Ylvisaker Cup finals a family affair

By Alex Webbe

It looks like it’s going to be a family affair in the finals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup at the
International Polo Club on Sunday afternoon with Melissa’s Piaget team scoring a 13-12
semifinal overtime win over Lucchese while husband Marc Ganzi’s Audi team downed
Coca-Cola 10-6 in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

Both Audi and Coca-Cola approached Wednesday’s Ylvisaker Cup cautiously with
the first score not coming until the sixth minute of play. Audi’s Nic Roldan converted a
penalty shot for the first score of the match with Julio Arellano making good on a penalty
shot for Coca-Cola in the final second of the chukker for a 1-1 tie.

Rodrigo Andrade, the “Brazilian cannon”, put Audi on top with a goal in the opening
minute of the second period. Both teams had unsuccessful runs at goal before Coca-
Cola got into foul trouble. Roldan made good on a penalty shot at goal at the 3:24 mark
of the chukker, adding a second penalty goal in the period with just 18 seconds left to
play. Two chukkers into the game, Audi held a 4-1 lead.

Julio Arellano got Coca-Cola on the scoreboard with a penalty conversion to open the
third, cutting the Audi lead to two goals, 4-2. A couple of minutes later 3-goaler Mason
Wroe carried the ball 200 yards down the field for another Coca-Cola score, and the
Audi was cut to a single goal, 4-3. Roldan closed out the first half with his fourth goal of
the game and a 5-3 Audi advantage.

Audi wasted little time getting back to work in the second half. Roldan scored another
goal from the penalty line and Andrade scored from the field. With two-and-a-half
minutes left in the chukker, Audi’s lead had grown to four goals, 7-3. A last second goal
from Wroe kept Coca-Cola from getting shut out, but they continued to trail, 7-4.

Andrade stole the ball from a Coca-Cola player in the opening minute of the fifth
chukker and centered a pass to a streaking Roldan. Roldan drove it through the
goalposts for a four goal, 8-4 lead. With time running out in the period, Arellano scored
on a penalty goal. After five chukkers Coca-Cola continued to trail Audi, 8-5.

Audi ran it up to 9-5 on a goal from Roldan in the opening minutes of the final chukker.
Sugar Erskine scored a goal from the field for Coca-Cola, but time was running out and
Audi held a comfortable 9-6 lead. Andrade took the final throw-in 150 yards for the final
score as Audi captured a berth in Sunday’s Ylvisaker Cup finals against their stable-
mate Piaget team.

PIAGET 13, LUCCHESE 11 OT

Earlier in the day, Miguel Astrada’s twelfth goal of the game came in overtime as Piaget
made their way into the finals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup finals on the strength of a 13-
12 win Wednesday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington.

Piaget took control early with Astrada scoring the first goal of the game on a penalty
conversion. Less than two minutes later Astrada added a goal from the field for a 2-
0 lead. Lucchese fought their way back into the game on a pair of goals from Santi
Torres, knotting it up at 2-2. The final goal of the chukker came on a penalty shot with
Astrada converting for the 3-2 advantage.

Piaget continued to press the attack into the second period with Lucchese committing
fouls in an effort to halt the pressure. Consecutive penalty goals from Astrada had
Piaget up 5-2 before Lucchese finally answered. A penalty goal from Pelon Stirling was
followed by a goal from the field from Cote Zegers, cutting the lead to a single goal, 5-4.
Astrada closed out the scoring, however, with his sixth goal of the game, giving Piaget a
two goal, 6-4 lead.

Defenses tightened in the third with a more cautious Lucchese team working their magic
on the field. Stirling was the first to score, followed by a beautifully executed backhand
shot taken by Torres as he rode parallel to the Piaget goal. The Lucchese defense had
finally managed to blank the powerful Piaget attack, and at the end of the first half the
score was all even at 6-6.

Astrada opened the second half with a goal from the field for a 7-6 Piaget lead, but
Stirling responded with a goal for Lucchese, 7-7. Both offenses were stymied for the
balance of the period.

Crowder converted a penalty shot to open the scoring in the fifth chukker with Astrada
following with another penalty goal. Lucchese suddenly found themselves trailing by
two goals, 9-7, with the momentum shifting in favor of Piaget. Stirling tried to rally the
Lucchese attack by plucking the ball out of the air and driving it through the Piaget goal
posts, cutting the lead back to a single goal, 9-8. Foul trouble came back to haunt the
Lucchese team once again with Astrada converting to close the chukker. At the end of
five periods of play, Piaget sat on top of a 10-8 score.

Astrada scored the opening goal of the sixth chukker to extend the Piaget lead to three
goals, 11-8, when Lucchese came storming back. Goals from Stirling (penalty shot)
and Torres cut the Piaget lead down to a single goal, 11-10. With 2:21 left in regulation
time, Stirling converted a penalty shot to tie it up at 11-11. Piaget regrouped and rode
on the Lucchese goal. Melissa Ganzi was carrying the ball across the front of the
Lucchese goal when she was fouled. The infraction put Astrada at the penalty line once

again where he scored for the eleventh time, giving Piaget the lead once again, 12-11.
Lucchese refused to give up, and with time running out, a Piaget foul gave Lucchese
the chance they needed. Stirling drive the ball through the Piaget goal posts with :26
left on the clock, and the game was slated for sudden-death overtime.

After a brief intermission that allowed the players to change onto fresh horses, the
teams returned to the field. Piaget took early possession of the ball, and in an effort
to stem the tide, a Lucchese player committed a foul. Astrada converted the 60-yard
penalty shot, and an elated Piaget team rode off of the field on the wings of a 13-12
overtime win.

Astrada led all scoring with twelve goals (eight on penalty shots). Crowder added a
goal in the win.

Stirling scored seven times for Lucchese. Torres added four goals and Zegers scored
once in a losing effort.