Thu 16th Feb 2017Ylvisaker Finalists DecidedFinal to be played on Sunday
Yesterday, Wednesday 15 February, Coca-Cola, Orchard Hill, Tonkawa and Valiente II faced each other in the Semi Finals of The Ylvisaker Cup at International Polo Club Palm Beach. The first match of the day saw Coca-Cola take on tournament favourite Orchard Hill, who had dominated Horseware 15-10 in the Quarter Finals on Sunday 12 February. However, yesterday the tide turned for Orchard Hill as Coca-Cola's early lead proved too tough to beat. Firing on all cylinders, Coca-Cola took a 3-2 lead in the first chukka with a standout performance from Julio Arellano resulting in three goals. Coca-Cola continued their momentum throughout the second and third chukkas, showcasing incredible teamwork. A last chukka comeback rally by Orchard Hill, provided thrilling end-to-end polo for the spectators, but was too little too late and left the final score at 11-10 in favour of Gillian Hughes' Coca-Cola. The next match of the day saw Tonkawa take on Postage Stamp Farm. Following their Semi Final defeat in the Joe Barry Memorial, Tonkawa arrived at the field determined for victory. Despite a sizeable loss to Postage Stamp Farm earlier in The Ylvisaker Cup qualifiers, Tonkawa took on an almost entirely new Postage Stamp Farm team due to injury substitutions. Mariano Aguerre, the only original Postage Stamp Farm member, along with three young guns (Timmy Dutta, Jota Chavanne & Juan Martin Zubia) hassled the Tonkawa team in a thrilling and evenly matched back-and-forth six chukkas of play. At the half-time whistle, the outcome of the match was difficult to call, however fouls on behalf of Postage Stamp Farm ultimately lost them a place in the Final as Tonkawa's Sapo Caset calmly converted a plethora of penalties to secure Tonkawa victory with a final score of 13-12. The Ylvisaker Cup Final will be played Sunday 19 February at the International Polo Club Palm Beach and the match will be livestreamed by The USPA Polo Network at uspolo.org Photograph: Coca-Cola's Julian de Lusarreta. By David Lominska/www.polographics.com Information: Courtesy of United States Polo Association® |