Alegria eliminated from US Open despite win; Audi and Orchard Hill advance to semifinals
By Alex Webbe
A full day of polo Wednesday at the International Polo Club made the playoff picture for the 2015 United States Open Championship much clearer as we march closer to the end of the season’s final and most prestigious polo tournament.
In the opening game of the day Orchard Hill (Steve Van Andel, Gallego Ferrario, Polito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) rallied from a 6-5 deficit to score an 11-10 win over Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Pelon Stirling and Julio Arellano), but they needed a little help in the final seconds of the game to do it.
Orchard Hill’s Polito Pieres scored the opening goal of the game at the 6:12 mark for the early lead, 1-0, but Coca-Cola team captain Gillian Johnston answered back-to- back goals just minutes later to move ahead, 2-1. Julio Arellano converted a 60-yard penalty shot to make it 3-1 and Sugar Erskine kept the ball rolling for Coca-Cola for a three goal lead, 4-1, with 1:20 on the clock. Gallego Ferrario found himself on the end of a well-placed scoring pass from Polito Pieres in the final seconds of the chukker, but it was Coca-Cola on top of a 4-2 score.
Second chukker goals from Facundo Pieres (30-yard penalty conversion) and Polito Pieres tied the game at 4-4. Erskine got the lead back for Coca-Cola when he deflected a penalty shot by teammate Arellano through the goalposts for the final score of the chukker, 5-4.
Defenses tightened in the third. Johnston scored her third goal of the game for Coca-Cola, 6-4, with Facundo Pieres answering back with a 30-yard penalty conversion for the only other score in the chukker. At the end of the first half, Coca-Cola held a fragile 6-5 advantage over Orchard Hill.
The Orchard Hill defense stepped it up in the fourth as they managed to shut down the Coca-Cola attack. Facundo Pieres converted a 60-yard penalty shot to tie it at 6-6 and then put Orchard Hill on top with a goal from the field to close out the chukker on top of a 7-6score.
The battle raged into the fifth with the two teams matching one another goal for goal. Ferrario scored on a pin-point pass from Facundo Pieres in the opening seconds of the chukker, 8-6. Arellano countered with a 30-yard penalty goal, 8-7. Facundo Pieres added a goal from the field for Orchard Hill, 9-7, with Arellano cutting the Orchard Hill lead back to a single goal with the final goal of the chukker, 9-8.
Polito Pieres opened the final period of regulation play with a goal from the field just two minutes into the chukker, 10-8. Erskine responded for Coca-Cola with his third goal of the day, 10-9. Facundo Pieres scored with a brilliant effort with an opposing player trying to ride him off the play, 11-9, with two minutes on the clock. A rush at the Orchard Hill goal had Pelon Stirling getting credit for the goal, cutting the Orchard Hill lead back to a single goal, 11-10 with 1:11 showing on the game clock. With Coca-Cola pressing, a whistle sounded, awarding them a 30-yard penalty shot as the many spectators prepared for the tying score by Coca-Cola and an overtime chukker, but the unpredictable happened. American 8-goaler Julio Arellano mishit the 30-yard penalty attempt, sending the ball wide of the goal and preserving the win for Orchard Hill, 11-10.
Facundo Pieres led the Orchard Hill scoring with six goals (three on penalty conversions). Polito Pieres added three goals and Ferrario scored twice for the win. Johnston, Erskine and Arellano scored three goals apiece for Coca-Cola (with two of Arellano’s goals coming on penalty shots). Stirling was credited with one goal in the loss.
The victory has Orchard Hill winning their respective US Open bracket and earning a berth in the tournament semifinals on Wednesday. The loss sends Coca-Cola into Sunday’s quarterfinals.
Alegria 10, Audi 5
In a game that mattered little in the US Open playoff picture, the 2014 defending US Open championship Alegria team (Julian Mannix, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) salvaged a little pride in a 10-5 win over Audi (Marc Ganzi, Rodrigo Andrade, Gonzalito Pieres and Fred Mannix) in the second match of the day.
Alegria’s Sterling Giannico scored the only goal of the first chukker, 1-0, after over four minutes of action, as team play was noticeably absent on both sides of the ball.
