Alegria and Ellerstina remain unbeaten; will face one another next week
By Alex Webbe
Alegria (Magoo Laprida, Hilario Ulloa, Lucas Monteverde and Fred Mannix) took the early lead, 1-0, in a defensively dominated opening chukker of the 2015 Hurlingham Open match Saturday afternoon, and ran out to a 7-4 advantage at the end of the first half before holding on for the 15-14 victory.
After giving up the opening goal of the game, Magual (Alejandro Muzzio, Francisco Elizalde, Marco Di Paola and Santiago Toccalino) matched Alegria goal for goal through the second (3-2) and third periods of play (5-4). A 2-0 fourth chukker gave Alegria a little breathing room as they stretched their lead to three goals, 7-4.
Magual bounced back in the fifth, outscoring Alegria 3-1 and closing to within a goal of the lead, 8-7.
The scoring battle between Alegria 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa and Magual’s Santiago Toccalino (8) raged on with Alegria moving in front by two goals at the end of the sixth chukker, 11-9.
Magual proved that they were up to the challenge, matching Alegria’s two goals to trail 13-11 going into the final seven minutes of play.
Magual tried to rally past Alegria in the final chukker, putting up three goals to Alegria’s two, but time was on the side of Alegria as they withstood the Magual attack for a 15-14 win.
Ulloa scored eight of his game-high eleven goals on penalty conversions. Magoo Laprida added three goals and team captain, Fred Mannix, scored once for the victory. Santiago Toccalino carried the water for Magual on the day, scoring all mine of his goals from the penalty line. Francisco Elizalde scored three times and Alejandro Muzzio added a pair of goals in the loss.
Ellerstina 17, Chapaleufú 10
Playing without 8-goaler Bautista Heguy for the second time, the 32-goal Chapaleufú lineup (Pepe Heguy, Nachi Heguy, Julian de Lusarreta, and Eduardo Heguy) was trying to improve upon their 19-18 loss to Alegria as they faced the 39-goal Ellerstina (Polito Pieres, Nico Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) powerhouse, but it wasn’t to be.
Ellerstina took the early 2-0 lead while Chapaleufú managed just a single goal to close out the scoring in the first period.
The two teams matched one another in the second chukker with each side racking up three goals. Ellerstina continued to lead, 5-4.
A single goal from Ellerstina was the only scoring in the third period. Chapaleufú was unable to mount an effective attack and fell behind by two goals. Ellerstina extended their led to 6-4.
Ellerstina closed out the first half with three goals. Chapaleufú scored a single goal to keep from being shutout for the second straight chukker, but trailed by four goals, 9-5.
There was no let up from Ellerstina as they charged into the second half of play. Ellerstina would outscore Chapaleufú five goals to one over the course of the fourth and fifth chukkers. With two periods left in regulation play, Ellerstina was in possession of a command 14-6 lead.
Ellerstina continued to dominate Chapaleufú in seventh chukker action. Two goals from Ellerstina were countered by a single goal from Chapaleufú. The Ellerstina lead had grown to nine goals, 17-10, riding into the final chukker of the match.
Chapaleufú came up with three eighth chukker goals while holding Ellerstina to a single score, but the game had long been decided and it was certain that the Ellerstina players weren’t pressing their horses in the final frame.
It was Ellerstina displaying some much-needed firepower in the 17-10 victory and Facundo Pieres looking as if he had returned to top form for the game.
Facundo Pieres led all scoring with nine goals (six on penalty shots). Polito Pieres added four goals; Nico Pieres scored three times and Gonzalito Peres was credited with a goal on the day. Eduardo Heguy scored all five of his team-high five goals on penalty conversions. Nachi Heguy added three goals while Pepe Heguy and Julian de Lusarreta each scored once.
The final round of preliminary play will continue on Saturday, October 31’s with La Aguada/Las Monjitas (0-2) playing Washington (1-1 at 2pm followed by a battle between La Dolfina (2-0) and La Aguada (1-1) at 4pm.
On Sunday, November 1st Magual (0-2) and Chapaleufú (0-2) will meet one another at 2pm with Ellerstina (2-0) battling Alegria (2-0) in a 4pm contest that will decide the final pairing for the Hurlingham Open Championship match.
(Photo courtesy of the AAP and Matías Callejo)
