Polo News

Victories by Audi and Tonkawa Force Shootout in Joe Barry Cup
By Alex Webbe - Wellington FL

Audi 12, CT Energia
Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 10:00 am

Audi (Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Freddie Mannix and Lucas Lalor) handed CT Energia (Alessandro Bazzoni, Kris Kampsen, Joao Paulo Ganon and Nick Manifold) their third loss in as many games, 12-9, to force a Monday morning shootout tiebreaker between Audi, Lucchese and Tonkawa to determine the playoff picture for the 2015 Joe Barry Memorial Cup.

Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon converted a 30-yard penalty shot in the opening forty seconds of play for the first goal of the game to give CT Energia the early lead, 1-0. Nic Roldan answered with a goal from the field for Audi just a minute later. Roldan followed it up with a 200-yard solo run, hitting the post with the shot at goal. A trailing Fred Mannix tapped it in for the 2-1 lead. Roldan converted a penalty shot that had Audi in the lead, 3-2. Consecutive penalty goals from Ganon (closed out the chukker with Audi trailing 4-3.

Audi took control of the game in the second period as they shut down the CT Energia offense and added four goals for the 7-4 lead. Roldan scored on a 40-yard penalty shot to open the chukker,4-4. Two minutes later Mannix gave Audi the 5-4 lead with a goal from the field. Lucas Lalor scored on a 30-yard foul shot, 6-4 at the 3:21 mark and Mannix backhanded a pass from Roldan from 20-yards out for the 7-4 advantage.

CT Energia fought to get back into the game in the third chukker with goals from Ganon and Kris Kampsen (penalty goal). This time it was the Audi attack that was shutout as CT Energia left the field at the end of the first half trailing by a single goal, 7-6.

The momentum shifted again in the fourth period as Audi put up three goals while CT Energia was held scoreless. Single goals from Marc Ganzi, Mannix and Roldan went unanswered as Audi rode off the field with a 10-6 lead with two chukkers left in the game.

Ganon converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal to open the fifth followed by a 240 yard run down the field by Roldan for a goal a minute later, 11-7. A rarely awarded Penalty 1 went to CT Energia, giving them a goal and cutting the lead down to three goals, 11-8.

CT Energia struggled on offense in the final minutes of the game. A shot on goal by Kampsen hit the goal post with 2:28 left in the game. Alessandro Bazzoni tapped it in for a goal, 11-9. A resolute Audi defense was bolstered by a final goal from Roldan for the 12-9 win.

Roldan led the Audi offense with six goals (two on penalty conversions). Mannix scored four time while Ganzi and Lalor each added a goal. Five of Ganon’s six CT Energia goals came on penalty shots. Bazzoni scored twice and Kampsen scored one goal in the loss.

Click here for game photos by Alex Pacheco

Tonkawa 10, Lucchese 9 OT
Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 12:00 pm

Lucchese (John Muse, Andres Weisz, Magoo Laprida and Nico Pieres) edged Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalo Deltour, Inaki Laprida and Jeff Blake) in the first half of play in the opening Joe Barry Memorial Cup game of the day,5-4, but Tonkawa bounced back. Lucchese needed four goals in the final chukker to tie Tonkawa and force the sudden-death overtime that had Tonkawa riding off with the 10-9 victory.

Magoo Laprida scored the first goal of the game and only goal of the opening chukker for the 1-0 Lucchese lead as both teams struggled to coordinate effective attacks.

Inaki Laprida scored for Tonkawa to tie it at 1-1 in the opening minutes of the second period with older brother Magoo Laprida scoring his second goal of the game for a 2-1 Lucchese advantage. Andres Weisz added another Lucchese goal at the 1:41 mark followed by a beautifully executed nearside back shot from Inaki Laprida with just 25 seconds on the clock. Lucchese continued to lead by a single goal, 3-2.

Magoo Laprida and Gonzalo Deltour traded goals in the opening minutes of the third chukker, 4-3. Nico Pieres converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal as Lucchese moved out to a 5-3 lead. Deltour scored the final goal of the chukker, 5-4, with just 1:28 left on the clock. The Lucchese lead continued to hold but Tonkawa wasn’t giving up as the first half ended.

Tonkawa turned the tables on Lucchese in second half play, taking control of the fourth period. A disciplined defense kept Lucchese off of the scoreboard while Tonkawa’s Inaki Laprida added two more goals. It must be mentioned that Lucchese kept Tonkawa from scoring until the final two minutes with Inaki Laprida converting a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal and adding a goal from the field with three seconds left in the chukker. The lead had switched hands and the fourth period ended with Tonkawa in control with a 6-5 lead.

Tonkawa continued to control the game in the fifth. A swarming defense held Lucchese scoreless for the second consecutive period. Laprida scored for Tonkawa in the opening seconds of the period on an impressively executed cut shot that traveled over one hundred yards, splitting the goalposts for a 7-5 lead. Deltour added a goal from the field as Lucchese fell behind by three goals,8-5.

Pieres finally started to click in the sixth chukker, scoring twice from the field and once on a penalty shot. Magoo Laprida scored the other Lucchese goal of the chukker with Deltour adding a solo goal for Tonkawa. At the end of regulation play the score was all even at 9-9.

After a brief intermission, both teams returned to the field. Each side had a scoring opportunity go awry before a costly Lucchese foul sent Deltour to the penalty line where he converted a 30-yard shot for the winning goal, 10-9.

Deltour and Inaki Laprida scored five goals apiece for Tonkawa. Magoo Laprida and Pieres each scored four times for Lucchese, with Weisz adding a single goal in the loss.

Click here for game photos by Alex Pacheco

Play continues in the Joe Barry Memorial Cup on Sunday, January 18th with Coca-Cola (1-2) facing Enigma (1-2) in a 10AM game, Lechuza Caracas (1-2) matched up with Villa del Lago (2-0) at 12:00 noon, followed by a 3:00 pm meeting between Merchant Hubi (0-3) and Flex Jet (1-1).