Ylvisaker Cup quarterfinals await one final game
By Alex Webbe
Piaget’s 12-9 win over Equuleus in the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup
tournament at the International Polo Club in Wellington was the capper for a
day in which no less than seven games were played in the 20-goal
competition. Earlier wins had Lucchese
besting Villa Del Lago, 13-10; Audi holding on for an 11-8 win over ERG; Valiente
II taking down Zacara 8-6; Valiente I getting past Pony Express 9-7; and
Orchard Hill winning an overtime match against MetalTek.
Although it was Equuleus 8-goaler Paco de Narvaez who
scored the opening goal of the match, Piaget dominated from the early chukkers,
running up a 3-1 score after the first chukker with team captain Melissa Ganzi
tying it up at 1-1 on a well-placed goal from the field and Miguel Astrada
adding two more goals (one from the field and one on a penalty shot) for the
early lead.
Astrada and Jason Crowder added single goals to open the
second chukker, giving Piaget a 5-1 lead when Equuleus got into action. A penalty goal from Mariano Gonzalez was
followed by a goal from de Narvaez, cutting the lead to two goals, 5-3. Two more goals from Astrada closed out the
period with Piaget holding a commanding 7-3 lead.
Defenses tightened in the third period but the pace
continued to escalate. A goal from the
field from Astrada was answered by a goal from de Narvaez, and the first half
ended with Piaget riding a four goal, 4-8 lead off of the field.
An energized Equuleus team rode onto the field in the
fourth chukker and put up consecutive goals from de Narvaez and Brandon
Phillips to cut the lead to two goals, 8-6.
Astrada responded with two more goals and Crowder added a score as
Piaget extended their lead to five goals, 11-6.
Equuleus dug deep in the fifth chukker, but was unable to
score. Crowder added his third goal of
the game and with just seven minutes in regulation time, Piaget led 12-6.
Equuleus fought valiantly in the sixth chukker, picking
up a pair of goals from de Narvaez and a penalty goal from Gonzalez, but time
ran out on them as Piaget took the game, 12-9, and assured themselves a berth
in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Astrada led the Piaget team with eight goals, and was
named MVP for his efforts. Crowder
scored three times and Ganzi added a goal for the win.
Astrada’s mare Cumbia
was honored as Best Playing Pony.
De Narvaez accounted for six goals. Gonzalez scored two penalty goals for
Equuleus. Phillips added a goal.
LUCCHESE
13, VILLA DEL LAGO 10
Pelon Escapite scored the first goal of the game in the
opening minute of play to put Villa Del Lago on top, 1-0, but that would be the
last time Lucchese would trail. Pelon
Sterling converted a penalty shot for a goal and Santi Torres scored to give
Lucchese a 2-1 advantage. A second goal
from Stirling was answered by a goal from the field from Villa Del Lago’s Magoo
Laprida, as the first chukker ended with Lucchese ahead, 3-2.
Stirling showed why his handicap was recently elevated to
10-goals as he opened and closed the chukker with scores, exhibiting expert
mallet work and great field strategy.
Lucchese extended their lead to three goals, 5-2.
Escapite converted a pair penalty shots for goals in the
third, but a goal from the field from Cote Zegers (substituting for the injured
Andres Weisz) and a penalty goal from Stirling ended the first half with
Lucchese boasting a 7-4 lead.
Stirling opened the fourth chukker with a penalty
conversion for a goal before the Villa Del Lago onslaught began. Augustin Obregon added a pair of goals from
the field and Escapite added another penalty goal. The Lucchese lead was back to two goals, 9-7.
Lucchese ratcheted up its defense in the fifth period,
shutting Villa Del Lago out for the second time while picking up goals from
Zegers and Stirling. With one chukker
left to play, Lucchese led by four goals, 11-7.
Villa Del Lago staged a last chukker rally, picking up
two goals from Laprida and another goal from Escapite. Stirling added two more goals for Lucchese
for the 13-10 win.
Stirling led all scoring with ten goals on the day. Zegers scored twice and Torres added a goal
in the victory.
Escapite led the Villa Del Lago attack with five
goals. Laprida scored three times and
Obregon added two goals.
AUDI
11, ERG 8
Audi jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening chukker, and
despite a fourth chukker rally by ERG, managed to take home an 11-8 win its
bracket of play with a perfect 3-0 record.
Lucas Lalor and Nic Roldan scored the opening goals of
the game for Audi for a 2-0 edge. Luis
Escobar got ERG on the scoreboard with a goal from the field. Roldan closed out the chukker with his second
gal and a 3-1 Audi lead.
