Defending champion GSA became the first team in tournament history to win back-to-back titles in the fifth annual $50,000 National 12-Goal Tournament Saturday at Grand Champions Polo Club.

After a close first half, GSA (Henry Porter, 2, Santino Magrini, 3, Toro Ruiz, 5, Nachi Viana 2) dominated Beverly Equestrian (Bill Ballhaus, 0, Hilario Figueras, 2, Tolito Fernández Ocampo, 4, Carlucho Arellano, 5) for an impressive 12-5 victory Saturday in front of a packed house.

For the second year in a row, GSA won by a seven-goal margin. Last year the team of Porter, Magrini, Ruiz and Juan Martin Zubia defeated Casablanca (Matias Gonzalez, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Jesse Bray), 13-6.

GSA remains the youngest team in history to win the eight-team, single-elimination, winner-take-all tournament, the only 12-goal tournament in the nation to offer major prize money. This year’s team age average is 18 (Porter, 18, Magrini, 16, Ruiz, 19 and Viana, 19).

The championship final was played in memory of Steve Orthwein. The renowned polo player and visionary inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame in 2011, died last week in his Wellington home at age 72. A moment of silence was observed before the game.

The game was close in the first half with the teams playing a 2-2 first chukker and 0-0 defensive second chukker. Fernandez Ocampo’s angle cut shot from the corner with 2:57 left gave Beverly Equestrian a 4-3 halftime lead.

The road to the title was not an easy one for GSA that defeated Team USPA 8-7 in overtime in the semifinals. Porter, who saw Figueras go down and tried to tell the officials to wait, was impressed with Ruiz sportsmanship during the game.

Arellano and Ocampo shared scoring honors for Beverly Equestrian with two goals each. The 11-goal team also received one goal on handicap. Porter added two goals and Magrini had one for GSA.

Global Student Accomodation (GSA), which created the student accommodation sector, is sponsoring polo for the second year including a 20-goal team. The global communities give students the space to grow in the direction that matters most to them when they are away from their homes.

MVP: Toro Ruiz. Scored a game-high 9 goals.
Steve Orthwein Sportsmanship Award: Toro Ruiz. In the second chukker, Figueras went down with 4:51 left. As play continued, Ruiz stopped to help him with his mallet and to make sure he was uninjured.
BPP American Polo Horse Association Best Registered: Dolfina Marquez, 13, ridden by Santino Magrini in the third chukker.
Grand Champions Polo Club BPP of the game: Yatay Shazan, 10, ridden by Tolito Fernández Ocampo in the fifth chukker.
Grand Champions Polo Club BPP of the tournament: Rosinanta, a bay mare ridden by Henry Porter in the fifth chukker.