La Dolfina rallies from a four goal deficit to win Hurlingham Open, 15-14
By Alex Webbe
La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) trailed for most of the game Saturday afternoon in the final of the Hurlingham Open with Ellerstina (Polito Pieres, Nico Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) taking a lead in the second chukker that they would hold up until the final minutes of regulation play, losing to the defending champion on a goal from Adolfo Cambiaso.
After playing to a 2-2 tie after the first chukker of play, Ellerstina took control of the game. Ellerstina scored three times in second period action while holding La Dolfina to a single goal. Ellerstina jumped out to an early 5-3 lead.
The two teams traded goals over the next two chukkers, scoring two goas apiece in both the third and fourth periods. At the end of the first half, Ellerstina maintained their two goal lead, 9-7.
Ellerstina didn’t miss a beat as they returned to the field for the second half. Three more goals were countered by a single score from La Dolfina. After five chukkers of play, Ellerstina had taken a healthy four goal lead over La Dolfina, 12-8.
A regrouped La Dolfina foursome bounced back in the sixth. La Dolfina held the impressive Ellerstina offense scoreless while forcing fouls and picking up a couple of goals of their own. Ellerstina continued to lead but La Dolfina had cut the margin back to two goals, 12-10, with two chukker s left in regulation time.
Both defenses bucked down in the seventh period. Adolfo Cambiaso scored first on a penalty shot for La Dolfina, cutting the Ellerstina lead back to a single goal, 12-11. Ellerstina responded with the only other goal of the chukker to take back their two goal advantage, 13-11.
The scoring went back and forth in the final chukker with La Dolfina snapping at the heels of Ellerstina but never getting close enough. Pablo MacDonough scored the first goal of the chukker for La Dolfina, 13-12, but Ellerstina responded with a goal from Polito Pieres, 14-12. Consecutive goals from Pelon Stirling tied the game at 14-14 as Ellerstina saw the game slipping away from them. Cambiaso scored the winning goal on a 60-yard shot for the 15-14 win.
Cambiaso led all scoring with eight goals (six on penalty conversions). Sterling scored four times and was named MVP for his efforts with MacDonough adding three goals for the victory. Facundo Peres scored six of his team high seven goals on penalty shots. Gonzalito Pieres was credited with four goals and Polito Pieres added three goals in the loss.
Juan Martin Nero’s Oli Chicha was honored as Best Playing Pony in the final.
La Dolfina will return to the field in Palermo on Friday, November 20th in the opening game of the 2015 Argentine Open against Magual (Alejandro Muzzio, Francisco Elizalde, Marco Di Paola and Santiago Toccalino) while Ellerstina begins their run at the Argentine Open title with a Saturday match against Washington (Diego Cavanagh, Ezequiel M. Ferrario, Facundo Sola and Alfredo Cappella).
(Photo courtesy of the AAP and Matias Callejo)