Corleone Polo sweeps Go Honey - By DIANE HENSLEY.   INDIO – Polo Barn weakened Sunday under the second-half crush of Corleone Polo, surrendering a two-goal lead before the half to lose 7-4 in the Go Honey finals at Eldorado Polo Club.

PoloBARN’s No. 2 Ernie Ezcurra eluded Corleone Polo’s defensemen early in the first, scoring back-to-back goals bolstered by No. 4 Joe Gallemore’s lofty 35-yard tap-in at the 30-second horn. Missed opportunities plagued No.3 Scott Cunningham in the second, completing a 2/3-field offensive drive with a shot wide to the right and failing to convert two penalty shots. Still, Gallemore’s strong defensive work held Corleone Polo’s Rodrigo Moran to one goal and one penalty conversion to end the first half up 3-2.
  
Mike Kerley turned the tide for Corleone in the first three minutes of the third, scoring on an early break, connecting with No. 1 Sean Keys for the tap-in and scoring off Ezcurra’s horse to go up 5-3. In a crowning blow, Kerley took a free shot in the last five seconds and hit a long 160-yard bullet for positioning in the fourth.

PoloBARN and Corleone Polo traded turnovers before PoloBARN’s Ezcurra’s scoring attempt went awry with 5:07 remaining in the fourth as Cunningham stepped up the offense. But Corleone Polo’s Kerley and No. 4 Julie Roenisch broke through PoloBARN’s defense and pushed passes to Moran, who shot back-to-back goals through the uprights for a four-goal lead.
  
Cunningham answered with a last ditch cut shot that found its mark from 50 yards with 1:38 remaining on the clock. Buoyed on brighter prospects, Cunningham connected with Eskurra for a 65-yard breakaway that ended in the ball bounding over the back line. Riding in for a steal on Kerley’s knock-in, Cunningham picked up the ball and sent it to Ezcurra at midfield before the final horn sounded.

In the consolation final, G&L outplayed Los Caballos 8-5.
Diane Hensley can be reached at dkheditor@msn.com.

CORLEONE POLO 7, POLOBARN 4
Goals: Corleone Polo: Rodrigo Moran 4, Mike Kerley 2, Sean Keys 1, Julie Roenisch.
PoloBARN: Ernie Ezcurra 2, Joey Gallemore 1, Scott Cunningham 1, Tania/Jay Paneno.

First round results Nov. 20
Nov. 21 matches canceled due to rain
Larsen Golf Carts def. Fantasy Springs 5-4  (OT)
Corleone Polo def. G&L Ranch 7-1
Embassy Suites def. World Gym 6-3
Mercari def. Freeman Farm 6-2
Paneno Farms def. Los Caballos 5-3

Second round results Nov. 27
G&L def. Freeman Farm & World Gym in round robin (score unavail.)
Los Caballos def. Fantasy Springs 6-2
Corleone Polo def. Embassy Suites & Mercari in round robin (score unavail.)
Paneno Farms def. Larsen Cart 6-4

Final results Nov. 28
G&L def. Los Caballos 8-5 in consolation finals
Corleone Polo def. PoloBARN (formerly Paneno Farms) 7-4 in final.  

Action Photos - Click here.