The blistering pace of the Audi team was nowhere to be found in the second chukker, either, with Alegria team captain Julian Mannix converting a pair of 40-yard penalty goals while Audi suffered through their second consecutive scoreless chukker to fall behind, 3-0.
Argentine 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa made it 4-0, Alegria, with his first goal of the game midway through the third with Rodrigo Andrade finally getting Audi on the scoreboard with a goal from the field in the final 50 seconds of the first half. After three chukkers Alegria left the field with the 4-1 lead.
Giannico scored his second goal of the game in the opening seconds of the second half to stretch the Alegria lead to four goals, 5-1. Pieres cut the lead back to three goals, 5-2, with his second goal of the day. Ulloa and Julian Mannix scored the final two goals of the period with Alegria leaving the field on top of a7-2 score.
Penalty goals were the fare of the fifth chukker, with Pieres scoring twice from the 30-yard line for Audi. Mannix converted a shot from the 30-yard line for Alegria who continued to lead, 8-4.
An uneventful final chukker had Alegria picking up goals from Ulloa and Giannico. Marc Ganzi scored Audi’s final goal in a 10-5 Alegria win.
Julian Mannix led the Alegria attack with four goals (three from the penalty line). Ulloa and Giannico scored three goals apiece. Pieres scored two of his three goals for Audi on penalty shots. Andrade and Ganzi each scored once in the loss.
In spite of the win, Alegria, last year’s US Open winner was eliminated. Audi had already captured their bracket, and earned a berth in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Lechuza 10, FlexJet 9
In the sixth overtime game of the tournament, Lechuza Caracas (Victor Vargas, Agustin Garcia Grossi, Nico Pieres and Juan Martin Nero) eked out a 10-9 win over FlexJet (Melissa Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Magoo Laprida) in the last preliminary game of the tournament.
FlexJet took the early lead on a pair of first chukker goals from Nic Roldan, 2-1. Lechuza got on the scoreboard with a 40-yard penalty conversion from Agustin Garcia Grossi.
Goals were scarce in the second period with FlexJet providing impressive defensive coverage and shutting down the Lechuza attack. Magoo Laprida was credited with both FlexJet goals that extended their lead to 4-1.
Consecutive goals from the field from Grossi and 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero cut the FlexJet lead to a single goal, 4-3. Roldan’s third goal of the game kept FlexJet in front at the end of the first half, 5-3.
The two teams exchanged goals in the fourth chukker. Roldan made good on a 60-yard penalty conversion while Lechuza added a goal from the field from Nero. FlexJet continued to lead, 6-4.
FlexJet got into foul trouble in the fifth, with Nico Pieres converted penalty shots from the 30-yard and the 60-yard lines to tie the game at 6-6. Roldan’s fifth goal of the game gave the lead back to FlexJet on a magnificent effort that covered nearly 280 yards. At the end of the fifth t was FlexJet in the lead, 7-6.
A determined Lechuza team took the field in the sixth chukker with Pieres tying the game at 7-7 with a goal from the field. FlexJet responded with goals from Miguel Astrada and Roldan for a 9-7 advantage, but Lechuza wasn’t ready to give up. Grossi scored with just under three minutes left in regulation time and Pieres added another goal from the field that tied it at 9-9 and forced a sudden-death overtime period.
After a brief intermission both teams returned to the field with FlexJet looking to take back the game that they had dominated for much of the afternoon.
With both teams fighting for control of the game in the opening minute of the overtime period, Lechuza found themselves on the attack, with Pieres scoring the winning goal with less than a minute-and-a-half into play.
Pieres and Grossi scored four goals apiece for Lechuza. Nero added two goals for the win. Roldan’s five goals led the FlexJet offense. Laprida scored three times and Astrada added a goal in a losing effort.
The current play-off picture has Lechuza facing Valiente (Tommy Beresford, Guillermo Terrera, Alejo Taranco and Sapo Caset) in Sunday’s first quarterfinal match at 11:30am while FlexJet will take the field in the 3pm contest against Coca-Cola.
Audi and Orchard Hill receive byes to Wednesday’s semifinals.