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You are here: Home / Archives for 2018 USPA Constitution Cup

Evergreen wins 2018 USPA Constitution Cup in a 12-9 final

March 18, 2018 by Empire Polo

 

Evergreen continues to win at Empire with a 12-9 victory at the expense of a talented REMAX lineup. Evergreen (L to R) Tom Sprung, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Carlitos Galindo and Shane Rice took home the 2018 USPA Constitution Cup.

REMAX (Dayelle Fargey, Jared Sheldon, Gordon Ross and Matthew Fonseca) let an early lead get away from them Sunday afternoon in the final of the 8-goal  USPA Constitution Cup as a powerful Evergreen lineup (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice) outscored them 6-2 in the final three chukkers of play for the win Sunday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club.

Evergreen’s Shane Rice scored nine times and earned MVP honors for his efforts.

The two teams traded goals in a tentative opening chukker with Evergreen picking up goals from Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice.  REMAX answered back with single goals from Matthew Fonseca and Jared Sheldon for a 2-2 tie.

Sheldon added two more goals to the REMAX total n the second while Evergreen was held to a single goal from Carlitos Galindo.  After two chukkers REMAX found themselves in the lead, 4-3.

The action picked u in the third.  Wide open play resulted in a total of six goals.  Fonseca scored twice for REMAX with teammate Gordon Ross adding a goal for a total of three goals.  However, Evergreen matched them goal-for-goal.  An aggressive Evergreen attack resulted in REMAX fouls that sent Rice to the penalty line where he converted twice from the 40-yard mark and once from 60-yards out.  At the end of the first half, REMAX continued to defend their 7-6, one-goal advantage.

A disciplined and aggressive Evergreen defense held REMAX scoreless in the fourth while the Evergreen offense put two goals on the board.  Galindo opened the second half with a goal from the field and Rice added another penalty goal.  The lead had changed hands, with Evergreen on top, 8-7.

Dayelle Fargey’s pony Peace was named Best Playing Pony.

Both defenses were in top form in the fifth, allowing no goals from the field.  Fonseca’s fourth goal of the day tied the game at 8-8, but Evergreen battled back.  Penalties were costly for REMAX again as Rice took advantage of their miscues, converting penalty shots from 30-yards and 60-yards.  The Evergreen led grew to two goals, 10-8, with one period remaining in regulation play.

Two more goals from Rice in the sixth (one on a penalty conversion) were countered by a single penalty goal from Ross and Evergreen rode off the field with the 12-9 win.

Rice scored a game-high nine goals (seven on penalty shots) and earned MVP honors for his efforts. Galindo added two goals and Gonzalez scored once in the win. Teammate Dayelle Fargey’s pony, Peace, was named Best Playing Pony.  Fonseca’s four goals set the pace for the REMAX offense. Sheldon scored one of his three goals from the penalty line and Ross added two goals in the loss.

REMAX (Matthew Fonseca, Jared Sheldon, Dayelle Fargey and Gordon Ross), was tournament runner-up.

The first round of cousin vs. cousin (Jared Sheldon and Shane Rice) goes to Rice and his Evergreen team, but with 8-goal competition on tap for next weekend, family bragging rights for the season aren’t over yet.

The 2017-2018 Empire Polo season attracts players from across the country and around the world and offers fourteen weekends of fast-paced polo in the beautiful and relaxed setting of California’s winter playground.

The Empire Polo Club is located at 81-800 Avenue 51 in Indio, CA.  For further information go to the club website at http://empirepolo.com or call 760-342-7755.

Filed Under: Club News Tagged With: 2018 USPA Constitution Cup, Alex Webbe, Carlitos Galindo, Dayelle Fargey, empire polo club, evergreen, Gordon Ross, Jared Sheldon, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Matthew Fonseca, REMAX, Shane Rice, Tom Sprung

USPA Constitution Cup wins for Lockton and Evergreen

March 11, 2018 by Empire Polo

The Lockton polo team of Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Francisco Guinazu on the trophy stand with friends, family and supporters following Sunday’s win in the 2018 USPA Constitution Cup at the Empire Polo Club.

