Cornell men's polo survived a scoreless fourth chukker to beat Virginia 13-12 Saturday, Oct. 31, and win the Virginia Polo Fall Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Max Sponer scored seven goals in the championship game in Charlottesville, Virginia, while Malachi Light added four and Dylan Tung scored two, according to Cornell Athletics.
The Big Red finished the tournament 2-0 and has won three of its last four meetings with Virginia. Cornell reached the final after a 14-5 victory over Texas A&M in its opening match.
Early scoring builds a halftime cushion
Cornell opened a 6-3 lead in the first chukker, getting four goals from Sponer and one each from Light and Tung. All three scorers are juniors.
Sponer and Light each added three goals in the second chukker, extending Cornell's advantage to 12-6 at halftime.
Tung scored Cornell's only goal of the second half in the third chukker, which ended with the Big Red leading 13-8. Virginia scored twice during that period before making its final push.
The Cavaliers outscored Cornell 4-0 in the fourth chukker but finished one goal short.
Junior trio leads reconfigured lineup
Coach Anthony Condo Jr. credited the players for maintaining their effort through a physical second half. He said the team had entered the season needing to rebuild its lineup after the graduation of Benito Jaramillo, the reigning Intercollegiate Polo Player of the Year.
Condo said Tung, Sponer and Light had responded to that challenge by securing another tournament championship.
Cornell next visits Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Nov. 7. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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