Alegria wins; boosts Piaget Gold Cup record to 2-1
By Alex Webbe
Kris Kampsen scored the first goal of the day for Engel & Volker (Carlitos Gracida/Mariano Gracida, Kris Kampsen, Matias Magrini and Santi Torres) in the first 30 seconds of play in round three play in the 2015 USPA Piaget Gold Cup at the International Polo Club, but it was Alegria (Julian Mannix, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) who put the next four goals on the scoreboard in a 4-1 first chukker.
Kampsen scored the first goal from the field for Engel & Volkers; giving them the early 2-0 lead (Engle & Volkers received one goal by handicap). Alegria took over the reins in the ensuing minutes of the period Mariano Aguerre scored twice and Alegria got single goals from Hilario Ulloa and Sterling Giannico, 4-1.
Ulloa converted a 40-yard penalty shot to open the second period, 5-2, followed by back-to-back goals from Julian Mannix that stretched the Alegria lead to five goals, 7-2. Ulloa added a final goal from the field to close out the chukker with Alegria on top of an 8-2 score.
Two minutes into the third period Kampsen converted a 60-yard penalty shot, 8-3. Alegria was awarded a goal on a Penalty 1 resulting from a foul in the Engel & Volkers goalmouth. At the end of the first half it was Alegria comfortably in command of a 9-3 game.
Midway through the fourth chukker Aguerre scored to give Alegria a seven goal lead, 10-3. Kampsen took advantage of a pair of Alegria fouls, converting from 40-yards and 60-yards, riding off the field on the downside of a10-5 score.
Ulloa scored twice from the field in fifth chukker action, 12-5, before Engel & Volkers could respond. Matias Magrini made good on a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal, but it was Julian Mannix who scored the final goal of the chukker for a 13-6 Alegria lead.
With Engle & Volkers concentrating on defense it took Mannix nearly five minutes before he scored the first goal of the period giving Alegria an impressive 14-6, eight goal lead. Goals from Kampsen and Torres closed out the game with Alegria celebrating the 14-8 victory.
Ulloa scored six goals on the day (two on penalty conversions). Mannix accounted for four goals with Aguerre being credited with three and Giannico adding a goal in the win. Kampsen led the Engel & Volkers attack with five goals (three on penalty shots). Torres and Magrini each scored once and the team received one goal by handicap.
Alegria finishes the third round of competition with a 2-1 record. Engel & Volkers dropped to 0-3.
USPA Piaget Gold Cup play continues on Wednesday, March 12th with three games. In a 10am contest Audi (Marc Ganzi, Rodrigo Andrade, Gonzalito Pieres and Fred Mannix) will face Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Facundo Sola, Sebastian Merlos and Eduardo Novillo Astrada). Orchard Hill will play Lechuza Caracas at noon and Valiente and Coca-Cola will face one another in a 3pm match.