There was plenty of action Sunday at the Empire Polo Club with 13 teams competing in three different and distinct levels of play.

In the feature match of the day, Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Francisco Guinazu) bounced back from a Friday loss to edge Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Catlin Dix), 9-8, in the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup tournament action.

Lockton’s Bryan Middleton exploded for three first chukker goals while Granite Bay was limited to a single 40-yard penalty conversion from Marcos Llambias.  The 7-goal Granite Bay team received one goal by handicap, but After the first seven minutes of play it was Lockton with the 3-2 lead.

Middleton struck again in the second period while his teammates succeeded in shutting down the Granite Bay attack.  The Lockton lead grew to two goals, 4-2.

Middleton’s fifth goal of the afternoon was followed by a 30-yard penalty conversion from Tim Kelly that had Lockton holding on to a four-goal lead, 6-2.  Llambias scoffed the final goal of the first half as Granite Bay trailed by three goals, 6-3.

The Granite Bay defense tightened in the fourth, holding Lockton scoreless for the first time all day.  Alvaro Tadeo scored the only goal of the chukker, getting to within two goals of the lead, 6-4.

Both offenses got on track in the fifth.  Middleton scored from the field and teammate Francisco Guinazu added a 60-yard penalty goal.  Granite Bay responded with a pair of goals from Tadeo and a goal from Catlin Dix.  After five periods of play, Granite Bay had cut the Lockton lead back to a single goal, 8-7.

In a do-or-die sixth chukker Lockton drew first blood, with Guinazu stretching the Lockton lead back to two goals, 9-7.  There was no quit in the Granite Bay offense as they pressed their attack A goal from Llambias brought Granite Bay back to within a goal of the lead, once again, but time and a solid defense was on the side of Lockton as they leveled their record at 1-1 with the 9-8 victory.  Granite Bay suffered their second straight tournament loss and fell to 0-2.

Middleton led all scoring with six goals on the day.  Guinazu scored twice and Kelly added a goal for the win.  Llambias and Tadeo scored three goals apiece.  Dix added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap.

Evergreen 14, Spindrift 12

Earlier in the day Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice) faced Spindrift (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Tan Khan and Iggy Deltour) in their first USPA Constitution Cup match in one of the most raucous and hard-riding game of the season.

Thirty-two fouls and five Yellow flags later, according to Empire’s polo manager, Vicky Owens, Evergreen emerged with a 14-12 victory.

Shane Rice made his presence known by scoring the first goal of the game on a 60-yard penalty shot.  Iggy Deltour countered with a pair of goals for Spindrift for a ne goal lead, 2-1.  Juan Jo Gonzalez made good on a 40-yard penalty shot with Spindrift’s John Bickford closing out the chukker with his first goal of the day for a 3-2 Spindrift lead.

Penalties began to take their toll on both teams in the second.  Four of the five goals scored came from the penalty line with Rice converting from 30, 40 and 60-yards for three goals and Deltour adding a 60-yarder and a goal from the field for Spindrift.  At the end of the second period the score was all even at 5-5.

Fouls continued to plague an aggressive Evergreen offense in third period play.  Bickford scored on a 40-yard penalty shot and Tan Khan scored from the 30-yard line.  Evergreen was kept off the scoreboard and trailed 7-5 at the end of the first half.

A very physical game continued into the second half with Evergreen getting the benefit of Spindrift fouls in the fourth.  Gonzalez scored a goal from the field and Rice added another penalty goal.  Carlitos Galindo scored once from the field and once from the penalty line.  Spindrift was held to a single goal from the field from Bickford and fell behind Evergreen, 9-8.

Deltour tied the game at 8-8 with the opening goal of the fifth, but goals from Evergreen’s Tom Sprung and Gonzalez put Evergreen in front, 11-9.  Luis Saracco scored for Spindrift with Rice converting another 40-yard penalty shot that ended the chukker with Evergreen on top, 12-10.

