Oct 17, 2016 3:44 PM
Middle School players in the Northeast played their first Middle School Tournament on a perfect fall day at Country Farms Polo Club in Medford, New York. Blake Boatswain kicked off the high-scoring game for Country Farms Green. Teammate Joseph Schwartz followed up with a goal from the field and Boatswain racked up three more goals to give the Green team a commanding lead. Vlad Tarashansky put Country Farms Red on the scoreboard with a goal from the field before Schwartz aced a penalty shot to keep the Green team in lead 6-1 at the end of the first chukker.
The second chukker displayed accurate shooting from the penalty lines. Country Farms Green received a pony goal and was also awarded a Penalty 1 to begin the chukker. Tarashansky nailed two penalty shots and scored another from the field bring the score 8-4, Red trailing by four. Green’s Mary Duncan and Boatswain scored one apiece from the line to hold their team’s lead at six heading into halftime.
Boatswain began the scoring again in the third chukker with a goal from the penalty line, and stellar defense from Red’s Hannah Stowe and Emma Kriege kept Green to a solitary goal. Red’s Tarashansky closed the gap with three unanswered goals to draw the Red team within four 11-7 at the end of the third.
The fourth chukker was a frenzy of scoring from both teams. Boatswain and Stowe traded goals to begin the chukker. Red’s Tarashansky put two more on the board for his team (a goal from the field and another on a penalty conversion) to bring the score within two 12-10. A goal from Boatswain, an ace penalty shot from Schwartz and phenomenal defense from Haley Kriege widened the gap, Green now with a four goal lead. A Penalty 1 was awarded to the Red team before time ran out, but the Country Farms Green team prevailed with a 14-11 win.
Hannah Stowe, Vlad Tarashansky, Joseph Schwartz, and Blake Boatswain were selected by their peers to the tournament All-Star team, and Emma Kriege was presented with the Sportsmanship Award. Vlad Tarashansky’s horse Leroy was selected as the Best Playing Pony of the weekend.
Middle School Tournament competition continues this weekend with a five teams competing at Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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