POLO: U.S. OPEN QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

Balladeer’s Blog continues its coverage of the world’s OLDEST team sport. Polo was already centuries old when Alexander the Great’s men played it! FOR MY PRIMER ON POLO CLICK HERE  

FIRST QUARTERFINAL: PILOT VS DAILY RACING FORM – Undefeated Pilot – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Troubleshooters – rode into action against the Defending Champions of the U.S. Open, Daily Racing Form – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Stat-Hounds.

Pilot has already won the first two titles in the 2019 Gauntlet of Polo and is going for history.

The Stat-Hounds had it all over the Troubleshooters in the First Chukker, scoring 2 Goals while shutting out their opponents. In the Second Chukker neither defense could keep the ball out from between the Uprights. The teams exchanged 3 Goals apiece for a new tally of 5-3 in favor of DRF.

Chukker Three saw Pilot thwack in 3 more Goals while limiting the Stat-Hounds to just 1 Goal of their own. The result was a 6-6 Halftime deadlock.

In the Fourth Chukker the Troubleshooters once again outperformed their opponents 3 Goals to 1 to take a 9-7 advantage. Pilot added 3 more in the Fifth to the 2 notched by Daily Racing Form. The Troubleshooters were up 12-9. 

In the Sixth Chukker a 2-1 scoring edge by Pilot dethroned the Stat-Hounds as the Troubleshooters moved on to the Semifinals by a final count of 14-10.

Facundo Pieres led Pilot in scoring with 7 Goals.  

SECOND QUARTERFINAL: TONKAWA FARMS VS ASPEN. Next Tonkawa Farms – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Cavalry – clashed with Aspen – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Eighty-Fivers.

The Cavalry shot out to a quick 3-1 lead in the opening Chukker then rode a 3-2 Second Chukker to a 6-3 advantage over the Eighty-Fivers.

The teams exchanged just 1 Goal each in the Third Chukker as Tonkawa Farms took a 7-4 lead into Halftime.

Aspen dominated the Fourth Chukker, swatting in 3 Goals while limiting their opponents to 1, cutting the Cavalry’s edge to 8-7. A 2-1 scoring advantage for Tonkawa Farms in Chukker number Five resulted in a 10-8 score.

The Sixth Chukker ended in an 11-11 tie as the Eighty-Fivers outperformed the Cavalry 3 Goals to 1. In the Seventh Sterling Giannico of Tonkawa Farms slammed in the Golden Goal for a 12-11 Overtime triumph.

Sapo Caset’s 5 Goals led the scoring for the victors.

THIRD QUARTERFINAL: ICONICA VS CESSNA. In this Match Iconica – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Creators – faced Cessna – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Citations.

I often praise Polo for the way women and men can play on the same teams. Maureen Brennan rode as part of Iconica’s foursome.

In the First Chukker the teams fought to a 1-1 tie but in the Second the Citations went on top 3 Goals to 2. The Creators outdid their opponents 2-1 in the Third Chukker to bring about a score of 4-4 come Halftime.

The Fourth Chukker saw Cessna once again knock in 2 Goals to Iconica’s 1 for a 6-5 edge. In the Fifth the Creators shut out the opposition while ringing up 3 more Goals of their own to take an 8-6 lead.

The Citations outscored Iconica 2-1 in the Sixth Chukker but fell short as the Creators won it 9-8.

Sebastian Merlos led Iconica with 5 Goals. 

FOURTH QUARTERFINAL: LAS MONJITAS VS EQUULEUS. The teams battling for the final berth in the Semifinals were Las Monjitas – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Black Habits – and Equuleus – Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: The Constellations.

The defenses ruled the opening Chukker as neither team put the ball between the Uprights. The Constellations notched the only Goal of the Second Chukker to grab a 1-0 edge.

In the Third Chukker the Black Habits dominated on both sides of the ball, limiting their opponents to a single Goal while managing 3 Goals themselves for a 3-2 Halftime lead.

Las Monjitas shut out Equuleus in the Fourth Chukker while swatting in 2 more Goals to take a 5-2 advantage.

That became a 7-4 lead in the Fifth as the teams exchanged 2 Goals apiece. Another shutout of the Constellations in the Sixth gave the Black Habits an 8-4 victory.

Fran Elizalde scored SIX of the Goals for Las Monjitas.