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You are here: Home / Archives for Juan Curbelo

With seconds on the clock, Spindrift scores for 10-9 win in USPA General Patton 8-goal final

February 26, 2018 by Empire Polo

The 2018 USPA General Patton 8-goal Cup winner (L to R) Leslie Tims, John Bickford, Juan Curbelo and Luis Saracco.

A large and enthusiastic crowd was on hand and it was a back-and-forth battle that put an exclamation mark at the end of an exciting day of polo at the Empire Polo Club Sunday afternoon.  In the final game of the day, Spindrift (Leslie Tims, John Bickford, Juan Curbelo and Luis Saracco) rebounded from a last chukker rally by STG (John Ziegler, Tommy Costello, Max Menini and Francisco Guinazu) to win the 2018 USPA General Patton 8-goal Cup.

Scott Walker with MVP John Bickford.

Juan Curbelo opened the scoring with a goal from the field for the early Spindrift advantage, but fouls proved costly in the early goings.  Penalty goals from STG’s Max Menini and Francisco Guinazu closed out the chukker with STG on top, 2-1.

Curbelo tied it at 2-2 with his second goal of the game, but STG countered with a 40-yard penalty goal from Guinazu for a fragile one goal advantage, 3-2.  Leslie Tims scored the final goal of the period, leveling the score at three goals apiece, 3-3.

The Spindrift defenders were on their game in the third.  Shutout defense coupled with a pair of 40-yard penalty conversions from John Bickford gave the lead to Spindrift, 5-3.

Two more penalty goals from Bickford and a goal from the field from Luis Saracco and a second consecutive scoreless chukker for STG saw Spindrift expand their lead to five goals, 8-3, with just two periods of regulation play remaining.

The STG offense came alive in the fifth with Menini opening with a goal from the field followed by two penalty goals from Guinazu, 8-6.  Bickford converted a penalty shot from the 30-yard mark, 9-6, with Menini adding the final goal of the period.  Spindrift continued to lead but a storming STG team appeared to have morphed into attack mode, and trailed by just two goals, 9-7.

The momentum remained with STG as the final chukker got underway.  Guinazu’s fifth goal of the day had STG within a goal of the lead, 9-8, and Tommy Costello’s first goal of the afternoon had it all even at 9-9.  Both teams pressed frantically for the winning goal and with 13 seconds on the clock it was Saracco executing the winning shot for the 10-9 win.

All five of Bickford’s five goals came on penalty shots and earned him MVP honors.  Saracco and Curbelo each scored twice and Tims added a goal for the Cup.  Guinazu was STG’s top scorer with five goals (four on penalty conversions).  Menini scored three times (twice on penalty shots) and Costello was credited with a goal in the loss.

Curbelo’s Curbelo’s Briza was named Best Playing Pony.

Following a weekend off, polo returns to the Empire Polo Club on March 9th with the 8-goal USPA Constitution Cup and on March 19th with the USPA Congressional Cup.

General Admission and tailgating are free with a $20 parking fee. VIP is $30 per person with a reservation. Call 760-393-7298 for VIP reservations. Entrance is on Ave. 50 between Madison St. and Monroe St. Visit http://www.EmpirePolo.com for more details

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 General Patton 8-goal Cup, Alex Webbe, empire polo club, Francisco Guinazu, John Bickford, John Ziegler, Juan Curbelo, Leslie Tims, Luis Saracco, Max Menini, polo games, polo tournament, Tommy Costello

La Herradura holds on for 2018 General Patton 8-goal Cup win

February 19, 2018 by Empire Polo

Hall of Fame polo player Memo Gracida with his victorious La Herradura polo team at the Empire Polo Club in the 8-goal General George S. Patton Cup.

Former 10-goaler and Polo Hall of Fame legend Memo Gracida took center stage on Sunday afternoon at the Empire Polo Club and led his La Herradura team (Alvaro Fernandez, Rodrigo Fernandez, Isaac Sepulveda and Memo Gracida) to an 8-7 win over Granite Bay (Eric Hammon, Alvaro Tadeo, Marcos Llambias and Rhandy Heredia) in the second round of play in the 2018 General Patton 8-goal Cup.

