News...

FOUR NAPL TEAMS HEADED TO PIAGET SEMI-FINALS

March 16, 2008

WELLINGTON, FL – Two Piaget Gold Cup matches went down to the wire today, as Las Monjitas slipped by Isla Carroll 12-11and Black Watch stopped a charging Bendabout 13-12. The other two games weren't as close as Crab Orchard soundly beat Zacara 16-10 and Skeeterville raced by Pony Express 12-9. This is the first time four North American Polo League teams will move into the semifinal and final round of the Piaget Gold Cup at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

With Crab Orchard's Nachi Heguy and Adolfo Cambiaso scoring six a piece, the opening match saw NAPL's Crab Orchard defeat Zacara by a considerable margin. The teams were tied at the end of the first two chukker, but Crab Orchard broke away after the half, scoring five goals in the fourth and doubling the score at 12 to six by the end of the fifth.

During the second game, Las Monjitas narrowly squeaked by Isla Carroll as they with Las Monjitas's Nacho Astrada scoring three consecutive goals in the second chukker and eight in today's game.

"This was a revenge game," said Las Monjitas team captain Camilo Bautista, who commented on his team's loss to Isla Carroll in the finals of the CV Whitney tournament earlier this year. "It felt really good to win."

The main event today was just as close as Black Watch defeated Bendabout by one goal with more than 3,800 watching from the Stanford Field. Black Watch actually had a commanding lead over Bendabout, ending the fourth at 11-6. Bendabout closed the gap by the sixth as Black Watch remained scoreless during the fifth. Bendabout then scored six consecutive during the last two chukkers, taking a one-goal lead in the sixth. However, Bendabout left the door open as Black Watch's Pablo MacDonough tied the game on a penalty shot and Nacho Figueras sealed the deal with a final field goal.

"It was a tough game. They came back really strong. It was good that we could come back and win," said Figueras, who was named the match's Most Valuable Player.

The fourth NAPL team headed to the semifinals is Skeeteville who had a commanding lead throughout the game. Skeeterville was up by six in the fourth ending the chukker at 10-4 and scored an additional two goals during the fifth, ending that chukker at 12-7. Pony express tried to narrow the gap, scoring three goals in the fifth, but couldn't capitalize on Skeeterville's scoreless sixth chukker.
"Today we ran and we ran very effectively. We have a good feeling for each other and we like to take advantage when we can," said Skeeterville's Adam Snow, who scored three in the last of the day's four matches. "On defense we managed to break up their little trains."

Semifinal action of the Piaget Gold Cup will begin on Wednesday as Crab Orchard will take on Las Monjitas at noon and Skeeterville will face Black Watch at 3 p.m. at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

In conjunction with the Piaget Gold Cup another USPA sanctioned tournament the Butler Handicap will be played between the four other teams who competed in the playoff rounds of the Gold Cup. The Butler Family offered this coveted trophy to International Polo Club Palm Beach in honor of Paul Butler whose Oak Brook Polo Club outside Chicago, Illinois provided high goal polo in the fifty's, sixty's and seventy's. This coveted cup was played as a national tournament for 31 years.

On Tuesday, March 18 Audi will play White Birch and Orchard Hill rides against Lechuza Caracas in the semi final round of the Butler. The Butler Handicap Final will be played Sunday March 23 prior to the USPA Piaget Gold Cup Final.
This is the second year the Piaget Gold Cup has been played at International Polo Club. The USPA Gold Cup has been played since 1974 and is one of only three polo tournaments rated at 26 goals in the United States. The other two are the C.V. Whitney and the Stanford U.S. Open Polo Championship.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South in Wellington and hosts professional polo tournaments until April 20. The premier game of the week is played at 3 PM every Sunday on the Stanford Field and Stadium. Information can be obtained by calling 561-204-5687 or the Polo Hotline for game updates at 561-282-5290. Web address, www.internationalpoloclub.com or www.northamericanpololeague.com.

CRAB ORCHARD 2-1-3-5-1-4=16 (6 penalty goals) A. Cambiaso, Nachi Heguy 6
ZACARA 2-1-1-1-1-4=10 (2 penalty goals) Mike Azarro 5

LAS MONJITAS 1-5-2-2-1-1 = 12 (5 penalty goals) Nacho Astrada 8
ISLA CARROLL 1-1-1-4-2-2 = 11 (5 penalty goals) Facundo Pieres 8

SKEETERVILLE 1Hdcp 2-3-1-3-2-0 = 12 (1 penalty shot) Julio Arellano
PONY EXPRESS 1-0-1-2-3-2 = 9 (5 penalty shots) Nick Roldan

Click Here for the updated USPA Piaget Gold Cup Roster and Schedule