White Birch Farm and Heathcote register wins in Greenwich
By Alex Webbe
White Birch Farm (Wesley Bryan, Mariano Aguerre, Matias Magrini and Peter Brant) handed Airstream (Peter Orthwein, Kris Kampsen, Guille Aguero and Naco Taverna) an 11-8 loss in Thursday competition in the Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup at the Greenwich Polo Club in Connecticut.
A late scheduling change had Naco Taverna replacing Airstream regular Mariano Gonzalez (who wasn’t aware of the change in game time) as they faced an undefeated White Birch Farm team in tournament play.
Guille Aguero scored the first goal of the game for an early 2-0 lead (Airstream received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal White Birch Farm team). Mariano Aguerre responded with a goal for White Birch Farm. Airstream took the early lead, 2-1.
White Birch Farm roared onto the field in the second chukker, scoring four unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead. Wesley Bryan and Matias Magrini each scored a pair of goals from the field while Airstream’s offense was unable to get on the scoreboard.
Airstream retaliated in the third period with three straight goals. Guille Aguero scored twice to open the chukker and Peter Orthwein added the final goal for a 5-5 deadlock at the end of the first half.
The White Birch Farm defense showed up in the fourth chukker, shutting down the Airstream attack while allowing Aguerre to add two goals from the field for a 7-5 edge.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Airstream 6-goaler Kris Kampsen. “We basically had to forfeit when our 7-goaler (Mariano Gonzalez) didn’t show up for the game,” he added, “but it was a great, fast-paced wide open game.”
White Birch Farm added three more goals in the fifth chukker. Aguerre scored two more goals and Peter Brant scored his first of the game. Kampsen accounted for Airstream’s only goal of the period s they fell behind, 10-6.
Aguerre’s fifth goal of the game had White Birch Farm on top of an 11-6 score as Airstream continued to press its attack. Kampsen’s second goal on the day cut the lead to four goals, 11-7, and a final goal from Aguero made it respectable in the 11-8 loss.
Aguerre led all scoring with five goals. Magrini added three goals in the win. Bryan scored twice and Brant added a goal in the win. Airstream got four goals from Aguero, two scores from Kampsen and a single goal from Orthwein.
HEATHCOTE 14, CINQUE TERRE 13
In Wednesday afternoon action, Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz, Naco Taverna, Tommy Biddle and Nick Manifold) scored their first win of the 2013 Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup Wednesday at the expense of a talented Cinque Terre lineup (Alessandro Bazzoni, Gringo Colombres, Joao Ganon and Brandon Phillips) in a hotly-contested 14-13 contest.
Heathcote team captain Steve Lefkowitz scored the first goal of the game on a penalty shot with Cirque Terre players Gringo Colombres and Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon scoring single goals from the field in response. Tommy Biddle scored twice (one on a penalty shot) for Heathcote while Brandon Phillips scored the final goal of the chukker for Cinque Terre. Heathcote received two goals by handicap and led 5-3 at the end of the opening period of play.
All five goals scored in the second chukker came on penalty shots with Biddle scoring on three of them. Cinque Terre’s Ganon converted a pair of penalty shots as they continued to trail, 8-5.
Both defenses tightened in the third. Cinque Terre managed to keep Heathcote from scoring but were only able to pick up a single goal from Ganon to cut into the Heathcote lead, 8-6 at halftime.
Lefkowitz opened the scoring in the second half with a goal from the field, 9-6, followed by a pair of goals from Biddle, 11-6. Ganon accounted for the final two goals of the chukker. Heathcote left the field at the end of the fourth chukker with an 11-8 advantage.
“The horses were playing well,” said Biddle, “and the teamwork was where it needed to be. We needed to be on our game today,” he added. “They’re (Cinque Terre) a scrappy team, and Ganon (Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon) is a very talented player.”
The two teams traded goals in the fifth, each side putting up three as Biddle added two 60-yard penalty shots and Nick Manifold scored from the field. Cinque Terre’s Ganon kept his hot streak going with two from the field and Gringo Colombres added a goal. The three goal lead held for Heathcote, 14-11, with one chukker left in regulation time.
The Heathcote defense did all that it needed to do while the offense coasted through the final chukker of play. Single goals from Colombres and Ganon (with five seconds on the clock) cut the lead to a single goal in the 14-13 Heathcote victory.
Ganon led his team in scoring with nine goals (two on penalty shots). Colombres added three goals and Phillips added a goal in the loss. Biddle set the pace for Heathcote with nine goals (seven on penalty shots). Lefkowitz scored twice and Manifold added a goal for the win. The team received two goals by handicap.
"Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly" 
Rabii Benadada
