Crab Orchard's dreamed comeback is still on - by YA Teitelbaum

It’s two down and one to go for Crab Orchard.

Ten-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso scored five goals to lead a balanced attack en route to a 12-7 victoryover Las Monjitas in the USPA Piaget Gold Cup Sunday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Crab Orchard has now won both 26-goal tournaments with only the U.S. Open remaining as they attempt to be the first team to win all three major tournaments in the same season at IPC since White Birch accomplished the feat in 2005. “This is step two,” said Crab Orchard patron George Rawlings. “We’re a very focused team with a lot of confidence. Everybody is playing hard.”

Crab Orchard, which won the 26-goal C.V. Whitney on February 28, clinched the victory in the fourth chukker with four unanswered goals, including two by 8-goaler Julio Arellano, to take a 10-3 lead. “Everything just clicked (in the fourth chukker),” said Arellano, who grew up in Wellington but now lives in Aiken, South Carolina. “We were able to take advantage of opportunities. That was the key to whole match.”

“We made silly mistakes in the fourth chukker and against this team you cannot do that,” said Javier Novillo Astrada, who led Las Monjitas with four goals.

Rawlings said the first half was more of a feeling-out process before making several slight changes in the second half. “I played a littlemore aggressive on blocking,” said Rawlings, who also won the 2007 USPA Gold Cup. “And I wasn’t staying as far back. I was a little closer.”

Las Monjitas, the 2008 USPA Gold Cup champion, was playing with a revamped lineup as 10-goaler Eduardo Novillo Astrada missed the game because of a concussion suffered in the semifinals. He was replaced by 10-goaler Facundo Pieres. And Las Monjitas patron Camilo Bautista was playing in his first game of the season after missing almost two months after suffering an injury during an early-season practice. “It was a tough situation for them,” said Arellano, who won the USPA Gold Cup in 1997 while playing for White Birch. “Having Camilo playing for the first time and not having Eduardo, I think it was very tough on them. It was a tough break for them.”

This was Cambiaso’s eighth USPA Gold Cup victory, tying him with Mariano Aguerre for the most by a professional. Peter Brant of White Birch has won 12 USPA Gold Cup titles. Gonzalo Pieres has won seven Gold Cups while Alfonso Pieres has won six Gold Cups.

Rawlings knows Crab Orchard will be prepared to win its third consecutive 26-goal tournament at IPC. “Adolfo has organized the horses and we’re better (organized) than we were in 2008,” said Rawlings.