The final day of semifinal play in the 130th Hurlingham Open at Palermo, featured a thrilling matchup between La Natividad (Camilo Castagnola, Pablo Mac Donough, Bartolome Castagnola Jr., Facundo Pieres) and La Hache (Rufino Bensadon, Hilario Ulloa, Guillermo Caset, Francisco Elizalde).
Kicking-off the action, back-to-back goals from La Hache’s Caset and Ulloa set the tone for the high scoring affair. Featuring a balanced first half effort with all four of La Hache’s skilled teammates reaching the scoreboard, La Natividad relied on the firepower and accuracy of Camilo Castagnola, as the 10-goaler accounted for all La Natividad’s first half offense, including three from the line. Managing to silence the mallets of Pieres and Mac Donough, four conversions from Elizalde lifted La Hache to an 11-6 advantage after four chukkas of play.
Back on the line to start the fifth, La Natividad’s Castagnola continued his penalty conversion prowess, as Pieres earned his first field goal. Keeping pressure on their opponents, La Hache continued to win the battle in open play, with Ulloa finding space in the field to maintain La Hache’s narrow lead. Despite a late push from Mac Donough and a ten-goal performance from Castagnola, the combined efforts of from La Hache, including six from Elizalde allowed them to establish a lead they would not relinquish to earn their spot in the coveted final 19-16.
In the subsidiary for the Drysdale Cup, La Hache Cría & Polo (Lucas Monteverde Jr., Carlos Maria Ulloa, Facundo Sola, Joaquin Pittaluga) were pitted against La Ensenada (Juan Britos, Alfredo Bigatti, Juan Martin Zubia, Jeronimo del Carril).
Each struggling to establish a consistent rhythm from the field, both teams managed just a 20% shooting percentage, with La Ensenada adding two goals to the scoreboard to outscore La Hache Cría & Polo. Combining for twenty-five first half fouls, play was largely determined at the line with La Ensenada’s Zubia going 4 for 5 and La Hache Cría & Polo’s Pittaluga hitting 5 for 5 to enter the break tied 6-all.
Trading goals in the fifth, each member of La Hache Cría & Polo found the scoreboard to contribute offensively, as Bigatti led the charge for La Ensenada with two goals to take a narrow 11-10 advantage. Rallying in the final chukka, Pittaluga found success at the line, as Monteverde hit back-to-back goals to deliver La Hache Cría & Polo the hard fought 14-13 victory.
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, October 5
Cría La Dolfina vs La Hache Cría & Polo (Subsidiary Drysdale Cup Final)
Photo Credit: ©Matías Callejo/Prensa AAP