Alegria wins C. V.
Whitney Cup, 14-10
Villa Del Lago takes
Iglehart Cup; and Orchard Hill rides off with Les Armour Cup
By Alex Webbe
An action-packed day of
polo had three cup titles being awarded with two at the 26-goal level and one
in the International Polo Club’s final 20-goal tournament of the year.
Two years ago Lechuza
Caracas scored an11-7 win in the finals of the C. V. Whitney Cup over a Hawks
team led by Mariano Aguerre and Julian Mannix.
This year Aguerre and Mannix exacted their revenge as they captured the
2013 C. V. Whitney Championship in a 14-10 win Sunday afternoon at the
International Polo club in Wellington.
Polito Pieres got Lechuza
on the scoreboard with the first goal of the game some 4 minutes into play with
a shot from the field. Alegria answered
just a minute later with a penalty conversion from Facundo Obregon to knot it
up at 1-1. Juan Martin gave the lead
back to Lechuza, 2-1, with his first goal of the game. A Lechuza foul sent Obregon to the penalty
line where he converted his second penalty shot of the day with 25 seconds left
in the chukker. After one period of play
it was all even at 2-2.
The veteran Lechuza team
took back the lead in the second with team captain Victor Vargas scoring for a
3-2 lead. Pieres took the ensuing
throw-in and raced 150 yards down the field to score and put Lechuza on top,
4-2. Penalties got Lechuza into trouble
again with Mariano Aguerre scoring on a 90-yard penalty shot two-and-one-half
minutes into the chukker, 4-3. Obregon
converted another 30-yard penalty shot in the final 26 seconds of the period
for another tie, 4-4.
For the first time all
day, Alegria shut down the Lechuza attack in the third chukker and picked up
single goals from Hilario Ulloa and Obregon.
Obregon converted another penalty goal in the opening seconds of the
period to give Alegria the lead, 5-4, a lead they would never again relinquish. Hilario Ulloa extended that lead to two
goals, 6-4 with his first goal on the day.
The two teams left the field at the end of the first half of play with
Alegria ahead by two goals, 6-4.
Nero opened the second
half with a goal from the field to cut the Alegria lead to a single goal, 6-5,
and Pieres made a spectacular save on a shot on goal by Aguerre, stopping on
the goal line and clearing it from the defensive zone of play. A 30-yard and a 40-yard penalty conversion by
Obregon closed out the chukker with Alegria extending its lead to three goals,
8-5.
Pieres converted a
penalty shot for a goal and Vargas added his second on the day to cut the Alegria
lead to a single goal, 8-7 before Alegria could respond. Aguerre scored his second goal of the game to
stop the Alegria skid, 9-7. Pieres
scored again on a penalty shot, 9-8, but Alegria closed out the chukker with a
pair of goals from Ulloa and another penalty conversion from Obregon. With a single chukker left in the game, Alegria
boasted an 11-9 advantage over a struggling Lechuza polo team.
Francisco Elizalde got
Lechuza on the scoreboard in the opening minute of the sixth chukker, but another
penalty goal by Obregon and a goal from the field from Julian Mannix had
Alegria ahead by five goals, 14-9, with four minutes left in regulation
time. Vargas broke loose, once again,
scoring his third goal of the game, but that would be where it would end. Following a missed 40-yard penalty shot by
Lechuza, Alegria took control of the ball and ran the clock out in an
impressive 14-10 win.
“We stayed organized
today,†offered Obregon when asked the key to the team’s success. “Mariano (Obregon) is a great captain, and he
keeps us all in line,†he added. “Julian
(Mannix) and Hilario (Ulloa) had good games and we all supported one another.â€
“We’re strong everywhere,â€
said the veteran 9-goaler Mariano Aguerre.
“We’re strong in the middle of the field with Hilario (Ulloa) and
Facundo (Obregon) and we have youth, experience and we’re well-mounted
throughout the game,†he smiled. “We’re
comfortable with each other.â€
Twenty-one-year-old
Julian Mannix gave credit to the entire Alegria organization for the win. “Everyone’s happy for what we achieved
(today). It’s not just four guys
playing, it’s a whole team effort,†he said.
“Everyone in the barns, everyone pulling for us, it’s a lot of people’s
work that goes into a win like this. So
we’re all happy,†he said.
Obregon set the pace for
the day with a game high eight goals, all on penalty shots, and was named MVP
for his efforts on both offense and defense.
Ulloa added three goals for the win with Aguerre scoring twice and
Mannix getting credit for a single goal.
Ulloa’s 7-year-old Chestnut American Thoroughbred mare, Mia, received Best Playing Pony honors. Pieres led the Lechuza attack with four
goals. Vargas was credited with three
goals. Nero scored twice and Elizalde
registered a single goal in the loss.
