Catamount Surprises New Bridge La Dolfina 13-10 in Joe Barry Memorial Cup Semifinals Wednesday at International Polo Club

WELLINGTON, FL (January 25, 2006) – Catamount staged the biggest upset of the early season, using double-teams to thwart superstar 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, en route to a 13-10 victory over New Bridge La Dolfina in the semifinals of the 22-goal Joe Barry Memorial Cup Wednesday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Defending champion Lechuza Caracas (1-1) plays Pony Express (1-1) today at 3 p.m. in the second semifinal. Catamount, the 2004 champion, plays the winner in the final Sunday at 3 p.m. on Stanford Field at International Polo Club.

“We’re a team with no superstars,” said Catamount No. 4, Todd Offen, a 5-goaler. “We’re four guys who win together or lose together. We came up with a game plan and stuck to it. We were very focused and disciplined.”

Offen said the plan was to put two players on Cambiaso.

“We had to be patient. No one (on our team) can take Cambiaso (by himself),” explained Offen. “We made him (Cambiaso) make the first move and then we pounced (with two players).”

Cambiaso, in 1993 at the age of 17, became the youngest 10-goaler in the history of the sport. The five-time U.S. Open champion, who turns 31 on April 14, led the league in scoring with 19 goals heading into the semifinals.         

Cambiaso was held to five goals, almost half of what he averaged over the first two games as the tournament’s leading scorer.

“We made it difficult for Adolfo,” said Catamount patron Scott Devon, who said this was one of his top victories, after winning the C.V. Whitney title in 2005 and the 2004 Joe Barry Memorial Cup. “We made him work hard.”

There were only two ties in the game, at 1-1 and at 8-8, on Cambiaso’s 30-yard shot from the right side with 4:32 left in the fifth chukker. Catamount responded with two consecutive goals. Offen picked up a loose ball near midfield and scored on a breakaway with 3:07 left and Jeff Blake made it 10-8 on a five-yard penalty shot with 1:15 remaining.
           
Matias Magrini converted a 30-yard penalty shot with five seconds left in the fifth chukker to cut the margin to 10-9.

Devon thwarted Cambiaso, backing away a sure goal early in the sixth chukker. Offen, with Cambiaso on his hip, knocked in an 80-yard forehand to increase the lead to 11-9 with 4:23 remaining in the sixth chukker. On the ensuing throw-in, Blake scored on a breakaway. Catamount won the next throw-in as well, but New Bridge La Dolfina gained control, but could not get off a shot as Magrini fell off his mount as his horse slipped. Catamount won that throw-in and Hall went 210 yards on a breakaway to make the score 13-9 with 2:47 remaining.

Magrini scored with 1:29 left to cut the margin to 13-10 and Catamount averted another goal when Cambiaso’s shot from midfield was knocked away in front of the goal.

Eight-goaler Jeff Hall led Catamount with five goals while Blake and Offen added three goals each and Devon finished with two goals.

Magrini finished with four goals, but missed two 40-yard penalty shots in the first half. Sunny Hale added one goal and patron Russ McCall did not score.

Pony Express is led by 7-goaler Nicolas Roldan with 13 goals, fourth highest in the tournament. Roldan is joined by 7-goaler Gonzalo Von Wernich, 6-goaler Tomas Goti and patron Marc Daniels, a 2-goaler. Lechuza Caracas features 10-goaler Sebastian Merlos, who has five goals, and 5-goaler Gaston Urturi, who has a team-high seven goals. They are joined by 5-goaler Tomas del Rio and patron Victor Vargas, a 2-goaler.

The Joe Barry Memorial Cup is named after American polo legend Joe Barry, who died on May 18, 2002 at the age of 58. Born and raised in Texas, he achieved a 9-goal rating and dominated polo in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Barry won six U.S. Open championships, three Gold Cups, three Silver Cups as well as the Coronation and Camacho Cup trophies. One of the greatest No. 4s in polo history, Joe Barry was elected to the Polo Hall of Fame in 1999.

The polo matches are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $10 for adults. Children under 12 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
 
Thursday, January 26
Pony Express (1-1) vs. Lechuza Caracas (1-1), 3 p.m.
 
Sunday, January 29
Catamount (2-1) vs. winner of Pony Express vs. Lechuza Caracas, 3 p.m.

International Polo Club
Palm Beach