White Birch have won the East Coast Open for the twelfth time. On Sunday 11 September at Greenwich Polo Club in Connecticut they beat the defending champions Audi 12-11 in sudden-death overtime, with the winning goal coming from a teenager.
The line-ups
- White Birch: Santino Magrini, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant.
- Audi: Sebastián Merlos, Nic Roldan, Leo Mandelbaum and Marc Ganzi.
Both teams reached the final unbeaten.
Audi’s fast start
Audi dominated the first half, winning most of the bowl-ins. A pass from Merlos to Roldan gave them the first goal, a backshot from Mandelbaum and another Roldan goal made it three, and in the second chukker Audi added three unanswered, including a coast-to-coast run by Ganzi. By the third they led 8-1, and it was 9-4 at the break after Aguerre and two Ulloa penalties for White Birch.
The comeback
White Birch changed their approach after the interval and scored three unanswered goals, two by Ulloa and one by Magrini, to make it 9-7. They also outscored Audi in the fifth through penalties to close within one. With four and a half minutes left Ulloa scored his eighth goal to level for the first time. Merlos converted a penalty five to put Audi in front, and with just over a minute remaining Ulloa tied it again from a penalty three.
The match went to sudden-death overtime for the second year running. Both teams had chances, but a clearing backshot by Roldan was intercepted by Magrini, who then hit an open backshot through the posts to win it for White Birch.
The story of the day
- It was White Birch’s twelfth East Coast Open title and a reversal of last year’s final, which Audi won in overtime.
- Ulloa reached eight goals with minutes to play and kept White Birch in touch with penalty after penalty.
- The teenage Magrini ended the match with the winning goal.
Overtime finals have become something of a habit at Greenwich, and seeing a young player take the decisive hit in a match like this is the sort of moment the sport needs.
Sources: U.S. Polo Association
