HorseBuff Magazine – Polo, International Polo Club Palm Beach, IPC, Ylvisaker Cup
The final match of the 18-goal season at the International Polo Club Palm Beach featured La Fe against CK Shack to determine the 2022 Ylvisaker Cup champion. Overcoming an early 4-0 deficit, La Fe could not complete the comeback as CK Shack, led by nine goals from Keko Magrini held on for the thrilling 12-11 victory, raising the prestigious Ylvisaker Cup on the Home of the U.S. Polo Assn. Field 1.
Despite featuring their third different line-up of the tournament, CK Shack found familiarity with brothers Santino and Keko Magrini, playing alongside cousins Bautista and Joaquin Panelo. Building an early lead from the penalty line, CK Shack also used accurate penalty shooting in the late stages of the game, converting seven of their eight opportunities. Entering the final as the leading scorer in the tournament, young Keko Magrini continued his impressive play, matching La Fe’s 9-goaler Francisco Elizalde stride-for-stride with nine goals. A spirited La Fe side fought back into the game with accurate shooting from the field, but late foul trouble sealed the game as CK Shack captured the 12-11 win.
Two quick fouls to begin the game for La Fe sent CK Shack to the penalty line where Joaquin Panelo opened the scoring on a Penalty 4 conversion. Quickly followed by a field goal and two more penalty conversions from Keko Magrini, CK Shack found themselves ahead 4-0 and holding a commanding lead at the end of the first chukker. Undeterred, La Fe reorganized and turned to Elizalde, who produced three goals in the second chukker to cut the deficit in half. After the flurry of penalty goals in the opening chukker, CK Shack was held to just one field goal for the remainder of the half allowing La Fe to quickly erase their lead and pull even at 5-5 entering halftime, receiving field goals from Elizalde and Robi Bilbao.
With a tied score to begin the second half, the Ylvisaker Cup final had the feeling of a restart with just three chukkers left to determine the champion. CK Shack’s Keko Magrini struck just minutes in, but La Fe took their first lead of the game on back-to-back goals from Elizalde. The two leading scorers in the tournament continued to exchange goals, as CK Shack pulled even once again on Keko Magrini’s fifth goal. La Fe’s success after the opening chukker had been attributed to winning the battle in open play and improving on their foul trouble, but a decisive fifth chukker resulted in six fouls leading to two penalty conversions for CK Shack. An injury to Lucas Escobar brought Nico Diaz Alberdi into the tense moments of the final, but with the momentum in CK Shack’s favor, they continued to drive forward to the finish line. Scoring the first two goals of the sixth chukker and completing a run of five unanswered goals, CK Shack left little time for a La Fe comeback. Two penalty goals for Elizalde gave La Fe hope as they raced back to the throw-in line with a chance to tie the score but time expired and CK Shack celebrated the hard-fought 12-11 victory.
Concluding his exceptional tournament with a nine-goal performance, Keko Magrini was named Most Valuable Player, while Francisco Elizalde’s Mayor took home Best Playing Pony honors.
Photo credit: Photos © Alex Pacheco
Major reporting contributions for this article were received from the International Polo Club in Wellington FL. Please visit www.internationalpoloclub.com or call (561) 204-5687 for more information on the International Polo Club.