Agustin Merlos converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a
goal in the second chukker, but a pair of goals from Brazilian 8-goaler,
Rodrigo Andrade, extended the Audi lead to three goals, 5-2.
Audi’s Marc Ganzi and ERG team captain Scott Wood
exchanged goals in the third period, and the first half ended with Audi
enjoying a three goal, 6-3 advantage.
ERG came out in the second half with all guns blazing, outscoring
Audi 4-1 and tying it up at 7-7. Wood
opened the scoring with a goal from the field followed by a penalty conversion
for a goal from Merlos. Andrade answered
with a goal for Audi, but a goal from the field from Escobar and another
penalty goal from Merlos had it all even at 7-7.
A resolute Audi team returned to the field in the fifth,
shutting down the ERG attack and converting penalty goals by Ganzi and
Roldan. After five chukkers of play,
Audi led, 9-7.
ERG cut the lead to a single goal, 8-7, on a goal from
Wood, but Audi quickly responded with single goals from Andrade and Ganzi for
the 11-8 win.
Andrade set the pace for the Audi attack with four
goals. Ganzi and Roldan added three
goals each and Lalor accounted for a goal in the victory.
Wood and Merlos scored three goals apiece for ERG. Escobar added a pair of goals in the loss.
VALIENTE
II 8, ZACARA 6
After suffering two one-goal losses to Lucchese and Villa
Del Lago, Valiente II took it out on Zacara, and scored an 8-6 win in an effort
to salvage some pride in a humbling first couple of weeks of play.
Both teams entered the match with 0-2 records and were
desperately seeking the answer, but a scoreless opening chukker of play did
little to restore any confidence in either team.
Nacho Astrada scored a pair of goals in the second period
that went unanswered as Zacara struggled to put an effective attack
together. After two periods of play,
Valiente II was in front, 2-0.
Marcos Llambias finally got Zacara on the scoreboard in
the third with a goal from the field.
Astrada added a goal for Valiente II, but Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea
ended the first half with his first goal of the game. Valiente II left the field with an anemic 3-2
halftime lead.
The Valiente II attack continued to press the Zacara
defenders in the second half with Astrada accounting for three goals (two on
penalty shots and one from the field).
Llambias scored Zacara’s only goal of the period, but trailed 6-3.
Julio Gracida put Valiente II ahead 7-3 with his first
goal of the game, but Joaquin Pittaluga countered with a penalty goal for the
last score of the period. Valiente II
continued to lead, 7-4.
Llambias scored on a penalty goal in the sixth and
Pittaluga added a goal from the field to cut the Valiente II lead to a single
goal, 8-7. Gracida converted a final
penalty shot for a goal, however, in an 8-6 win.
Astrada led the Valiente II offense with six goals. Gracida scored twice.
Llambias scored three goals for Zacara. Pittaluga added two goals and Lea scored once
in a losing effort.
HEATHCOTE
7, CIRCA 6
After trailing in the fifth chukker, Heathcote delivered
two last chukker goals to score its first win of the tournament over Circa,
7-6.
Martin Pepa got Circa off to an early 2-0 start with a
pair of goals from the field. Lucas
Monteverde kept Heathcote from being shut out by scoring a single goal. Circa took the early lead, 2-1.
The second chukker belonged to an aggressive Heathcote
foursome as they put up three unanswered goals.
Monteverde scored his second goal of the match and Tommy Biddle added a
pair of goals (one from the field and one on a 60-yard penalty conversion) as
Heathcote moved in front of Circa, 4-2.
Goals were hard to come by in the third chukker. Both teams struggled unsuccessfully for
control of the ball. Guille Aguero was
finally able to break through the Heathcote defense to score his first goal of
the game and cut the Heathcote lead to a single goal, 4-3 halftime lead.
Biddle’s third goal of the contest opened the fourth
chukker and extended the Heathcote lead to two goals, 5-3, but Circa rushed
back. Hilario Ulloa’s first goal of the
game kept them close, trailing Heathcote, 5-4.
A penalty goal from Ulloa and a goal from the field from
Pepa went unanswered in the fifth period as Circa reclaimed its first chukker
lead, 6-5.
Heathcote and Circa continued to press their respective
attacks in the final chukker. Two goals
from Monteverde and a resolute defense held Circa scoreless in the final seven
minutes of play for the 7-6 Heathcote win.
Monteverde scored four goals for Heathcote. Teammate Biddle added three goals in the
victory.
