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Longfield-Smithfield Farms 13 Ten Mile River Farm 12 in overtime play at
Mashomack Polo Club
13 is Longfield-Smithfields's (LSF) lucky number as they become the 2005 USPA Officer's Cup Champions by defeating Ten Mile River 13-12 in sudden death over-time. This thriller had it all: Spills,thrills, and the threat of darkness as the final open goal tally by Julio Ezcurra was barely visible in the night sky that comes with early fall. LSF already had a team member sideline in the semi-finals when Duke Buchan hit the turf hard. That score was evened up when Ten Mile River's Paul Quirk turned left across the runway in front of a departing jet by the name of Julio Ezcurra. Paul was only one "la" away from "la-la land" when he went sprawling into the turf hard. Paul was dazed and just a hair away from total unconsciousness, so the umpires ruled him out of the game. Now Paul is as tough as they come and was back on his feet quickly, but at the same time, He could not remember the actual accident, so we all played it safe for the best interests of Paul and required the replacement. Ten Mile had come out strong in the first chukker and jumped to a 2-1 lead. However, LSF responded quickly and sent Juan Olivera to play the role of Gaston Lisioli's shadow. Paul was hit and removed early in the third period and was removed. That juggle in the Ten Mile line-up opened the door for LSF's Julio Ezcurra to score 4 unanswered goals in the third to take LSF up to a 6-3 lead at half and then built it up to an 8-4 lead at the end of the fourth. So it looked like the lights were going out for both the match and Ten Mile as they took the field for the 5th. But then that "one thing" happened, that gave a dying squad a much needed spark, Ten Mile was over on the far sideline. Some of the LSF players and some of the spectators felt the ball was clearly out over the sidelines. The umpires did not see it that way and Ten Mile went to goal with the final seconds of the fifth for a score, while LSF players complained of the play. The LSF players continued to complain as they rode off to change horses and drew a technical which placed the ball at the start of the sixth on the center line for a Ten Mile penalty hit. Now, that final questionable score at the end of the fifth brought Ten Mile a goal closer going into the sixth. Then at the start of the sixth Gaston Lisioli stepped up to the plate and launched that mid-field #5 penalty through the uprights....150yards,,,,no....make that about 170 yards. Hands down....shot of the 2005 Mashomack season. Ok....now that is a two goal swing on a questioned play. However, one of the basic rules of polo; you play until the whistle....that is just one of the abc's of polo.......play....to....the....whistle. The mid-field shot was the first of five goals that Gaston would score in chukker sixth to lead Ten Mile back into the game and tie the score 12-12 at the end of regulation. Once again. W...O...W !!! Over-time play gave both teams opportunities for the win, but as darkness was about to force the game to a coin toss, LSF was awarded an open goal penalty and Julio Ezcurra who was the super hot stick of the match with 11 goals....slapped in goal number 12 to claim bragging rights for the 2005 title. What a comeback, what a number 5 penalty by Lisioli, what a performance by Julio Ezcurra, what an effort by all, what a game. Thankfully, Paul Quirk is ok. Paul has played years of football and already knows what having your bell rung sounds like, so he understood the wisdom of moving to the side of caution. An interesting note on Longfield-Smithfield, is that they have been dueling all summer long and this time teamed up to finish off the season by sharing the championship. At the same time, we salute Michael levin and Paul Quirk for their Ten Mile River Farm's awesome performance. Gaston Lisioli was named MVP, a close nod above Julio as Gaston turned a "game over scenario into an over-time opportunity......and his incredible mid-field score. If they gave two MVP's, Julio would be right up on the platform along with Gaston. |
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