STG (Max Menini, John Ziegler, Tommy Costello and Francisco Guinazu) handed Lockton (Jorg Ferrau/Athena Malin, Jessica Bailey, Bryan Middleton and Alejandro Gonzalez) their first loss of the 2018 Regional USPA Presidents Cup play Sunday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club.

Max Menini converted a 60-yard penalty shot for the first goal of the game and a 1-0 STG lead.  Alejandro Gonzalez countered with a 40-yard goal of his own to level the score at 1-1.  Consecutive goals from STG’s Tommy Costello ended the second period with STG on top, 4-2.

Goals were scarce in the second.  John Ziegler scored on a 30-yard penalty shot for STG while Bryan Middleton was credited with Lockton’s only goal.  STG left the field at the end of the first half in front by five goals, 7-2.

Costello added two more goals in the third while a resolute STG defense held Lockton scoreless for the chukker.  Francisco Guinazu scored the final goal of the period, giving STG a comfortable 7-2 advantage.

Menini opened the second half with a goal from the field, extending the STG lead to six goals, 8-2, before the Lockton offense stirred.  Bryan Middleton scored Lockton’s first fourth chukker goal on a 30-yard penalty shot and added a goal from the field to close out the period trailing STG, 8-4.

Middleton added another penalty goal in the fifth followed by Jessica Bailey’s first score of the day, 8-6.  Guinazu kept STG from getting shutout with his second goal of the day.  The fourth period ended with STG protecting a three-goal lead, 9-6.

Menini added three more goals from the field in the sixth with Baily scoring a single goal in the 12-7 Lockton loss.

Menini led the STG attack with five goals.  Costello accounted for four goals with Guinazu scoring twice and Ziegler adding a penalty goal for the win.  Middleton was high scorer for Lockton with four goals.  Bailey added two goals and Gonzalez scored once.

The STG win kept them undefeated in Presidents Cup play at 2-0.  Lockton suffered their first loss of the tournament and fell to 1-1.

Cotterel 10, Spindrift 9

In earlier President’s Cup action, Cotterel (Jenny Luttrell, Juan Curbelo, Matthew Gonzalez and Gary Saccullo) broke open a 9-9 sixth chukker tie with her fifth goal of the match to carry her team to a 10-9 victory over Spindrift (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Ruben Coscia and Leslie Timms) in a noon faceoff.

First chukker goals from Jose Rodriguez and Gary Saccullo were countered a single goal from by John Bickford in a hotly-contested opening seven minutes of play.  Cotterel emerged with the early 2-1 lead.

Bickford’s second goal of the game tied the score at 2-2, but defense continued to be the focus of both teams in the period.  Saccullo scored the only other goal of the chukker, allowing Cotterel to escape by a 3-2 score.

Jenny Luttrell lit it up for Cotterel in the third, scoring twice from the field and adding a 30-yard penalty goal.  Spindrift got single goals from Luis Saracco and Bickford, but continued to trail, 6-4 as the first half ended.

Spindrift came alive in the fourth.  Goals from Ruben Coscia, Bickford and Saracco were answered by a penalty goal from Luttrell and Juan Curbelo’s first goal of the of the afternoon.  Spindrift came within a goal of the lead as Cottrell held a one goal advantage, 8-7.

Play intensified in the fifth with neither team able to score from the field.  Bickford converted a 30-yard penalty shot for the only goal of the chukker. With one period left in regulation play, the score was all even at 8-8.

Rodriguez put Cottrell on top, 9-8, with the opening goal of the sixth.  Bickford responded with a 40-yard penalty shot, 9-9.  Luttrell came through with the final goal of the match for a 10-9 Cotterel victory.

Luttrell led the Cotterel attack with five goals (two on penalty conversions).  Saccullo and Rodriguez each scored twice with Curbello adding a goal for the win.  Bickford’s six goals led all scoring for Spindrift.  Saracco added two goals and Coscia scored once in the loss.

The win boosted Cotterel’s record to 1-1 with Spindrift falling to 0-2.

All four teams will return to action in next weekend’s conclusion of the 2018 Regional Presidents Cup at the Empire Polo Club.