Wins by Newport and Flat Out/Equine Law set Colee Finals

By Alex Webbe

Newport (Gene Goldstein, Joaquin Panelo, Esteban Panelo and Mariano Gonzalez) scored consecutive wins over Ruby Q (Brian Street, Diego Cossio, Kris Kampsen and J. J. Celis) 3-2 and Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Joey Casey and Juan Bollini) 4-3 Friday afternoon in the opening round of play in the 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup to qualify for Sunday’s finals.

Flat Out/Equine Law (Avery Chapman, Paul Knapp, Brandon Phillips and Nic Roldan) closed out the day with a 13-7 romp over Audi (Marc Ganzi, Wes Finlayson, Jeff Hall and Tommy Biddle) to secure the other tournament finalist berth.

Piaget flexed its muscles in the opening three chukker match of the round-robin by downing Ruby Q 6-2 in a game that saw Jason Crowder, Juan Bollini and Joey Casey each score a pair of goals. Ruby Q got single goals from Diego Cossio and Kris Kampsen but was clearly outmatched in the loss.

Ruby Q held the field for the second three-chukker contest in which the scored the opening goal of the game with a goal from the field from Cossio, leading at the end of the first chukker, 1-0. Newport responded consecutive goals in the second from Mariano Gonzalez and Gene Goldstein while shutting out the Ruby Q offensive for a 2-1 advantage with one chukker left to play. Kampsen converted a penalty shot in the third chukker with Esteban Panelo ending the game with a goal from the field in the 3-2 win.

The showdown between Piaget and Newport would be for a position in Sunday’s finals with Juan Bollini scoring the first goal of the game for an early 1-0 Piaget lead. Esteban Panelo tied it up at 1-1 with his second goal of the day. Newport moved ahead 3-1 on a pair of goals from Gene Goldstein in the second, but Jason Crowder cut the lead to a single goal, 3-2, with his third goal of the afternoon. Joaquin Panelo’s first goal of the game pushed Newport ahead, 4-2 before Crowder scored again as Piaget continued to trail, 4-3. Desperate measures couldn’t turn the tide in the final minute of play, however, as Newport held on for the 4-3 victory.

FLAT OUT/EQUINE LAW 13, AUDI 7

Flat Out/Equine Law took control of the second match from the opening throw-in and pummeled Audi 13-7 to capture a spot against Newport in Sunday’s finals of the 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup at the Grand champions Polo Club in Wellington.

Two early goals from Paul Knapp were complimented by a goal from Brandon Phillips as Flat Out/Equine Law ran off with an early 3-0 lead after the first seven minutes of play.

A pair of goals from 8-goaler Nic Roldan in the second was answered by a penalty conversion from Audi team captain Marc Ganzi. Ganzi followed up with a goal from the field to trail, 5-2. Phillips scored the final goal of the second chukker for a commanding 6-2 Flat Out/Equine Law advantage.

Both defenses tightened up in the third, with Roldan’s sole penalty conversion accounting for all of the offense as Flat Out/Equine Law extended its lead at the end of the first half to five goals, 7-2.

A new-look Audi took the field in the fourth, picking up single goals from Ganzi, Jeff Hall and a penalty goal from Tommy Biddle. Avery chapman kept Flat Out/Equine Law from getting blanked with a goal. Audi continued to trail, 8-5.

Goals from Phillips and Roldan were countered by a penalty conversion for a goal from Hall, and with one chukker left to play, Flat Out/Equine Law sat on top of a 10-6 advantage. Hall’s second goal of the game cut the Flat Out/Equine Law lead back to three goals10-7, but Flat Out/Equine Law wasn’t intimidated at all, Phillips, Roldan and Knapp added single goals to end the game with a decisive 13-7 win.

The 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup is scheduled to continue with Piaget, Ruby Q and Audi playing in a 10 am Sunday morning consolation round-robin on the Grand Champions Polo Club fields while Flat Out/Equine Law will face Newport in the tournament finals at noon.