Valiente completed a clean sweep of the Triple Crown of Polo on Tuesday 25 April, beating Orchard Hill 13-12 in overtime in the U.S. Open Polo Championship final at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. It was a game that swung one way and then the other, and it needed an extra period to settle it.
The shape of the match
Valiente (Adolfo Cambiaso, Diego Cavanagh, Matías Torres Zavaleta and Bob Jornayvaz) had already won the C.V. Whitney Cup and the USPA Gold Cup. Orchard Hill, built around the Pieres cousins Facundo and Polito, were chasing back-to-back U.S. Open titles, and the two teams had also met in the 2015 final.
Facundo Pieres scored inside the first 30 seconds from a pass by Polito, and penalties were traded early on. Cavanagh scored Valiente’s first five goals, but Orchard Hill controlled the open play and the teams were level at 4-4 after two chukkas. A 5-2 third chukka for Orchard Hill sent them to half-time leading 9-6.
The comeback
Cambiaso scored from the first throw-in of the second half, and Valiente won the fifth chukka 2-0 to level at 11-11. Cambiaso’s fifth goal gave them their first lead. Valiente then missed a penalty 3 that might have stretched it, and Polito Pieres punished them with a cut shot from about 40 yards to make it 12-12. Orchard Hill then missed a penalty 4 just before the final horn, which forced overtime.
In the extra period, play went out near the Orchard Hill end and Cavanagh broke away to score the winner. It was his seventh goal of the game.
Standouts
- Diego Cavanagh (Valiente): seven goals, including the one that mattered most.
- Polito Pieres (Orchard Hill): six goals and the most throw-in wins of anyone on the field, with 11, a huge factor all afternoon.
The final was played on the Engel & Völkers field. For Valiente, three titles from three is a rare achievement in Wellington, and it brings the Palm Beach high-goal season to a close.
Sources: Town-Crier
