nevins ran the score up to 10-5 as an impotent Lucchese attack was unable to score.
Kampsen scored twice from the field for Lucchese in the fifth while Bendabout was held to a single goal from Gillian Johnston, cutting the lead to four goals, 11-7, with one chukker left to play.
Lucchese team captain John Muse opened the scoring in the final chukker with a goal from the field, but that would be the team’s last gasp. Criado’s fifth goal of the game would close out the scoring, giving Bendabout a convincing 12-8 win and a spot in Sunday’s finals.
FARAWAY 10, MT. BRILLIANT 9
Faraway jumped all over Mt. Brilliant with 9-goaler Julio Arellano scoring the first goal of the game from the opening throw-in.
Mike Azzaro answered for Mt. Brilliant with his first goal of the game, but a penalty conversion from Julio Gracida and another goal from the field from Arellano had Faraway ahead 3-1.
Gracida scored the first goal of the second chukker from the field followed by a penalty goal from Arellano. Mt. Brilliant team captain Bo Goodman managed the only goal of the period for his team as Faraway took a 5-2 lead into the third chukker.
The Mt. Brilliant attack came alive in the third, getting a pair of goals from Nic Roldan and another goal from the field from Azzaro. The score was all even at 5-5 at the end of the first half.
Mt. Brilliant defensive fouls put Faraway at the penalty line in scoring situations twice in the fourth, and both times, Faraway made good on them. Gracida converted a 40-yard shot and Arellano converted a 60-yard penalty shot attempt. With four chukkers in the books, Faraway led, 7-5.
The teams traded goals in the fifth, with Gracida converting another penalty shot while Roldan added a goal from the field. Mt. Brilliant got no closer, trailing Faraway, 8-6.
Gracida made it 9-6 with his fifth goal of the game before Roldan and Azzaro answered with single goals for Mt. Brilliant. Arellano made it 10-8 in the final minutes of the sixth but it would be Roldan who would score the final goal of the match, coming up short in the 10-9 Faraway win.
“It was a great win,” said Julio Gracida, “they’re a very good team.”
“We got off to a quick start, with Julio (Arellano) scoring off of the opening throw-in.” Gracida said, “but I wasn’t comfortable with the see-saw scoring in the game until the final horn sounded.”
Equestrian Idol “All Stars” Musical Cabaret
Annual Polo Ball at Nespresso Grande Pavilion