In a well-orchestrated opening chukker La Herradura scored three straight goals while holding Granite Bay scoreless for the early lead. Isaac Sepulveda scored the first goal of the game followed by a 40-yard penalty conversion from Gracida, 2-0. Rodrigo Fernandez scored the closing goal of the period to move in front, 3-0.

The Las Herradura defense held solid again in the second. Sepulveda scored the only goal of the chukker, however, extending the La Herradura advantage to four goals, 4-0.

Gracida’s second goal of the match came on a 30-yard penalty shot in the third chukker, when the Granite Bay attack stirred. Alvaro Tadeo scored the first goal of the day for Granite Bay, followed by a goal from teammate Eric Hammon. The first half ended with Gracida and company in control of a 5-2 game.

Both defenses stiffened as the second half got underway. Rodrigo Fernandez scored to make it 6-2, with Marco Llambias responding with a goal for Granite Bay. After four periods of play, La Herradura continued to control the game behind a 6-3 advantage.

Goals continued to elude players on both sides in the fifth. Alvaro Fernandez scored for La Herradura with Tadeo countering with a goal from Granite Bay. After five periods of play, La Herradura continued to hold a three-goal advantage over Granite Bay, 7-4.

Gracida’s third goal of the day came from the field in sixth chukker action and put La Herradura up by four goals, 8-4, when the Granite Bay offense rallied. Two goals from Llambias and a goal from Tadeo brought Granite Bay to within a goal of the lead, but that would be as close as they would get as the La Herradura defenders held on to secure the 8-7 victory.

Gracida led the La Herradura attack with three goals (two on penalty conversions). Rodrigo Fernandez and Sepulveda each scored twice, and Alvaro Fernandez added a goal for the win. Tadeo and Llambias each scored three times for Granite Bay. Hammon was credited with a goal in the loss.

The win lifted the La Herradura tournament record to 1-1 while Granite Bay remained winless in two outings (0-2).

Spindrift 9, Cotterel 8

In morning 8-goal Patton Cup action, Spindrift (John Bickford, Luis Saracco, Juan Curbelo and Leslie Tims) won their second game of the tournament with a 9-8 nail-bitter over Cotterel (Jenny Luttrell, Ruben Coscia, Francisco Benardoni and Gaby Saccullo).

The 7-goal Cotterel team received one goal by handicap from Spindrift but watched as they were out-scored from the field in the opening minutes of the match. A goal from John Bickford and a pair of goals from Juan Curbelo gave the early lead to Spindrift, 3-1.

The two teams traded goals in the second with Cotterel getting single goals from Ruben Coscia and Jenny Luttrell. Spindrift matched them goal for goal with Curbelo scoring for the third time and Luis Saracco getting on the scoreboard for the first time on the day. Spindrift continued to lead, 5-3.

Saracco added two more goals in the third while a resolute Spindrift defense held Cotterel to a single penalty goal from Coscia. At the end of the first half, Spindrift had expanded its lead to three goals, 7-4.

Coscia struck first in the fourth, cutting the Spindrift lead back to two goals, 7-5, but the Spindrift attack was pressuring the Cotterel goal. Fouls proved to be costly for the Cotterel defenders as Bickford took advantage of the opportunity to convert two 30-ayrd penalty shots for goals. After four chukkers the Spindrift lead had grown to four goals, 9-5.

A determined Coscia took the field in the fifth and quickly scored two goals for Cotterel. A solid defensive effort shut down the Spindrift attack, cutting the lead to a manageable two goals, 9-7, with one chukker of play remaining in regulation time.

Cotterel continued to press the attack in the sixth, with Coscia converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal, when the Spindrift defense held firm. Time expired in the 9-8 Spindrift win with Cotterel pressuring the Spindrift goal.

Bickford, Curbelo and Saracco scored three goals apiece for the win. Coscia was high-scorer of the game with six goals. Luttrell added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap.

The win inflated the Spindrift record to 2-0 while Cotterel fell to 0-2.

