October 2021 Polo Players' Edition - East & Wet

East & Wet

Rain Dampens ECO Action in Greenwich

Photos by Peter T. Michaelis

MVP Hilario Ulloa led Ellipse with 10 goals in the final.

The 20-goal East Coast Open, scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 12, at Greenwich Polo Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, was hampered by persistent rain. The highest-rated event played this summer drew four teams. The first game between Audi and Gardenvale got off on schedule, with Gardenvale prevailing, 10-8. The next day Ellipse beat Palm Beach Equine, 11-8.

As these games were played, Hurricane Ida was slamming into Louisiana with 172 mph winds and rain. Over the next few days, it slowly moved toward the Northeast. As remnants of the storm passed through Connecticut on Sept. 1-2, it caused widespread flood damage, leading the governor to declare a state of emergency.

Two games originally scheduled for Sept. 2 were understandably canceled. Fields were still not dry enough days later. Finally, to keep as close to schedule as possible, organizers decided to skip to the next round and play at Mashomack Polo Club in Pine Plains, New York, on Sept. 7.

In those games, Audi edged Palm Beach Equine, 11-10, while Gardenvale slipped Ellipse, 9-8. The winners of these games played the losers of the other game in the semifinal round. Entering the semifinals, Gardenvale was undefeated, 2-0; Ellipse and Audi each were 1-1; and Palm Beach Equine had yet to count a win, 0-2. That all changed in the semis.

With even more rain, the Greenwich fields were still not dry enough to accommodate two games. The first semifinal match was played at Mashomack on Sept. 12, while the second game was played later that day on Greenwich’s Field One, giving the Sunday crowd its first and only glimpse of East Coast Open action. And what a treat they were in for.

In a closely contested first game, Palm Beach Equine Clinic handed Gardenvale its first loss, 9-8, to advance to the final. The next match, perhaps the best of the tournament, pitted Ellipse against Audi—three-quarters of the defending champion White Birch team. Ellipse led 2-1 in the first chukker before the teams knotted at 4-4 in the second. Ellipse jumped out front 8-5 to end the first half.

Starting the second half, Peke Gonzalez singlehandedly connected with five goals, including three penalty conversions, while Ellipse was silenced to give Audi the 10-8 advantage. The teams matched goals in the fifth to maintain the two-goal spread. Matt Coppola tied the match in the sixth after backto-back goals with almost four minutes remaining.

Ellipse’s Robi Bilbao, Matt Coppola, Hilario Ulloa and Louis Devaleix celebrate their East Coast Open win in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Fighting for control, neither team could reach the goal until Gonzalez shot through his eighth goal with 1:21 left. After winning the ensuing throw-in, it looked like Audi would cruise into the final, but Bilboa managed an incredible back shot. With no time to waste, Ulloa met it, turning his horse on a dime to head toward goal. Joaquin Panelo caught up with him so he passed the ball to Coppola who knocked it out of the air and placed it in front of the goal. With 10 seconds left, Ulloa finished it with a nearside tap, forcing overtime.

Thirty seconds into sudden death, Coppola intercepted a back shot from Mariano Aguerre. Moving it forward, he stabbed the ball out of the air, then hit it on the bounce through the posts to win.

The final was played two days later. Palm Beach Equine began with a handicap goal and added to it in the first to lead, 2-0. The game began to bog down with penalties in the second. Ulloa put three goals in for Ellipse, but two goals from Palm Beach Equine kept it on top, 4-3. Ellipse took the lead in the third with three goals while holding Palm Beach Equine to a Penalty 2 conversion.

A still moist field was tearing up, leaving it pockmarked and slowing down the play. In the next two periods, Ellipse outscored Palm Beach Equine, 3-2, with all five goals coming from the penalty line. The teams traded goals in the last chukker to give Ellipse the 11-9 win. Ulloa was high-scorer with 10 goals, including seven penalty conversions, earning him MVP. Gringo Colombres’ Coquito was named Best Playing Pony.

Ellipse: 20

Louis Devaleix: 0

Roberto Bilbao: 5

Hilario Ulloa: 10

Matthew Coppola: 5

Palm Beach Equine: 19

Scott Swerdlin: 0

Dylan Rossiter: 5

Lucas Diaz Alberdi: 6

Gringo Colombres: 8

Audi: 20

Chris Brant: 0

Joaquin Panelo: 6

Mariano Aguerre: 6

Peke Gonzalez: 8

Gardenvale: 20

Shane Finemore: 0

Cristian Laprida Jr.: 8

Pedro Falabella: 6

Felipe Viana: 6