Jan 28th, ‘07: New Bridge La Dolfina Wins Joe Barry Memorial Finals

Cambiaso, Magrini Lead New Bridge La Dolfina Over Pony Express 15-9 To Capture Joe Barry Memorial Cup Title Sunday at International Polo Club

WELLINGTON, FL (January 28, 2007) – In an unselfish display of a potent one-two punch, 10-goal superstar Adolfo Cambiaso and 9-goaler Matias Magrini scored all the goals as New Bridge La Dolfina defeated Pony Express 15-9 to capture the 22-goal Joe Barry Memorial Cup championship Sunday on Stanford Field at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

It was New Bridge La Dolfina’s 15th consecutive victory, including five in a row this season, improving its record to 17-1 over the last two seasons at International Polo Club.

Cambiaso, generally regarded as the best player in the world, scored a game-high eight goals and finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 32 goals. Magrini scored seven goals and finished as the second-leading scorer with 30 goals.

“Joe Barry is a great name in U.S. polo history and to win this one is a real thrill,” said New Bridge La Dolfina patron Russ McCall. “I’m playing with two of the best players in the world (Cambiaso and Magrini) and that makes my job easier.”

Pony Express, which lost to New Bridge La Dolfina 16-9 on Opening Day, stayed closer through much of the game, trailing 8-7 at the end of the fourth chukker on Tomas Goti’s goal with 13 seconds remaining.
But that’s when Cambiaso took over.

“Until the fourth chukker, I couldn’t hit the ball. When I play well, the team plays better,” said Cambiaso. “It was on me, not on my teammates. In seven minutes (in the fifth chukker), I appeared.”
His inspired play forced Pony Express to foul and Magrini converted three penalty shots. Cambiaso added a magnificent goal with 54 seconds remaining, coming out of the throw-in, tapping the ball twice in the air, dribbled twice more on the ground and scoring from a sharp angle to make is 11-8.

“The fifth chukker killed us,” said Pony Express 8-goaler Nicolas Roldan. “(Cambiaso) got on Josie and we couldn’t catch him. Until the fifth, it could’ve gone both ways.”

Josie was named the Best Playing Pony and Cambiaso was selected as the Most Valuable Player.

“It was 10-8 and we missed a goal that would’ve cut it to 10-9 and they took the ball and went down and scored to make it 11-8,” said Roldan. “That hurt us.

“We got to the finals and we beat two big teams, Skeeterville and Audi, along the way. We’re happy to be in the finals.”

Goti led Pony Express (3-2) with five goals and finished with 29 for the tournament. Roldan scored two goals, patron Bob Daniels added one goal and Gonzalo Von Wernich did not score.

“He (Cambiaso) rises to the occasion,” said McCall. “He can do it by himself. The plan is for all three of us to block and he scores. If he gets in trouble he passes it to us. He has supreme confidence on the field. He’s one-of-a-kind.”
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 in advance and they are also available 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.

Previous champions:
2007 – New Bridge La Dolfina defeated Pony Express 15-9 (22-goal)
2006 – Catamount defeated Lechuza Caracas 9-7 (22-goal)
2005 – Lechuza Caracas defeated Millarville 13-10 (22-goal)
2004 – Catamount defeated Bendabout 13-10 (22-goal)
2003 – La Herradura defeated Brigadoon 8-5 (18-goal)