Pepa accounted for three of Circa’s goals. Ulloa scored twice and Aguero added a
goal.
In spite of the loss, circa finished in first place in
its bracket of lay and will proceed to the quarterfinals on Friday.
VALIENTE
I 9, PONY EXPRESS 7
Valiente I scored their third straight tournament win in
a 9-7 win over Pony Express and assured itself a spot in the tournament quarterfinals
with a bracket winning finish.
Valiente I got opening goals from Robert Jornayvaz and
Jeff Hall, but Pony Express took advantage of one goal by handicap from the
20-goal Valiente I team and added a goal from the field from Tomas Goti for a
2-2 first chukker.
Hall added another goal in the second period, but was
countered by a goal from Pony Express team captain Bob Daniels, and the second
period ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
Santiago Toccalino scored the first goal of the third
chukker for Valiente I for a short-lived 4-3 lead. Goti countered for Pony Express for a 4-4
halftime tie.
Juan Garcia Grossi and Goti scored consecutive goals to
open the fourth chukker for a 6-4 lead.
Toccalino scored a final penalty goal as Valiente I trailed Pony
Express, 6-5.
Valiente I exploded with four straight goals in the
fifth. Toccalino scored twice with
teammates Hall and Santiago Bottaro adding single goals for a 9-6 lead. Nick Snow cut into the Valiente I lead with a
goal from the field for Pony Express to end the period, now trailing, 9-7.
Pony Express pressed and Valiente I’s defense held as the
scoreless sixth chukker passed with no scoring and resulting in the 9-7
Valiente I win.
Toccalino scored four goals for Valiente I. Hall added three goals and Bottaro and
Jornayvaz added single goals in the victory.
Pony Express got three goals from Goti and single goals
from Grossi, Snow and Daniels. Pony
Express also received one goal by handicap.
ORCHARD
HILL 12, METALTEK 11 OT
In the final match of the day, Orchard Hill fell behind
early but staged a second half rally to tie MetalTek and then win in a 12-11
overtime chukker.
Sebastian Merlos got MetalTek on the scoreboard with the
opening goal of the first period, but was answered by a goal from Facundo
Obregon. Carlucho Arellano closed out
the scoring in the first chukker with a penalty goal and a 2-1 MetalTek lead.
A pair of goals from the field from Merlos n the second
chukker were countered by a single goal from Obregon as Orchard Hill fell
behind 4-2 after the first two chukkers.
MetalTek kept the heat on in the third, with Merlos
scoring one goal from the field and converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a
second goal in the chukker. Hector
Galindo kept Orchard Hill in it with a penalty goal and a goal from the
field. At the end of the first half,
Metaltek held a 6-4 advantage.
Merlos scored his sixth goal of the game to open the
second half, but Orchard Hill responded with single goals from Lucas Criado and
Facundo Obregon (a 60-yard penalty conversion).
MetalTek continued to lead, but the margin had been cut to a single
goal, 7-6.
Two more goals from Obregon and a goal from Criado were
answered by a pair of penalty goals from Arellano, and at the end of five
chukkers, it was all even at 9-9.
Will Johnston’s first goal of the game came on a pass
from Merlos, and put MetalTek on top, 10-9.
With under two minutes in regulation time, Steve Van Andel intercepted a
MetalTek pass. Criado followed it up for
the goal and a 10-10 tie. MetalTek was
fouled with 45 seconds left in the chukker.
Arellano converted the 40-yard penalty shot for an 11-10 lead. Orchard Hill took possession of the ensuing
throw in and was fouled as they headed for the MetalTek goal. With 21 seconds left on the clock, Obregon
converted the 60-yard penalty shot to tie it up at 11-11 and send it into
sudden-death overtime.
After making unsuccessful runs at one another’s goals,
Orchard Hill was fouled in the MetalTek goal area and awarded a penalty
shot. Obregon teed it up and drove it
through the goalposts for the win, a win that would send them to the tournament
quarterfinals with a 2-1 record.
Obregon led all scoring with seven goals. Criado added three goals and Galindo scored
twice in the win.
Merlos set the pace for MetalTek with six goals. Arellano accounted for four goals and
Johnston scored once.
With just one game remaining to be played to set the
final pairings in Friday’s Ylvisaker Cup quarterfinals the matchups appear to
be: Lucchese (3-0) vs. Orchard Hill (2-1); Valiente I vs. the winner of
Tuesday’s Alegria vs. Coca-Cola match; Circa (2-1) vs. Piaget (2-1); and Audi
(3-0) vs. Vila Del Lago (2-1).