Alegria scores the
upset of the season in a 19-15 win over Ellerstina
By Alex Webbe
For the first time in six years Ellerstina/Piaget (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Mariano
Aguerre and Nicolás Pieres) won’t be appearing in the finals of the Argentine
Open championship game following a 19-15 upset win by AlegrÃa (Polito Pieres, Lucas Monteverde, Hilario Ulloa and
Frederick Mannix) on Palermo’s Number 1 field Saturday afternoon.
To date, Ellerstina had been experiencing a lackluster
season, falling to La Dolfina in the finals of both the Tortugas Open and the
Hurlingham Open, winning a handful of unimpressive wins along the way.
In Argentine Open play Ellerstina opened with a 23-14
victory at the expense of the veteran Chapaleufú team (Alberto Heguy, Francisco
Elizalde, Bautista Heguy and Eduardo Heguy), but against La Aguada just a week
later needed four straight eighth chukker goals to tie it up before winning on
a goal from Mariano Aguerre in overtime.
Though not overpowering in their wins, Alegria notched victories
against La Aguada (16-13) and Chapaleufú (19-16) with a methodic team-oriented
effort.
In Saturday afternoon’s contest Ellerstina took an opening
chukker, 2-1 lead over Alegria as both teams battled to take control of the
game.
Alegria bounced back in the second period. Outscoring Ellerstina, 3-2, Fred Mannix and
his teammates tied it up at 4-4.
Both defenses showed their mettle in the third. The two teams exchanged goals and the third
period ended in a 5-5 deadlock.
Polito Pieres led the Alegria charge in the fourth
chukker. Outscoring Ellerston by two
goals, Alegria moved in front for a 9-7 halftime advantage.
Ellerstina continued to have trouble coordinating its attack
in the second half. Outscored 4-2 for
the second consecutive chukker, Alegria extended its lead to four goals, 13-9.
There was no letup by the Alegria attack as the battle wore
on. The Alegria defense held the 39-goal
Ellerstina foursome to a single goal in the sixth while adding three of their
own. With two chukkers left to play
Alegria was on top by six goals, 16-10.
Ellerstina dug deep in the fifth and put three goals on the scoreboard
while allowing just a single Alegria goal.
Ellerstina continued to trail, 17-13.
A week earlier Facundo Pieres scored four 8th
chukker goals to tie La Aguada at 13-13 before winning it in sudden-death
overtime, 14-13, but that would not be the case today. Ellerstina scored twice in the final chukker,
with Alegria matching them goal for goal.
The final bell sounded with Alegria celebrating the win and their first
Argentine Open final appearance.
Polito Pieres scored five of his team-high 10 goals on
penalty shots. Hilario Ulloa was
credited with five scores with Lucas Monteverde and Fred Mannix adding two goals
each. Facundo Pieres scored ten times
for Ellerstina (six on penalty shots).
Gonzalito Pieres added four goals with Mariano Aguerre scoring once in
the loss.
LA AGUADA/LAS
MONJITAS 19, CHAPALEUFÚ 17
La Aguada (Guillermo
Terrera, Facundo Sola, Miguel Novillo Astrada, and Nachi du Plessis) rang
up a 19-17 win over a talented Chapaleufú (Alberto Heguy, Francisco Elizalde,
Bautista Heguy and Eduardo Heguy) earlier in the day on Palermo’s Field 2.
Ignacio Novillo Astrada replaced his brother, Miguel Novillo
Astrada (woke up with a fever) on the La
Aguada roster and helped them to a 19-17 victory over a talented Heguy entry.
The two teams
exchanged goals in the first chukker with each side scoring three times. The bell sounded and the two teams left the
field in a 3-3 tie.
La Aguada outscored Chapaleufú
in the second period to edge them, 5-4. Chapaleufú
and La Aguada matched one another goal for goal in the second. La Aguada continued to hold the advantage,
7-6.
The fourth chukker
saw both teams tried to gain the upper hand.
Each team put up a pair of goals and the first half ended with La Aguada
riding a narrow 9-8 lead.
The Heguys rallied
in the fifth chukker, outscoring La Aguada 4-2.
With three periods left to play in regulation time Chapaleufú turned the
tables on La Aguada and left the field at the end of the chukker on the winning
end of a 12-11 score.
Two goals for La
Aguada were countered by a single Chapaleufú score. After six chukkers of play it was all even at
13-13.
Facundo Sola
continued to press the attack and pressure the Chapaleufú defense in the
seventh chukker. Three unanswered goals
boosted La Aguada into a 16-13 lead with one period left to play.
Chapaleufú went for
broke in the eighth chukker, scoring four goals, but La Aguada was up for the
challenge and managed three of their own for the 19-17 final in a 19-17
win.
Facundo Sola led all
scoring with sixteen goals (nine on penalty shots), and Nachi Du Plessis added
three more for the win. Eduardo Heguy
scored 12 goals for Chapaleufú (10 on penalty conversions). Pepe Heguy and Francisco Elizalde added two
goals each and Bautista Heguy scored a goal in the loss.
Argentine Open
action continues on Sunday, December 1 with Magual (1-1) facing La Aguada/Las
Monjitas (Lucas James, Magoo Laprida, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, Alejandro
Novillo Astrada) at 2PM while La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling,
Pablo MacDonough and Juan MartÃn Nero) will meet La Natividad at 4:30 PM on
Palermo’s Field 1.