STG 16, Lockton 10

In a noon 8-goal Patton Cup battle of the unbeatens, STG (Max Menini, John Ziegler, Tommy Costello and Francisco Guinazu) handed Lockton (Tim Kelly, Bryan Middleton, Jessica Bailey and Alejandro Gonzalez) their first loss of the tournament (1-1) while improving to 2-0 themselves.

Lockton received one goal by handicap from STG and went up, 2-0, with a goal from the field from Alejandro Gonzalez. John Ziegler responded with a 40-yard penalty conversion for STG followed by a 30-yard penalty goal from Max Menini and a goal from the field from Francisco Guinazu for the 3-2 lead. Gonzalez leveled the score at 3-3 with the final goal of the chukker.

A stubborn STG defense shut out Lockton in second chukker play. Single goals from Guinazu, Tommy Costello and Ziegler were supported by shutout defense, sending Lockton off the field at the end of the second period behind by three goals, 6-3.

Ziegler added a 40-goal penalty goal in the third followed by goals from teammates Menini and Costello, 9-3. Gonzalez and Bryan Middleton kept Lockton from getting blanked with goals to end the chukker trailing, 9-5.

Costello and Ziegler added goals in the fourth with Lockton responding with a 30-yard penalty goal from Middleton. The STG lead had grown to five goals, 11-6.

Gonzalez scored twice in the fifth for Lockton, scoring once from the field and once on a penalty shot. STG kept pace with goals from Menini and Guinazu (40-yard penalty goal). The STG lead held at five goals, 13-8.

Two penalty goals from Tim Kelly in the sixth was the extent of Lockton’s attempt to rally with STG adding three more goals to their total. Two goals from Guinazu and a goal from Ziegler had STG galloping off with the win, 16-10.

Guinazu and Ziegler led the STG attack with five goals apiece. Costello and Menini each scored three times for the win. Gonzalez set the offensive pace for Lockton with five goals. Middleton and Kelly each scored twice, and the team received one goal by handicap.

Play continues in 8-goal General Patton Cup tournament on Friday, February 23rd with STG (2-0) facing La Herradura (1-1); Spindrift (2-0) taking on Lockton (1-1) and Granite Bay (0-2) playing Cotterel (0-2). At the end of the day, the two teams with the top records will go to Sunday’s 2pm final.

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: 4-goal polo, Alejandro Gonzalez, Alex Webbe, Alvaro Fernandez, Alvaro Tadeo, Ashton Wolf, Bayne Bossom, Bryan Middleton, Cameron Smith, Carlitos Galindo, Carlos Galindo, Claudia Uretz, Eileen Duffy, empire polo club, Eric Hammon, erik wright, Francisco Benardoni, Francisco Guinazu, Gaby Saccullo, Goyo Mariscal, Isaac Sepulveda, Jenny Luttrell, Jessica Bailey, Joey Gallemore, John Bickford, John Ziegler, Juan Curbelo, Juan Jo Gonzalez, Juan Martin Gutierrez, Krista Bonaguidi, Leslie Tims, Luis Saracco, Manny Rodriguez, Marcos Llambias, Max Menini, Memo Gracida, polo games, Rhandy Heredia, Rob Scapa, Rodrigo Fernandez, Ruben Coscia, Stephanie Davidson, Taylor Freeman, Tim Kelly, Tom Schuerman, Tom Sprung, Tommy Costello, tournament, tournaments, Victor Soto, Wiley Uretz

STG remains undefeated in Regional USPA Presidents Cup competition

February 4, 2018 by Empire Polo

The winning STG polo team (L to R)-Francisco Guinazu, Max Menini, Tommy Costello and John Ziegler at the Empire Polo Club.

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.

Filed Under: Club News Tagged With: (Jorg Ferrau/Athena Malin, 2018 USPA Regional Presidents Cup, Alejandro Gonzalez, Alex Webbe, Bryan Middleton, empire polo club, Francisco Guinazu, Gary Saccullo, Jenny Luttrell, Jessica Bailey, John Bickford, John Ziegler, Juan Curbelo, Leslie Timms, Luis Saracco, Matthew Gonzalez, Max Menini, polo games, Ruben Coscia, Tommy Costello, tournament

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