A sold-out crowd watched Round Hill defeat Greenwich Sound 12-9 on Sunday, July 13, at the Greenwich Polo Club, sending patron John Lipman's squad into the semi-finals of the Interactive Brokers East Coast Gold Cup.

The 16-goal tournament is part of the club's 45th season at Conyers Farm, and the match drew spectators from across Fairfield and Westchester counties to 1 Hurlingham Drive for an afternoon that delivered both spectacular goals and a scary moment on the field.

Victorino "Torito" Ruiz Jorba, a seven-goal Argentinian playing the No. 2 position for Round Hill, was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament's first week. He scored multiple goals, including one spectacular strike that drew rousing cheers from the packed sidelines.

"This has been an amazing tournament with the players, the horses and the whole organization," Ruiz Jorba said after the match. "I love playing here."

Round Hill's roster paired Lipman with three Argentinian professionals: Ruiz Jorba, six-goal Santiago Llavallol, and Antonio Aguerre, a three-goal rising talent whose father, Mariano Aguerre, is a Greenwich polo legend. The elder Aguerre played for the White Birch team at the same club, won the U.S. Open twice and the Gold Cup eight times, and was inducted into the Museum of Polo's Hall of Fame in 2017. The Best Playing Pony of the July 13 match, Cameran, came from Mariano Aguerre's Los Machitos breeding farm in Argentina and was ridden by Antonio.

Round Hill lost the East Coast Silver Cup final to Fly House 15-14 last month. Sunday's win advances them deeper into the Gold Cup bracket.

Greenwich Sound fielded patron Al Keshvarzian, Nick Manifold, Federico Panzillo, and Joaquin Panelo. Mid-match, Keshvarzian took a frightening fall when his pony bucked, forcing him to leave the game. Michael Klein stepped in as substitute for the remainder.

Brian Hawkins, a sales representative for Richards of Greenwich who attends matches with his wife Karen, called the July 13 afternoon "intense." The couple has been coming to the polo club for years.

After the final whistle, players from both teams gathered for the club's traditional post-match asado, the Argentine barbecue that Llavallol described as "part of the whole experience."

Round Hill joins Dracarys, Tendonall Equine, and NuEnergen as the tournament's four semi-finalists, according to the Greenwich Sentinel. Full tournament results are available at greenwichpoloclub.com.