Zacara in finals, Las Monjitas-Lechuza rained out

In the first semifinal of the 2010 Herbie Pennell 20-goal tournament at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Zacara scored an 11-7 win over the Bendabout polo team to earn a spot in Sunday’s championship Pennell Cup match.

It took a few chukkers for Zacara to find itself, but after a brief rain intermission following the third chukker, Jeff Hall led his teammates to a convincing win over an ineffective Bendabout defense.

A tentative opening chukker ended in a 1-1 tie was followed by single goals from Hall, Gonzalo del Tour and Toto Collardin. Bendabout got goals from Nick Roldan and Owen Rinehart, but trailed after two periods of play, 4-3.

Spotty play in the third chukker by both sides resulted in a single penalty goal converted by Hall before the rains came.

“We had to change our game plan a bit,” said Hall, “but I was happy with the overall effort of the team.”

Zacara continued to press the attack while Bendabout struggled to organize an offense. Penalties gave Zacara a pair of penalty shooting opportunities, which Hall converted, and the fourth chukker ended with Bendabout trailing 7-3.

The Zacara momentum escalated in the fifth chukker as it got two more goals from Hall and a single goal from del Tour. Rinehart scored Bendabout’s sole goal, and the teams left the field at the end of the chukker with Zacara holding on to a commanding 10-4 lead.

Marianno Gracida (substituting for Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea), made it 11-4 with his first goal of the game, and it was all but over.

“We really didn’t want to press the horses in the last chukker,” offered Hall, “and felt comfortable with the lead we had.”

Bendabout put three straight goals on the scoreboard, but time ran out as Zacara earned a berth in Sunday’s finals with a comfortable 11-7 win.

“We started of alright,” said Bendabout 9-goaler Nick Roldan, “but then we missed a number of shots at goal and it kind of got away from us at the end.”

Hall led all scoring with five goals. Del Tour scored three times; Collardin added two goals and Marianno Gracida added one goal in the win.

Rinehart scored three times for Bendabout. Roldan and team captain, Gillian Johnston, scored two goals apiece.

LAS MONJITAS 4, LECHUZA 1 (Rain Postponed)

Las Monjitas got out of the gate quickly in the day’s second Pennell Cup semifinal, taking advantage of three goals from Pablo Pieres in the first chukker and a fourth goal from Javier Novillo Astrada in the opening minutes of the second to build up a 4-1 lead.

However, just two minutes and thirty-eight seconds into the second chukker, the threatening overhead clouds ruptured into a five minute cloudburst, soaking the field.

With players, horses and spectators scrambling for cover, the game officials waited out the rain for several minutes before assessing the damage. Beautifully green and manicured, the grounds were deemed to be too wet to be safe for the horses, and the game was postponed until 10:30 am, Thursday morning when it will continue.

With Zacara already assured of a berth in the Pennell Cup semifinals, Las Monjitas will have to hold on to its lead if it has any plans of making its way to Sunday’s finals.

The remainder of the second 20-goal semifinal game will join an already crowded Thursday schedule that includes the semifinals of the C. V. Whitney Cup and another 26-goal contest.

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TAGS: 2010 IPC, Bendabout, C.V. Whitney Cup, Herbie Pennell Cup, International Polo Club, Jeff Hall, Las Monjitas, Lechuza Caracas, Wellington Florida, Zacara