Blazers Recover to Win 6 Goal Veen Memorial

The first 6 Goal final of the 2013 season, the Tony Veen Memorial, featured Dan Horn and Leigh Brecheen's Palm Desert group going up against Pat Powell and his Blazers polo team, with both teams coming into the final with perfect records following bracket play.On a very cold afternoon in the Coachella Valley of Southern California, Palm Desert, starting with a handicap award of one half, and wearing their red shirts, started red hot with three quick goals to take the very early lead . A penalty four conversion by Federico Wulff and field goals by Brecheen and Danny Walker within the first three minutes most certainly stung the Blazers, who usually start quickly themselves, but were obviously not blazing at the outset of this one. With no time to take an antihistamine, Kyle Fargey simply treated the sting as a local reaction, shook it off and got to work. Before the first was over, he had converted a pair of open goal opportunities and the first ended with the Blazers trailing by just 1.5 at 3.5 - 2 in favor of Plam Desert.A field goal by Jake Devane brought Powell and Co. back to the handicap difference early in the second and it appeared that the Blazers had recovered. However, Wulff scored from the field to give Palm Desert the 1.5 cushion once again. Powell then scored and the difference was once again the handicap award. Not for long though, as Walker converted a penalty three and Horn scored with just one second left in the period to take a lead of 2.5 goals into the third at 6.5 - 4.A big play by Walker to steal the ball and run the field on a Fargey penalty four attempt, gave Palm Desert the 3.5 point cushion once again, but the Blazers wouldn't go away as Devane and Canelo Sylvestre each scored from the field and the 'half' ended with a score of 7.5 - 6 in favor of Palm Desert.Wulff, with a spectacular 90 yard strike from the far right - the announcer's 'shot of the day' - gave Palm Desert a lead of 2.5 goals halfway through the fourth but that would be it for them as Fargey - now fully recovered from the sting - converted a penalty three and four and scored from the field and the Blazers led for the first time to end the fourth with the score at 9 - 8.5.The final chukker was quiet as Palm Desert was unable to get anything going at all. Sylvestre scored his second of the day and Pat Powell and his Blazers captured the Tony Veen Memorial by a count of 10 - 8.5.Tony Veen 6 Goal Memorial TournamentBlazers (6) - Pat Powell, Kyle Fargey 3, Canelo Sylvestre 2, Jake Devane 1.Palm Desert (5.5) - Dan Horn .5, Leigh Brecheen, Danny Walker 2, Federico Wulff 3.Tony Gregg