ORCHARD
HILL 11, ERG 10
Earlier in the day, Orchard Hill registered an 11-10 win
in the 26-goal Lester Armour Cup, the subsidiary to the C. V. Whitney Cup.
ERG 9-goaler Agustin Merlos scored the first goal of the
game in the first chukker, but was promptly answered by a four goal barrage
that gave Orchard Hill the lead, 4-1 after the opening seven minutes of
play. Three goals from Matias MacDonough
(two on penalty conversions) and a goal from the field from Andrade sent
Orchard Hill off the field with a three goal lead.
ERG regrouped and returned to the field in the second
period focused and determined. Single
ERG goals from Paco de Narvaez and Eduardo Astrada and Merlos tied it up at
5-5, with Matias MacDonough scoring the only goal of the chukker for Orchard
Hill on a 60-yard penalty shot.
The third period belonged to ERG, as they shut down the
Orchard Hill offense and picked up a pair of goals from the field from Eduardo
Astrada. At the end of the first half,
ERG enjoyed a two goal, 7-5 advantage.
Both defenses tightened in the second half. Brazilian 8-goaler Rodrigo Andrade converted
a penalty shot for the only goal of the chukker as Orchard Hill cut the ERG
lead down to a single goal, 7-6.
Orchard Hill played as though they were possessed in the
fifth. Andrade opened the chukker with a
goal from the field to tie it at 7-7; followed by a penalty goal from Matias
MacDonough to give Orchard Hill the lead, 8-7.
Merlos responded with a goal from ERG to tie it at 8-8. Steve Van Andel scored his first goal of the
game and put Orchard Hill in the lead, 9-8.
A 60-yard penalty conversion by Matias Macdonough ended the chukker with
Orchard Hill in control of the game, 10-8.
Matias Macdonough converted a 60-yard penalty shot to
open the sixth chukker as Orchard Hill extended its lead to three goals,
11-8. ERG fought to get back into the
game, picking up a pair of goals from the field from Merlos, but time was on
Orchard Hill’s side as they rode out the 11-10 victory.
Matias MacDonough scored seven goals on the day (six on
penalty shots). Andrade added three
goals to the mix and Van Andel accounted for a goal in the victory. Merlos led the ERG offense with six goals
(two on penalty conversions) and was named MVP. Astrada was credited with three goals and de
Narvaez scored once in a losing effort.
Matias Macdonough’s Barrista
was honored as Best Playing Pony.
VILLA
DEL LAGO 13, PORT MAYACA 12
The anticipated final of the 2013 Iglehart Cup fell apart
when Crab Orchard withdrew from the competition, allowing the team they beat in
the semifinals, Port Mayaca, to advance to the finals against Villa Del Lago in
the morning contest.
Villa Del Lago had to spot the 19-goal Port Mayaca team one
goal by handicap, but an aggressive Villa Del Lago offense took advantage of a number
of first chukker fouls. Magoo Laprida converted
on two of them for an early 2-1 lead. Marianito Obregon scored on a penalty
shot for Port Mayaca, who trailed 2-1 after the opening period of play.
Two more goals in the second chukker for Villa Del Lago
had Laprida converting a 40-yard penalty shot with Agustin Obregon adding a
goal from the field. Port Mayaca got a
single goal from Marianito Obregon but Villa Del Lago continued to hold the
lead, 4-3.
Villa Del Lago stretched their led to two goals in the
third with Laprida accounting for all three goals (two on penalty shots). Port Mayaca fired back with single goals from
Marianito Obregon (penalty goal) and Stevie Orthwein. At the end of the first half Vila Del Lago
was leading by two goals, 7-5.
The two teams played evenly in the fourth. Villa Del Lago added two more goals from
Laprida (ne on a penalty conversion) and two penalty conversions from Carlucho
Arellano. Villa Del Lago continued to
hold a two goal lead, 9-7.
The pattern remained the same in the fifth chukker with
Laprida adding two more goals (one on a penalty shot) and Port Mayaca answering
with single goals from Marianito Obregon and Arellano (penalty goal). With one period remaining in regulation time
Villa Del Lago continued to defend their two goal 11-9 lead.
Port Mayaca made a run for it in the final chukker. Single goals from Arellano and Marianito
Obregon tied it up at 11-11. Guille
Aguero scored the go-ahead goal for Villa Del Lago, 12-11 in the waning moments
of the period, but an Arellano penalty conversion locked it up again at
12-12. Fittingly enough, Laprida’s
eleventh goal of the match carried Villa Del Lago to the 13-12 victory in the final
20-goal tournament of the season, the Iglehart Cup.
Laprida registered eleven goals on the day, seven on
penalty conversions, and received MVP honors.
Teammates Aguero and Agustin Obregon added single goals for the win. Arellano and Marianito Obregon scored five
times each for Port Mayaca. Stevie
Orthwein added a goal in the loss.
Stevie Orthwein’s Hazard
was named Best Playing Pony.