NEWS

Fresh for the high-goal season and eager to ring in the new year with their first tournament win, Dutta Corp met Patagones in the Herbie Pennell Cup Final in the opening Sunday match, December 30, at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida. Maintaining the lead until the fifth chukker, Dutta Corp’s final push in the sixth earned the title 11-10.

Establishing themselves early in the first with strategic offensive plays, Dutta Corp started off the scoring with two consecutive goals from Gringo Colombres. Only after Dutta Corp’s Lucas Diaz Alberdi followed it up with a third from the field was Patagones able to land on the board, Tomas Garcia del Rio successfully converting a Penalty 2. As the game continued throughout the first half, Dutta Corp’s aggressive advances in the second put Patagones on defense, forcing them to pick up all their goals from the penalty line. Doubling the scoreboard at the end of the second chukker 6-3, Dutta Corp was silenced in the third by a resilient Patagones team, allowing them to narrow the gap. After a Penalty 3 conversion and field goal from Patagones, Dutta Corp remained in the lead at halftime 6-5.

Dutta Corp unwilling to let another chukker go by without a goal scored, Diaz Alberdi fired first in the fourth to which Garcia del Rio answered back (his fifth goal of the day). In the remainder of the chukker, Santiago Toccalino and Kampsen nailed their second penalty conversions as Dutta Corp clung to a slight advantage 8-7. Struggling to level the playing field in the fifth, Patagones’ persistence paid off with two goals to Timmy Dutta’s one. Joaquin Avendaño’s first goal, a 150-yard run to score on the north end of the field equalized the scoreboard 9-all, with only the sixth remaining in regulation play. All players having contributed to the Dutta Corp tally, the team pursued the trophy with renewed vitality. Claiming his fourth from the field, Diaz Alberdi struck first, but was matched by a Penalty 3 conversion from Toccalino to equalize the score once again. As the minutes wound down, both teams were desperate to avoid an extra chukker as the 30 second horn sounded. His eyes set upon the goal posts, Colombres’ forceful tactics tipped the scales in Dutta Corp’s favor, breaking the tie and ending the final with seconds to spare 11-10.

Responsible for four of Dutta Corp’s 11 total goals, including the game winning shot, Gringo Colombres was named Most Valuable Player. Best Playing Pony honors were awarded to Benjamin Avendaño’s Fino Conejo.

The Joe Barry Cup will begin Thursday, January 3, where the winning Dutta Corp team will challenge Santa Clara in the first match at 10:00am ET. Both of Thursday’s Joe Barry Cup games will be livestreamed on the USPA Polo Network.

All photos ©David Lominska.