Piaget’s Gonzalito Pieres drives downfield with Faraway defenders Nic Roldan and Matias Magrini in hot pursuit as teammate Nacho Badiola follows the play. Photos by Alex Pacheco.
WELLINGTON, FL – April 19, 2013 — Plagued with injuries the second half of the season, Piaget ended its 2013 high goal season with an 11-10 overtime loss to Faraway in the Hall of Fame Cup final Thursday at windswept International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Playing with its fourth makeshift lineup, Piaget came back take the lead in the fourth chukker after trailing in the first half.
Ten-goaler Gonzalito Pieres, coming off his season-ender with Audi, filled in for Miguel Novillo Astrada while Nacho Novillo Astrada played for Sapo Caset, still nursing a severe pulled muscle.
“We didn’t get a chance to play together before the game,” Nacho Novillo Astrada said. “It was a good game. We had the opportunities. I am pleased with the way we played for being the first time we played together. We just missed a little bit with the goals.
“I loved playing with Gonzalito; it was fun,” Astrada said. “I would rather play with him than against him. I really enjoyed playing with him.”
Team captain Melissa Ganzi and Nacho Badiola were the only Piaget regular starters to finish the season-finale. Ganzi had been sidelined with a pulled groin and hip pointer, but returned to the lineup last week.
Piaget had several scoring opportunities it couldn’t capitalize on throughout the game.
“We had a lot of shots on goals today that we missed,” Piaget coach Joey Casey said. “We had a lot more shots on goal than they did.
“Faraway has played together all season,” Casey said. “We played with a team today that had never played before. Faraway played all their best horses that they had been playing all season and we did not. So that was the difference in the game, plain and simple.”
Grand Champions Polo Club-based Piaget was hoping to win its second trophy of the season.
Piaget won last month’s Butler Handicap for the second consecutive year with a thrilling 9-8 victory over ERG.
“In overtime we all went out on the best horses that we had,” Casey said. “It could have gone either way, to be honest. We just got some bad luck; they got control of the ball and went down and scored.
“I think we did well this season,” Casey said. “We were injury-riddled. We lost Miguel a little bit; we lost Sapo the last two weeks of the Open. We lost Melissa for a while. So it was a tough season injury-wise and that makes a big difference at this level when you are changing players and bringing players in. It makes it difficult.”
Faraway’s Nic Roldan, who finished the game with five goals including two penalty shots, was named Most Valuable Player of the Hall of Fame Cup. Roldan’s horse ME was selected Best Playing Pony.
Santiago Chavanne added four goals and Matias Magrini had two goals including the game-winner in overtime.
Badiola, a six-goaler, played well in his final high goal game of the winter season. At 23, Badiola was making his IPC 26-goal debut.
Badiola and Pieres each finished with three goals. Astrada had two goals including a penalty shot and Ganzi scored a goal in the third chukker to tie the game at 5-5 with 5:33 remaining.
After Roldan scored a goal with a big hit in the final seconds of the third chukker for a 6-5 lead, the game continued to be a seesaw battle in the second half.
Pieres tied the game at 6-6 at the 6:48 mark when he dribbled downfield beating Roldan and two other defenders. At the 3:30 mark, Badiola took the ball at midfield and three hits later gave Piaget the lead, 7-6.
Piaget made it 8-6 early in the fifth chukker when Astrada converted a penalty shot. Faraway came roaring back on fast ponies enabling Chavanne and Magrini to score back-to-back goals and tie the game at 8-8.
Faraway took the lead (9-8) when Chavanne scored with 31 seconds left in the chukker in a crowd of defenders. Pieres weaved his way through a crowd to tie the game at 9-9 with 6:50 left in the game.
Astrada converted a 60-yard penalty goal with three minutes remaining to give Piaget the lead at 10-9. Pieres just missed an insurance goal opening the door for Faraway. Roldan broke free to dribble the ball into the goal with just seconds remaining sending the game into overtime.
In the sudden death period, Badiola won the throw-in and tapped it to Pieres who was hooked enabling Roldan and Chavanne to bring it downfield setting up Matias’ winning neck shot.
GRAND CHAMPIONS SPRING SCHEDULE
Friday, April 19: Palm City Open, 10 a.m. Jajalpa vs. PowerHorse vs. ELG, round robin, Field 1; 11:30 a.m., Merchant Hub vs. Elangani, Field 2
April 26-28: The Polo Gear Cup
May 3-5: USPA Spring Challenge
May 10-12: The USPA Sun Cup
May 17-19: USPA Eastern Challenge
May 24-27: The Memorial by Piaget
GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB
WHERE: On the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington.
INFORMATION: There are great field side views for tournament action at the home base of pro teams Audi and Piaget. Everyone is welcome to watch polo in a relaxed atmosphere during the spring and fall tournament season and other special events including the International Cup in November, Buzz Welker Memorial Junior Tournament in March, Women’s Championship Tournament and Gay Polo League International Tournament, both in April.
Sharon Robb for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
MEDIA CONTACT:
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
12012 South Shore Blvd #105
Wellington, FL 33414
561-753-3389 (phone)
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