There were no great expectations for Zacara as it took the field at the International Polo Club in Wellington with a perfect 3-0 record in Ylvisaker Cup play to meet winless Mt. Brilliant (0-3) in a game that would have little impact on the playoff standings, but was needed as a confidence builder for Bo [...]
There were no great expectations for Zacara as it took the field at the International Polo Club in Wellington with a perfect 3-0 record in Ylvisaker Cup play to meet winless Mt. Brilliant (0-3) in a game that would have little impact on the playoff standings, but was needed as a confidence builder for Bo Goodman’s
Mt. Brilliant showed early signs of brilliance, scoring four straight goals, until you noticed the lack of effort on behalf of the Zacara players.
“We were trying to conserve our horses for Wednesday’s semifinals,” said Zacara’s Jeff Hall, “we weren’t giving the game to them, but we weren’t trying to kill ourselves.”
Toto Collardin opened the third chukker with Zacara’s first goal of the game, followed by a goal from Hall. Santiago Chavanne answered for Mt. Brilliant, but goals from Gonzalo del Tour and Hall closed out the first half with Mt. Brilliant holding on to a 5-4 lead.
The fourth chukker looked like the Bo Goodman show as the Mt. Brilliant scored three times. Teammate Francisco Irasturza scored a single goal, and Mt. Brilliant extended its lead to an impressive five goals, 9-4.
“We accomplished what we wanted to,” said Mt. Brilliant coach, Julian Hipwood. “We worked on ball control and passing,” said the former 9-goaler, “and got every player involved in the game.”
Chavanne would score three more times before the end of the fifth period with Goodman scoring his fifth of the day. The chukker ended with Mt. Brilliant holding a commanding 13-4 advantage.
The pace slowed down in the final chukker with the sole goal scored by Zacara’s del Tour in the 13-5 Mt. Brilliant win.
Chavanne and Goodman led all scoring with five goals apiece. Irasturza scored twice and Nevins added a goal in the victory.
Hall and del Tour managed two goals apiece for Zacara. Collardin accounted for a single goal.
Ylvisaker Cup play will continue today with Yellow Cab (0-3) meeting Faraway Polo (0-3) at 10 am. At noon, Lechuza Caracas will face off in an important game with the Hawks (3-0), while Bendabout (1-2) will play Patagones (1-2) at 3 pm.
The semifinals of the 2010 Ylvisaker Cup will take place on Wednesday. Both Zacara (3-1) and the Wanderers/Isla Carroll have earned berths in the playoffs. The final two positions will determined this afternoon in the Hawks-Lechuza match.
Wellington Jazz Fest at IPC
