The men’s and women’s polo teams bounced back from losses against a very talented Toronto Polo Club last weekend at Oxley. This allowed for both teams to finish the regular season with victories and enter the Northeast Regional on the right track.
The men’s squad (11-4) came from behind to defeat Toronto 18-5 in a game where junior captain and leading scorer Max Constant did not participate because of an injury. On the other hand, the women’s side (13-1) closed the regular campaign with a 19-16 victory over Toronto after losing its first game of the season against Kentucky the week before.
The men’s side started the match with freshmen Connor Pardell, Branden Van Loon and junior David Dunstan, who replaced Constant in the initial lineup.
The first chukker saw both teams exchange goals and finished with the score tied at three goals. During the second chukker, Toronto outscored the Red to take a nine to six lead going into halftime.
The Red outscored its opponents four goals to three and never trailed during the last chukker to take a 19-16 victory without its main offensive weapon. Pardell and Van Loon stepped up for Cornell and both combined for a total of 15 goals.
Unlike the men’s team, the women’s side started the game with an exceptional offensive performance. After the end of the first chukker, the Red was in front nine goals to one.
The second chukker saw Toronto scoring four more goals than Cornell. However, the Red still kept a 12-6 advantage after the first two periods of regulation. Toronto was able to outscore Cornell for consecutive periods and closed the gap to a pair of goals (15-13) heading into the last chukker.
The Red’s offense then notched four more times and prevented Toronto’s opportunities from any sort of comeback to end the game 19-16.
Junior captain Lizzie Wisner led Cornell in scoring with 13 goals. Senior Erin Bold followed with four and junior Jessica Cross contributed with one.
Both polo teams are now preparing to host at Oxley Equestrian Center the United States Polo Association’s Northeast Regional Championship.
“[Toronto’s team members] are very talented,” said Cornell head coach David Eldredge. “I am certain that the game against them will serve useful in our preparation for the regional competition.”
Original Author: AJ Ortiz