Pirates Plunder Arena Tournament 

            March 9, 2008,  Glen Farm, Portsmouth, RI:  …After a warm-up round on Saturday amidst a steady downpour that kept all fair-weather players at home, the Polo Pirates rode to victory on Sunday in a friendly arena tournament in which four teams participated.

            Sunday’s first round of play included Mark Still, Dave Markell and Jonathan Kaye playing against Steve Smith, Dave Bullis and Dan Keating (Polo Pirates) in a two-chukker dual in which the high scoring team would advance to the final round.  Jonathan opened the scoring in the first chukker, followed by Dan, then Dr. Dave for a two-pointer but JK chipped away at their lead, and the ensuring goals went back and forth for the next three points, as Dr. Dave, DBM and Steve each added points before the buzzer, leaving the Pirates in the lead 5-3.  In the second chukker JK and Dan traded points, starting with JK’s penalty 2 conversion, followed by Dan's goal, then JK scored again, and then Dan with back to back goals, and finally JK for a final tally of 8-6 = Pirates advance to the final. 

            In the second round of play, Eric Diener & Nauman Malik shared a position with teammates Dori Burner and Matthew Fonseca, facing Leo Mejia and Bridget Torrey sharing the #1 spot, Sam Shore and Jim Zynsky.  Sam opened the scoring, followed by a penalty 2 conversion by Dori, and a hat trick by Matthew to end the chukker 4-1.  In the second chukker, Matthew scored his fourth in a row, followed by Nauman, and then a goal for JimmyZ but the next three points belonged to Nauman, Matthew and Dori for a decisive 9-2 victory and berth in the final.

            The consolation round became a shoot-out between Mark Still, Dave Markell and JK against Leo/ Bridget Torrey, Sam Shore and Jim Zynsky.  Leo got the action going with the first goal and DBM tied the score, but a 3-goal blitz by JimmyZ, Sam and JimmyZ again painted an ominous picture when the first chukker ended 4-1.  A rally cry in the second chukker witnessed 3 consecutive goals to tie the score including a pair by JK and one by DBM, but JimmyZ converted a penalty 4 to take the lead briefly until JK added another impressive pair of goals for a dramatic come-from-behind lead change, but Jimmy Z tied it up again and Sam scored the go-ahead goal, and JK struck again, followed by teammate DBM’s goal to switch the lead again as the clock wound down until Sam tied the score to take the match into Sudden Death.  Within the first minute of overtime JK scored the winning goal of the exciting 9-8 consolation victory.

            The final was contested by Eric Diener/Nauman Malik, Dori Burner and Matthew Fonseca against Steve Smith, Dave Bullis and Dan Keating.  Eric scored the first point but the next two were compliments of Dave including a penalty 3 conversion, then Matthew flashed his prowess with the next two goals but Steve tied it up and Dan added the go-ahead goal before the buzzer for a 4-3 lead.  Dan and Steve each increased the lead in the second chukker, but Matthew eliminated the gain with two points of his own, but another point by Dan and a penalty 4 conversion by Dave held up even after a final point by Matthew, for an 8-6 victory.

            Ted Torrey officiated and volunteers kept the time and score.  A throng of spectators packed the peanut gallery, voicing hearty nonpartisan support throughout the afternoon, including laughter at folly and applause for moments of glory.  Ribbons were awarded to the finalists, followed by an appreciation of the usual libations and some European style ales from Pennichuck craft brewery of New Hampshire.