Piaget to meet Flat Out Win in Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup Play

By Alex Webbe

A balanced Piaget attack ran up a 9-2 halftime lead and coasted to a one-sided 13-5 win over a hapless Newport foursome Friday afternoon at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington to earn a berth in Sunday’s finals of the 2011 Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup.

Newport received one goal by handicap but couldn’t break through the Piaget defense in the first two chukkers of the game, falling behind 7-1.

A pair of goals from Nic Roldan and a single score from teammate Juan Bollini gave Piaget a 3-1 lead after the opening period of the match. 

Two more goals from Roldan were complemented by single goals from Marc Ganzi and Leo Mandelbaum had Piaget boasting a six goal, 7-1 advantage.

Luis Escobar finally scored Newport’s first goal from the field, but goals from Ganzi and Bollini ended the first half with Piaget expanding its lead to seven goals, 9-2.

Newport continued to struggle with the Piaget defenders in the fourth chukker, with team captain Gene Goldstein scoring the only goal of the chukker on a 280 yard run.  With two periods left to play, Piaget continued to lead by a commanding 9-3 score.

Mandelbaum opened the scoring for Piaget in the fifth followed by a goal from Goldstein.  With seven minutes left in regulation time, Piaget held on to a 10-4 lead.

Two goals from Bollini opened the sixth and final chukker followed by Mandelbaum’s third goal of the game.  Goldstein scored Newport’s only goal of the period, but Piaget ran away with the 13-5 win.

Roldan and Bollini scored four goals apiece for Piaget.  Mandelbaum added three goals and Ganzi accounted for two more goals in the win.

Goldstein led the Newport offense with three goals.  Escobar scored once and the team received one goal by handicap from the 17 goal Piaget polo team.

FLAT OUT 12, ELANGENI RANCH 10

Flat Out team captain Paul Knapp scored eight times in the team’s 12-10 win over a talented Elangeni Ranch team at the Palm City Polo Club in Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup competition earlier Friday afternoon.

Knapp scored the first goal of the game, but Elangeni Ranch’s Sugar Erskine responded with a pair of goals for the early 2-1 lead.

Knapp added two more goals in the second (one from the field and the other on a penalty shot), and teammate Brandon Phillips scored his first goal of the day.  Elangeni Ranch responded with a single goal from Brian Street to trail 4-3.erskine tied it up in the third with a goal from the field, but Flat Out answered with goals from Joey Casey and Knapp, and the first half ended with Flat Out taking a 6-4 lead after the first three chukkers of play.

Goals from Knapp and Kris Kampsen in the fourth were answered by Elangeni Ranch with goals from Street and Diego Cossio.  After four chukkers, Flat Out held on to a two goal lead, 8-6.

Cossio added two more goals to the Elangeni Ranch total in the fifth chukker of play, but Flat Out picked up single goals from Knapp and Casey.  The two goal Flat Out lead held after five periods, 10-8.

Elangeni Ranch got a goal from the field from Cossio and tied the game at 10-10 as Erskine converted a penalty shot for his fourth goal of the game.  Long drives and pinpoint passing from the Flat Out team, however took advantaging of the streaking Knapp as he scored the go-ahead goal and then added the insurance marker in the team’s 12-10 win.

Knapp led all scoring with eight goals.  Casey scored twice and Phillips and Kampsen each scored a goal in the win.

Erskine and Cossio scored four goals apiece for Elangeni Ranch. Street added two goals and Hector Galindo was held scoreless.

The win lifts Flat Out into Sunday’s 3PM Pedro Morrison Memorial Cup finals against a powerful Piaget team.  Newport will meet Elangeni Ranch in a 1PM consolation match.