Two of the three Florida 26-goal prizes were decided in March, and the same side was on the losing end of one and the winning end of the other.
Whitney Cup: a record-scoring final
Orchard Hill (Steve Van Andel, Ezequiel Ferrario, Polito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) beat Alegria (Julian Mannix, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) 16-13 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, the highest-scoring final in C.V. Whitney Cup history.
It was Alegria captain Mannix who made the early running, scoring from a 30-yard penalty in the opening seconds and adding two field goals to lead 3-1 and then 5-3. Facundo Pieres kept answering and the first chukker ended 5-4. Orchard Hill took over from there. A scoreless third chukker for Alegria helped them to a 10-6 half-time lead, and just before the end of the fourth Facundo carried the ball some 300 yards to score on the bell for 12-9. Alegria pulled to within two more than once, but Orchard Hill kept the margin.
In the subsidiary Les Armour Cup, Lechuza Caracas (Victor Vargas, Nico Pieres, Juan Martín Nero and Juan García Grossi) beat Las Monjitas 12-11 in overtime.
Gold Cup: Audi’s overtime goal
Orchard Hill arrived at the Gold Cup final on 22 March as favourites after the Whitney win, but Audi had other ideas. Audi scored twice in the first few minutes and led 8-6 at half-time in front of a sold-out crowd. The match finished 15-15 in regulation and went to overtime, where an Orchard Hill foul gave Audi a penalty. Gonzalito Pieres converted it for a 16-15 victory.
Audi’s squad that day was Marc Ganzi, Rodrigo Andrade, Grant Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres and Freddie Mannix. It was also the highest-scoring Gold Cup final on record, and a fitting companion to the record Whitney final three weeks earlier.
What comes next
The season finishes with the U.S. Open Polo Championship on consecutive Sundays through 19 April. With Orchard Hill and Audi both in form, that final tournament looks wide open.
Sources: Town-Crier Newspaper (Whitney Cup), Town-Crier Newspaper (Gold Cup)
