When rain postponed the Joe Barry Memorial Cup final on Sunday, Jan. 16, Beverly Polo and Patagones returned to the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 18 to determine the champion.
Worth the wait, Patagones captured the victory in dramatic fashion, claiming a 11-10 overtime win on a golden goal from Tomas Garcia del Rio.
Both teams were unwilling to concede an inch in a closely matched final that resulted in goals being traded back and forth throughout the second half.
A foul-ridden contest, Patagones’ Garcia del Rio and Beverly Polo’s Tolito Ocampo Jr. went head-to-head from the penalty line, but the difference in the match proved to be Patagones’ efficiency from the field, as they took advantage of their opportunities around goal.
In search of their second consecutive title, Beverly Polo created more scoring chances but shot just 31 percent from the field, while Patagones converted 63 percent of their shots in what was ultimately the difference in the game.
Despite an impressive nine-goal performance from Ocampo that helped send the game into overtime, Patagones’ Garcia del Rio sent the ball through the posts to secure the Joe Barry Memorial Cup title.
Driving forward in the early stages of the game, Beverly Polo amassed nine shots through the first two chukkers but failed to find the goal, with their only score coming from a Penalty 2 conversion from Ocampo. Providing a quick response with a penalty goal of his own in the first chukker, Garcia del Rio began a stretch of five consecutive goals for Patagones.
The umpire’s whistle continued to stop play and send Garcia del Rio to the penalty line, as he added his fourth penalty goal to begin the third chukker and give Patagones a 4-1 lead. Scoring the first field goal of the game, Santiago Wulff ended Patagones’ run of five unanswered goals, while Beverly Polo also ended their drought before halftime on Ocampo’s second goal of the match.
Trailing 5-2, Beverly Polo reorganized at halftime and focused on converting their opportunities around the goal. Relying on the play of tournament scoring leader Ocampo, Beverly Polo quickly found their step in the fourth ckukker, scoring four goals in quick succession to turn a three-goal deficit into a one-goal lead over a span of minutes. Ocampo contributed three goals, while assisting on a tally from Lucas Diaz Alberdi.
Yet the two teams remained tied with little room for error over the final two chukkers. Ocampo added two penalty conversions while Patagones excelled from the field, receiving one goal each from Joaquin Avendano, Garcia del Rio and Wulff, leaving just seven minutes left to determine the champion.
Ocampo struck first to give Beverly Polo a slim 10-9 advantage, but it was short-lived as Garcia del Rio added his seventh goal on the following play. In a crucial moment, a second yellow card sent Benjamin Avendano off the field for two minutes, but the Patagones defense stood tall, preventing a Beverly Polo goal, and sending the game into overtime.
Withstanding the early pressure from Beverly Polo, Patagones ran out the clock while having just three players on the field, and with Benjamin Avendano returning, they began an attack downfield. Finding space, it was Garcia del Rio who claimed the golden goal, sending a shot through the posts to secure the thrilling 11-10 victory and claim the 2022 Joe Barry Memorial Cup title. For his efforts, Garcia del Rio was named Most Valuable Player while Tunito, his 14-year-old dark bay gelding, claimed Best Playing Pony honors.
Currently featured at IPC is the Ylvisaker Cup, which opened Jan. 23 and concludes on Sunday, Feb. 6. Visit www.internationalpoloclub.com for more info.
