Wins by La Dolfina and La Aguada set Argentine Open semifinals
By Alex Webbe
Monday afternoon wins by La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) and La Aguada (Agustín Merlos, Guillermo Terrera, Sapo Caset and Ignacio Novillo Astrada) in the second round of play in the 2015 Argentine Open Championship left both teams undefeated with identical 2-0 records. La Dolfina and La Aguada will face-off against one another in a semifinal match Saturday afternoon following a consolation game between Alegria (Magoo Laprida, Hilario Ulloa, Lucas Monteverde and Fred Mannix) and Magual (Alejandro Muzzio, Francisco Elizalde, Marco Di Paola and Santiago Toccalino).
La Dolfina’s 16-14 win over Alegria wasn’t the resounding victory fans had anticipated with Ulloa shining for the Alegria offense. It was Alegria with the early lead as they outscored the defending champion 3-1 in the opening chukker.
La Dolfina woke up for the second period and scored three unanswered goals. Juan Martin Nero proved to be a rock at the Back position, shutting down attack after attack as La Dolfina assumed ownership of the contest with a 4-3 lead.
La Dolfina added three more goals I the third but Ulloa and copay stayed in the thick of it, putting a pair of goals on the scoreboard themselves. After three chukkers it was La Dolfina with the two goal lead, 7-5.
Alegria got serious again in the fourth period. A determined defense kept La Dolfina from scoring but the Alegria offense could produce no re than a single goal themselves. At the end of the first half it was La Dolfina on top by a one goal margin, 7-6.
Alegria played La Dolfina tough in the fifth period, matching them goal for goal. At the end of the chukker, La Dolfina managed to hold on to their narrow one goal lead, 9-8.
Strong offensive performance by La Dolfina got them some separation in the sixth period. La Dolfina scored three times while holding Alegria to a single goal. The La Dolfina lead had grown to three goals, 12-9, with two periods remaining I regulation play.
A determined Alegria took the field in the seventh chukker and scored four goals behind an impressive performance by Hilario Ulloa. La Dolfina scored twice in the chukker but Alegria cut the lead down to a single goal, 14-13.
La Dolfina didn’t end the game with an exclamation mark but did manage to outscore Alegria for one last time. Two goals from La Dolfina were countered by a single score from Alegria, and it was La Dolfina who old ride on to the 16-14 victory.
Adolfo Cambiaso scored six of his team-high nine goals on penalty conversions. Pelon Stirling and Pablo MacDonough added three goals apiece with Juan Martin Nero accounting for the other goal in the win. Hilario Ulloa scored a game-high ten goals for Alegria (eight on penalty shots). Lucas Monteverde added two goals with Magoo Laprida and Fred Mannix each scoring a goal.
La Aguada 17, Magual 10
La Aguada took immediate control of the earlier game of the day as they ran up a 7-1 lead after the first three chukkers. Magual finally got on the scoreboard again in the fourth after being shutout in the second and third chukkers. At the end of the first half of play it was a balanced La Aguada attack in the lead by seven goals, 10-3.
The two teams exchanged single goals in the fifth with Magual unable to cut into the lead and La Aguada comfortably in control. With three chukkers left to play, La Aguada held on to the seven goal advantage, 11-4.
Magual made a move in the sixth but a disciple La Aguada defense kept the rally from developing into a threat. Magual outscored La Aguada 3-2 in the chukker but continued to trail by six goals, 13-7.
La Aguada stretched their lead back to seven goals in the seventh. Magual scored once while La Aguada added two more goals to their total. With one period left in the game La Aguada was comfortably in control of the game, 15-8.
Magual tried to stage a last chukker rally, but La Aguada wasn’t having any of it. The two teams traded goals for a 17-10 La Aguada win.
Agustin Merlos led the La Aguada attack with seven goals (six on penalty conversions). Ignacio Novillo Astrada added four goals with Sapo Caset and Guillermo Terrera adding three goals each. Santiago Toccalino scored three of his four goals from the penalty line. Alejandro Muzzio and Francisco Elizalde added three goals each in the loss.
The victory boosts La Dolfina and La Aguada into their bracket semifinal against La Dolfina on Sunday afternoon at Palermo while Ellerstina (2-0) and La Aguada/Las Monjitas will meet on Saturday afternoon to decide the other finalist.
(Photo courtesy of the AAP and Matias Callejo)