Jedi Upends Crab Orchard 10-8 and Pony Express Rallies Past Black Watch 14-10 in 2007 Stanford U.S. Open Action Thursday at International Polo Club
WELLINGTON, FL (April 5, 2007) – Jedi, led by late goals from Pablo MacDonough and Magoo Laprida, upended Crab Orchard 10-8 in a hard-fought, physical divisional match in the 2007 Stanford U.S. Open Thursday at International Polo Club Palm Beach. The loss snapped Crab Orchard’s six-game winning streak.
In an earlier match, 9-goaler Bautista Heguy scored seven goals to lead Pony Express past Black Watch 14-10. The loss eliminated Black Watch (0-2) and relegated them to the subsidiary tournament, the Hall of Fame Cup.
“This is our second best win (after capturing the 2006 C.V. Whitney Cup),” said Jedi patron Torsten Koch. “We haven’t won anything yet. We played four years with Adolfo and this is the first time we beat him.”
MacDonough said the victory means a lot to the Jedi organization.
“First, we are in the quarterfinals and don’t have to play an extra game, so that is very good for our horses,” said MacDonough. “This team (Crab Orchard) has been playing very well. Now our goal is to win the U.S. Open. This is a big step but we have to be ready to play the rest of the games.”
Laprida’s only goal, with 3:21 remaining, snapped an 8-8 tie. Crab Orchard drove the ball downfield but could not get the tying goal and Jedi had a knock-in with 1:53 left. MacDonough dribbled through traffic down the field and clinched the game with his tap-in with 1:10 remaining.
Juan Martin Nero led Jedi with five goals while MacDonough finished with three goals and Laprida had one goal. Koch did not score as Jedi received one goal at the start of the game because Crab Orchard is rated at 27 goals when David Stirling Jr. was raised to 8 goals after the draw.
Cambiaso and Magrini scored four goals apiece for Crab Orchard (1-1) while patron George Rawlings and David Stirling Jr. did not score.
Black Watch tied the game at 9-9 with 1:36 remaining in the fifth chukker on Facundo Pieres’ 60-yard forehand. The tide turned when Carlos Gracida scored on a tap-in with one second remaining in the fifth chukker to put Pony Express ahead for good.
Gracida and Pancho Bensadon scored goals in span of 2:32 to give Pony Express a 12-9 advantage and Black Watch could not get closer than two goals.
“The difference was the horses,” said 9-goaler Carlos Gracida of Pony Express, who finished with six goals, four in the second half. “We played our best horses in the sixth chukker.”
Once again, Pony Express got off to a slow start, trailing 4-1 after the second chukker.
“They’re the same horses in the first that we play in the sixth,” said Gracida. “It’s not the horses so it must be the players. We’re getting better. But every game, we play two or three chukkers. We’re only playing three chukkers and struggling to win. We have to play four or five chukkers.”
Pancho Bensadon scored one goal while patron Bob Daniels did not score for Pony Express (1-1).
Ten-goaler Facundo Pieres led Black Watch (0-2) with five goals while Gonzalito Pieres and Nacho Figueras scored two goals apiece. Black Watch also scored on a pony goal. Patron Neil Hirsch did not score.
Divisional action in the Stanford U.S. Open presented by Bombardier continues Friday at noon when Catamount (0-1) plays Lechuza Caracas (0-1) with the loser eliminated and relegated to the Hall of Fame Cup subsidiary tournament.
The Stanford U.S. Open presented by Bombardier quarterfinals are scheduled for Sunday, April 15 with the semifinals set for Wednesday, April 18. The Stanford U.S. Open is the culmination of the ultra-competitive winter polo season and covers the first four Sundays in April. The final, on Sunday, April 22 at 3 p.m. on Stanford Field at International Polo Club, expects to draw more than 7,000 spectators.
Historically, the U.S. Open has always been the grand prize of polo in North America. It is one of only three tournaments played at the 26-goal echelon, the highest-rated tournament in the United States. The others are the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Piaget Gold Cup, both also played at International Polo Club.
The first U.S. Open title game was played in 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City where the Wanderers defeated the Freebooters 4 ½-3, the lowest scoring final in the history of the tournament.
The polo matches at International Polo Club are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $15 for adults and reserved lawn tickets are $40. Children under 3 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game.
International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
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