La Dolfina records 13-10 semifinal win; looks at Triple, Triple in final of 2015 Argentine Open
By Alex Webbe
La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) scored their 34th consecutive win in high-goal competition in Argentina Saturday afternoon with a 13-10 win over a feisty La Aguada foursome (Agustín Merlos, Guillermo Terrera, Sapo Caset and Ignacio Novillo Astrada). The win secured La Dolfina a final appearance against the winner of Sunday’s game between Ellerstina (Polito Pieres, Nico Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) and La Aguada/ Las Monjitas (Ignacio Toccalino, Pite Merlos, Eduardo N. Astrada Jr. and Alejandro Novillo Astrada).
La Dolfina might have beaten La Aguada in the day’s semifinal match, but La Aguada didn’t make it easy on the eight-time Argentine Open champion. After battling La Dolfina to a 1-1 tie after the opening chukker of play, La Aguada outscored the defending champion 2-1 in the second and left the field after two periods with a 3-2 advantage.
La Dolfina regrouped and scored four times over the third and fourth chukkers while holding La Aguada to a single goal in the fourth. At the end of the first half it was La Aguada back in control of a 6-4 game.
The two teams played evenly in the fourth where initial goals from Juan Martin Nero and Adolfo Cambiaso (penalty goal) extended the La Dolfina lead to four goals, 8-4. La Aguada tacked the last two goals on the scoreboard, however as La Dolfina maintained their two goal advantage, 8-6.
Pablo MacDonough opened the sixth period with a goal from the field that was countered by a goal from Guillermo Terrera, 9-7. Agustin Merlos cut the lead to a single goal, 9-8, but Nero closed out the chukker with a goal from the field to keep La Dolfina in front by a two goal margin, 10-8.
Sapo Caset cut the La Dolfina lead back to a single goal, 10-9, with the opening goal of the seventh chukker at the 2:35 mark. Cambiaso responded with a penalty goal and added another to end the period with La Dolfina riding a 12-9, three goal lead.
Caset scored the first goal of the single chukker, 12-10, but a defensive-minded L Dolfina team shut down the La Aguada offense for the balance of the game. Cambiaso scored the final goal of the game on a 30-yard penalty conversion for the 13-10 victory, a berth in the final of the 2015 Argentine Open Championship and an opportunity to make history by becoming the first team in history to win a third Triple Crown (titles in the Tortugas Open, the Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open.
Cambiaso led all scoring with eight goals (four on penalty shots). Nero added four goals and MacDonough scored once in the win. Caset scored four times for La Aguada. Merlos added three goals; Terrera scored twice and Ignacio Novillo Astrada was credited with one goal in the loss.
Alegria 18, Magual 11
Earlier in the day Alegria (Magoo Laprida, Hilario Ulloa, Lucas Monteverde and Fred Mannix) made up for earlier disappointments with an 18-11 win over Magual (Alejandro Muzzio, Francisco Elizalde, Marco Di Paola and Santiago Toccalino).
A stellar performance by Alegria’s Hilario Ulloa saw the Argentine 9-goaler score 13 goals on the day (seven from the field) and left everyone wondering when the talented young player is going to have his handicap elevated to the ultimate 10-goals.
After an opening chukker that had Magual leading 2-1, Alegria tied the game at 3-3 in the second period and raced out to a 10-4 halftime lead.
Magual played Alegria evenly through the final tour chukkers, scoring seven times to Alegria’s eight goals, but never got close in the 18-11 loss.
Ulloa’s 13 goals led all scoring with 13 goals. Magoo Laprida and Fred Mannix scored two goals apiece with Lucas Monteverde adding a goal for the win. Santiago Toccalino’s six penalty goals led the Magual attack. Alejandro Muzzio scored three times with Francisco Elizalde and Marco Di Paola each scoring once.
Argentine Open preliminary play will conclude with two Sunday games. In the 3pm contest Chapaleufú (Pepe Heguy, Nachi Heguy, Bautista Heguy and Eduardo Heguy) will face Washington (Diego Cavanagh, Ezequiel M. Ferrario, Facundo Sola and Alfredo Cappella) with Ellerstina (Polito Pieres, Nico Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) looking to defeat La Aguada/ Las Monjitas (Ignacio Toccalino, Pite Merlos, Eduardo N. Astrada Jr. and Alejandro Novillo Astrada) in a 4:30 match that would allow them to meet La Dolfina in the tournament final.