Competition in Palm City Open
By Alex Webbe
Walter Scherb’s Power Horse team rolled over the competition in the opening round of play in the 2012 Palm City Open at Grand Champions Polo Club by defeating Elangeni Ranch 7-5 before handing La Pasion/Tuff Rider 6-2 in round-robin play.
In the first matchup of the day, Power Horse rode out to an early 3-0 lead on the strength of a pair of goals from Melissa Ganzi and a penalty conversion from Scherb. Elangeni Ranch was unable to get on the scoreboard in the opening chukker and trailed by three goals.
Scherb added two goals from the field in the second frame while Ganzi scored her third goal of the game. Elangeni Ranch picked up a single goal from Diego Coscio but trailed by five goals, 6-1.
Ganzi scored her fourth goal of the game in the third chukker while Coscio exploded with four goals in the chukker, but Power Horse held on for the 7-5 win.
Power Horse 6, La Pasion/Tuff Rider 2
Power Horse wasted little time in going after La Pasion/Tuff Rider in the second leg of the tournament’s round-robin. Once again the potent foursome put three goals on the scoreboard in the first chukker. Scherb and Jason Crowder scored the first two goals of the chukker followed by a goal from Ganzi. Tracy Brunett managed a single goal but Power Horse was on top of a 3-1 score.
La Pasion/Tuff Rider slowed down the Power Horse assault in the second period of their meeting, limiting them to a single goal from Ganzi halfway through the chukker. Brunett scored again for La Pasion/Tuff Rider but they continued to trail by two goals, 4-2.
Goals from Scherb and Crowder in the third chukker went unanswered as Power Horse scored its second victory of the day and would be playing in the tournament finals on Sunday.
La Pasion/Tuff Rider 4, Elangeni Ranch 3
The consolation match of the day had La Pasion/Tuff Rider scoring a 4-3 win over Elangeni Ranch on the strength of a balanced attack.
Diego Coscio scored the first goal of the game but La Pasion/Tuff Rider came right back with goals from Jeff Blake and Brunett. The first period ended with La Pasion/Tuff Rider ahead, 2-1.
The two teams exchanged goals in the second chukker with Kris Kampsen and Coscio each driving the ball through one another’s goal posts. La Pasion/Tuff Rider continued to lead, 3-2.
With 5:43 on the clock in the final chukker, Joey Casey tied it up for Elangeni Ranch with his first goal of the day. Brunnet’s fourth goal on the day put La Pasion/Tuff Rider back in the lead, 4-3, a position they would hold until the final horn.
KIG, Cinque Terre and Certified got their round-robin underway with Certified scoring an early 5-3 win over KIG. KIG held the field and were ahead of Cinque Terre when the rains forced postponement of the match. A reassessment of the field conditions will be made before any new scheduling will be posted.