La Indiana defeated Santa Clara 18-9 in the opening match of the the most important polo tournament in the United States: the US Open Polo Championship. The competition, played at International Polo Club Palm Beach, sees nine teams, up to 22-goals, compete. It’s worth noting that the 2020 edition was suspended due to the pandemic, meaning that Pilot are still the defending champions, having taken the title in 2019.
The match got off to a good start for La Indiana, who secured an early 4-0 lead in the first. Santa Clara fought back in the next two chukkas, securing two ties (5-5 and 7-7). The second half, however, told a different story, as Michael Bickford’s team, led by an outstanding Polito Pieres – who scored a total of nine goals throughout the match – seized the reins to dominate the play. La Indiana widen their advantage until they outscored Santa Clara 5-0 in the last, sealing the deal to claim a comfortable 18-9 win.
LA INDIANA 18-9 SANTA CLARA
La Indiana: Nico Escobar 4 (3 goals), Jeff Hall 6 (3), Polito Pieres 10 (9), Michael Bickford 2 (3). Total: 22
Santa Clara: Will Johnston 2 (1 goal), Pipe Vercellino 6 (8), Miguel Novillo Astrada 9, Luis Escobar 5. Total: 22
Score La Indiana: 4-0, 5-5, 7-7, 10-8, 13-9, 18-9.
The US Open Polo Championship resumes on Monday, March 29:
10am: Park Place vs Scone
4pm: Aspen / Dutta Corp vs Cessna
The final is due on Sunday, April 18.
IMAGES:
COMPETITON FORMAT:
- Teams have been placed into three brackets of three, where they will compete within their bracket.
- After bracket play, all teams will be ranked from 1-9 based on win-loss record, followed by net goals, then gross goals.
- Teams ranked 8th and 9th will have a playoff game. The winner will go through to the quarterfinals.
- After the playoff game, teams will enter the quarterfinals. Teams ranked 1-4 will draw from the remaining teams (5,6,7,8) for quarterfinal pairings.
- Semifinal pairings will be done by draw with the winners advancing to the final.
US Open Polo Championship – Teams & Fixture