Wellington, FL – March 11, 2021 – Beginning their quest as the only team that can capture the Gauntlet of Polo®, Park Place continued their elite play from the C.V. Whitney Cup® to capture the 11-6 victory over Cessna in their first game of the USPA Gold Cup®. Scone followed with a successful debut, bouncing back from the heart-breaking overtime loss in last Sunday’s final to defeat Santa Clara 13-8 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Just four days from their exhilarating victory in the C.V. Whitney Cup®, Park Place needed the first half to rediscover their form, producing a stagnant offense that ultimately came to life at the start of the second half against Cessna. Producing an even eight shot attempts each in the first half, Park Place outshot Cessna 16-2 over the final three chukkers by dominating possession and leaving Cessna with little opportunity to match them. Ulloa produced another strong performance for Park Place with a game-high six goals, pushing their win streak to five in the Gauntlet of Polo®.
With new addition Edward ‘Camp’ Campbell, who was replacing father Chip, Cessna got off to a quick start behind the play of Ezequiel Martinez Ferrario, who accounted for both Cessna goals in the opening chukker. Organized play off the ball, Cessna kept Park Place off the scoreboard until the second chukker when Matt Coppola began to make an impact coming forward in the game, scoring one goal and assisting on another to push the game into a 2-2 tie. With very few whistles to stop play, Cessna and Park Place continued to battle in open play, with Cessna giving Park Place difficulties, finishing the first half with a 4-2 lead with three of their goals coming from Ferrario.
The momentum of the game instantly switched at the start of the second half with Park Place finding the performance that carried them through the C.V. Whitney Cup®. Scoring four unanswered goals in the fourth chukker in a complete team performance, Park Place quickly doubled their goal total from the first half in just seven minutes to take their first lead of the game. With the ball continuing to stay in the offensive half for Park Place, they extended their run to six goals before Mariano Obregon finally ended the stretch. Heavily outshooting Cessna, Park Place’s Ulloa completed a dominant second half, scoring all three goals in the sixth chukker to capture the 11-6 victory.
Though Park Place won the game 11-6, Cessna was leading at halftime. ©Alex Pacheco
Leading throughout, Scone showcased a versatile offense that dominated from the field in the first half and then moved to the penalty line in the second half where they scored five of their six goals to overwhelm Santa Clara. Peke Gonzalez finished a perfect 6 for 6 from the penalty line, all from the 30 and 40-yard lines while Adolfo Cambiaso displayed the proficient passing ability that led his team’s efficient attack in the convincing five-goal victory.
Wasting little time from the opening throw-in, Scone pressured Santa Clara with a textbook play from Adolfo Cambiaso as Poroto Cambiaso and Gonzalez cleared space for the 10-goaler, who hit a perfect pass to Gonzalez to open the scoring. Building a quick 3-0 lead, Scone kept Santa Clara pinned in their defensive half early, relying on the scoring from Poroto Cambiaso and Gonzalez. A renewed fight from Santa Clara in the second chukker, led by a goal and an assist from Vercellino, cut the deficit to two, but the end of the half displayed Scone’s father-son duo at their best. Finishing the half shooting 6 for 8 from the field, Scone received two goals from Poroto Cambiaso, both on the receiving end of passes from Adolfo Cambiaso to exit the half with a 7-4 lead.
Adolfo Cambiaso displayed superb passing ability that helped to seal the victory for Scone. ©Alex Pacheco
With the ball primarily kept moving in open play, the pace of the game slowed in the second half as Santa Clara fought to make any Scone scoring chance difficult, but the result was foul trouble that sent Gonzalez to the penalty line. Three Penalty 2 conversions along with a Penalty 3 conversion for Gonzalez over the fourth and fifth chukkers gave Scone a commanding six-goal lead as Santa Clara struggled to keep Scone away from their own goal. Despite three goals each from Vercellino and Miguel Novillo Astrada, as well as scoring in every chukker, Santa Clara could not match the offensive firepower of Scone in the 13-8 defeat.
Peke Gonzalez scored 7 goals for Scone. ©Alex Pacheco
Polo matches at IPC are not open to the general public except for ticketed Sunday brunch. Online viewing is available with a subscription at globalpolo.com.
Click here to view the full 2021 High Goal Polo Schedule.
Click here to learn more about the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Click here to learn more about the GAUNTLET OF POLO®.
