Audi Wins USPA Piaget Gold Cup

Audi needs OT to beat Lechuza in Piaget Gold Cup finals


By Alex Webbe


 


Ten-goalers Gonzalito Pieres and Juan Martin Nero might have garnered the lion’s share of the publicity leading up to the finals of the 2011 USPA Piaget Gold Cup finals, or even 9-goaler Sapo Caset who scored ten goals in each of his last two games, but that would not be the case today.  It was 7-goaler Nico Pieres who would make his mark on center stage in one of the season’s most important tournaments.


It was Nico Pieres, younger brother of 10-goalers Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres who would carry the day, scoring seven goals in the win, including the tying and winning goals.


There was less than a minute left to play in regulation time.  Lechuza was leading Audi 9-8 when 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero drove the ball out of bounds in an attempt to run out the clock.  The umpire’s whistle sounded and a “poor sportsmanship” call was made, putting Audi at the 60-yard penalty line.  Nico Pieres drove the ball through the goal posts to tie the game and force sudden-death overtime.  Thirty-two seconds into that overtime, Nico Pieres scored his seventh goal of the game in an exciting 10-9 win in the 2011 USPA Piaget Gold Cup finals.


“When he drove the ball out of bounds, it nearly hit a spectator in the head,” said referee Tommy Biddle.  “There was no disagreement (by the players) with the call,” he added.


The penalty conversion set the stage for the Audi comeback that was punctuated just 32 seconds into the overtime chukker when Nico Pieres worked his way through a number of Lechuza defenders before hammering the ball through the goal posts from about 40-yards out to score the winning goal.


The game began evenly enough with Sapo Caset and Martin Espain scoring the first two goals of the game for Lechuza only to have Audi respond with goals from Gonzalito Pieres and his younger brother Nico Pieres.  The first chukker ended in a 2-2 tie.


Nero scored the opening goal of the second frame followed by a penalty goal from Nico Pieres and a goal from the field from Gonzalito Pieres.  Caset closed out the scoring with a goal to knot it up again at 4-4.


Espain’s second goal of the game came in the third chukker and gave Lechuza a brief 5-4 lead. That’s when Audi got started.  Two goals from Nico Pieres and another goal from Gonzalito Pieres ended the first half with Audi sitting on a 7-5 lead.


Disciplined defense was the byword of the fourth chukker with a single goal by Nero in the opening minute of play accounting for the only scoring of the period.  Lechuza cut the Audi lead down to a single goal, 7-6.


An early penalty call in the fifth gave Caset another opportunity to score from the penalty line, and the talented 9-goaler made good on it.   The game was all even at 7-7.  Nero’s third goal of the game put Lechuza on top, 8-7, but once again it was Audi’s Nico Pieres to the rescue.  His fifth goal of the game leveled it at 8-8, for the sixth tie of the game and ended the chukker.


It was halfway through the sixth chukker when Caset put Lechuza ahead, 9-8, and the pressure was on Audi.  Three runs at the Lechuza were turned aside as the Audi team tried desperately to score.  In an effort to clear the ball from the playing field and run out the clock, Nero drove the ball over the sideboards.  A whistle sounded, and dangerous play was ruled (the ball was hit soundly and nearly hit a spectator).  Nico Pieres converted the 60-yard penalty shot for a goal, tying the game and forcing sudden-death overtime.


Thirty-two seconds into the overtime Nico Pieres took control of the ball, wove his way through a number of Lechuza defenders and delivered a 40-yard scoring shot through the goal posts for the win.


Nico Pieres led all scoring with seven goals and was named MVP for his efforts.  Sapo Caset’s Septiva was named Best Playing Pony.


VALIENTE 14, ORCHARD HILL 10


Valiente made a bold statement in the opening chukker of play in the finals of the 2011 Butler Handicap at the International Polo Club in Wellington when Argentine 9-goaler Nacho Astrada scored the first four goals of the contest. Two goals from the field and a pair on penalty shots gave Valiente the early l4-2 lead.  Orchard Hill picked up a penalty goal from Pablo MacDonough and got another from Hector Galindo to end the first chukker with Valiente on top, 4-2.


Orchard Hill tied it up at 4-4 in the second chukker with foals from MacDonough and Galindo while holding Valiente scoreless.


Three straight goals from Valiente had them ahead, 7-4 before MacDonough cut into the lead.  A single goal from the field from MacDonough closed out the second period with Valiente holding a 7-5 edge.


The two teams traded goals in the fourth.  Goals from Miguel Astrada and his brother Nacho Astrada were offset by a pair of goals from MacDonough, and the teams entered the fifth period with a 9-7 lead.


Valiente put it away in the fifth period with three goals from Nacho Astrada and a single goal from Miguel Astrada.   MacDonough converted a single penalty goal for Orchard Hill as Valiente extended its lead to five goals, 13-8.


Goals from Lucas Criado and MacDonough closed out the scoring for Orchard Hill in the sixth while Nacho Astrada recorded his tenth goal of the game in the 14-10 Valiente win in the finals of the Butler Handicap.


High-goal polo action will continue on Saturday, March 26 with the opening matches of the 2011 US Open championship.  A 10am match will feature Audi and Pony Express; Bendabout will meet Orchard Hill at 2pm and Valiente will face-off with Las Monjitas at 4pm.