WELLINGTON, Florida - Facundo Pieres scored the final three goals, including a 20-yard neck shot 26 seconds into overtime, to lift Black Watch over San Saba 13-12 in the semifinals of the 22-goal Ylvisaker Cup Thursday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Black Watch plays Crab Orchard, which defeated Pony Express 11-9 in the second semifinal.

Black Watch trailed 8-3 after two chukkers, but rallied in the final chukker to force overtime. Pieres led Black Watch (3-1) with seven goals while Nacho Figueras scored four goals and Nacho Astrada added two goals.

Agustin Merlos led San Saba (1-2) with six goals while Hector Galindo scored three goals and Tommy Lee Jones added two goals.

Crab Orchard (3-1) scored the first four goals of the game, three by Julio Arellano, and never trailed. Arellano finished with a team-high seven goals while Julio Gracida and substitute Rosendo Usandizaga added two goals apiece. Usandizaga replaced patron George Rawlings, who was out of town at his father’s 90th birthday party. Rawlings is expected to return in time for the championship match.

Alex Agote of Pony Express (1-2) scored three unanswered goals in the final minutes of the fifth chukker to cut the margin to 9-8. But Arellano answered with a goal in traffic early in the sixth chukker to put Crab Orchard ahead 10-8.

Usandizaga clinched the victory by jumping on a loose ball in front of the goal and tapping it home with 2:46 remaining. After a 40-yard penalty shot by Agote with 2:01 remaining, Crab Orchard turned up the defensive pressure in the final minutes, never allowing Pony Express a chance.

Six-goaler Jeff Blake of Pony Express was replaced by his younger brother, Brad, a 4-goaler, to start the second half. The elder Blake was hit in the hand early in the game and could not continue.

The Ylvisaker Cup in named in honor of William T. “Bill” Ylvisaker, a polo pioneer who founded Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in the late 1970s and was elected into the Polo Hall of Fame in 1996. Ylvisaker, who has been involved in polo for some 50 years, has won numerous major polo tournaments, including the prestigious U.S. Open in 1972.

The polo matches are open to the public. Tickets for the Sunday games at the International Polo Club Palm Beach are available at the gate, beginning at $10 each. For information, call (561) 204-5687 or visit the club website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South in Wellington. From I-95, take the Forest Hill Boulevard exit and go west approximately 12 miles. Turn left onto South Shore Boulevard and go two miles. Turn left onto Pierson Road, travel about one mile and then make a right onto 120th Avenue South. The club is on the right. From Florida’s Turnpike, take Exit 93 (Lake Worth Road) and go west about six miles. Make a right onto 120th Avenue South. The club is on the left.