The two teams traded goals in the sixth with Saracco scoring first for Spindrift, 12-11 and Gonzalez countering with a goal for Evergreen, 13-11.  An Evergreen foul sent Saracco to the penalty line where he converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal, cutting the Evergreen lead back to a single goal, 13-12, but Galindo closed the door on them with his third goal of the game for the 14-12 victory

Constitution cup play is scheduled to resume on Friday, March 16th with Evergreen (1-0) facing Granite Bay (1-1) and REMAX (1-0) meeting Spindrift (1-1).

Filed Under: Club News Tagged With: 2018 USPA Constitution Cup, Alex Webbe, Alvaro Tadeo, Andres Gonzalez, Bryan Middleton, Carlitos Galindo, Catlin Dix, empire polo club, Eric Hammon, Francisco Guinazu, Iggy Deltour, John Bickford, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Luis Saracco, Marcos Llambias, Shane Rice, Tan Khan, Tim Kelly, Tom Sprung

Tournament play slated for Friday in the USPA Constitution Cup and the USPA Congressional Cup

March 7, 2018 by Empire Polo

US team member Shane Rice will be joining Evergreen for the Constitution Cup tournament after competing in England in international cup play last week.

Action resumes at the Empire Polo Club this weekend with a total of nine teams competing at the 4-goal and 8-goal level.

Five teams will be competing at the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup as a strong Spindrift team (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Tan Khan and Iggy Deltour) attempting to win back-to-back trophies, following their USPA 8-goal General Patton Cup win two weeks ago.  Spindrift will open with a Friday match against Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Andres Gonzalez and Alejandro Gonzalez).  The second match of the day will pit ReMax (Dayelle Fargey, Jared Sheldon, Gordon Ross and Matthew Fonseca) against Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Catlin Dix).  Evergreen (Tom Sprung, Carlitos Galindo, Juan Jo Gonzalez and Shane Rice) received a first round bye.

Sunday will see Evergreen face Spindrift while Granite Bay and Lockton lock horns in he second round of Constitution Cup play.

Two of the four 4-goal teams will take the field on Friday in the USPA Congressional Cup with La Herradura (Caroline Anier, Gina Padilla, Meghan Gracida and Carlos Hernandez) playing the Buffalos (Ross Adam, Tim Rudy, Felipe Sordelli and Riley Jordan) to get the tournament underway.

Empire (Rob Scapa, Erik Wright, Jim Wright and Kiki Hiller) is scheduled to battle Prima Polo (Robert Payne III, Jenny Alter, Toto Socas and Todd Randall) in Saturday’s only 4-goal game.

A full compliment of four games at both the 4-goal and 8-goal level will be featured in Sunday competition.

The 2017-2018 Empire Polo season attracts players from across the country and around the world and offers fourteen weekends of fast-paced polo in the beautiful and relaxed setting of California’s winter playground.

The Empire Polo Club is located at 81-800 Avenue 51 in Indio, CA.  For further information go to the club website at http://empirepolo.com or call 760-342-7755.

Filed Under: Club News Tagged With: 2018 USPA Congressional Cup, 2018 USPA Constitution Cup, 4-goal polo, 8-goal polo, Alejandro Gonzalez, Alvaro Tadeo, Andres Gonzalez, Bryan Middleton, Carlitos Galindo, Carlos Hernandez, Caroline Anier, Catlin Dix, Dayelle Fargey, empire polo club, Eric Hammon, erik wright, Felipe Sordelli, Gina Padilla, Gordon Ross, Iggy Deltour, Jared Sheldon, Jenny Alter, Jim Wright, John Bickford, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Kiki Hiller, Luis Saracco, Marcos Llambias, Matthew Fonseca, Meghan Gracida, polo tournament, Riley Jordan, Rob Scapa, Robert Payne III, Ross Adam, Shane Rice, Tan Khan, Tim Kelly, Tim Rudy, Todd Randall, Tom Sprung, Toto Socas, tournaments

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