La Bamba de Areco and La Indiana Display Their Firepower in Quarter-Final Victories
Sunday’s quarter-finals in the 2018 Cartier Queen’s Cup saw two dominant performances as La Bamba de Areco defeated Les Lions 13-9 on the Castle Ground at Flemish Farm, while La Indiana defeated Emlor 12-6 on the Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club.
Using throw-in wins and pinpoint passing to generate consistent offense, La Bamba de Areco displayed a dominant offensive attack that left Les Lions on their heels throughout middle of the game. Outscoring Les Lions 9-3 in the second, third and fourth chukkas, La Bamba de Areco built a large lead with Juan Martin Nero and David Stirling combining for 11 goals.
The opening chukka saw missed opportunities from La Bamba de Areco as they converted just one of four shots from the field, while Les Lions scored a goal from the field and the penalty line to gain the early lead. The game quickly changed in the second chukka as La Bamba began their attack, transitioning from defence to offense quickly to break away for open runs. Scoring five field goals and two goals from the penalty line, La Bamba de Areco increased their lead to 8-4, as Les Lions struggled to contain their opponents’ fast-paced offense.
The second half continued the display of La Bamba de Areco with Byron Watson contributing on the defensive end to contain Joaquin Pittaluga and the Les Lions offense, while Nero and Stirling continued their relentless offense. While also outshooting Les Lions by nine in the game, La Bamba de Areco were also effective from the field, converting 57% of their shots, including four of their final five attempts to secure the 13-9 victory.
The last semi-final saw the potential of La Indiana come to fruition in a dominant 12-6 victory over Emlor. The duo of Facundo Pieres and Alec White combined for 11 goals, while Nic Roldan was effective on the defensive end to hold Emlor to 3 for 10 shooting in the game. Winning the throw-in battle, La Indiana took advantage of their additional opportunities to separate themselves early in the game as they booked their spot in the semi-finals.
The first half was all La Indiana as Emlor was held without a goal in the first two chukkas. Shooting at goal seven times, La Indiana were only able to convert two shots, but added two penalty shots to hold a 4-0 lead. The lead increased further as La Indiana shot a perfect 4 for 4 in the chukka, while Emlor finally found the scoresheet to trail 8-1 at halftime. With the seven-goal advantage, La Indiana was in control throughout the remainder of the game, playing Emlor even in the final three chukkas. Emlor found their offense in the fifth chukka, led by Agustin Merlos’ four goals in the game but the La Indiana lead was securely in place thanks to the offensive efforts of Alec White and Facundo Pieres who finished with five and six goals respectively in the game. With the victory, La Indiana advances to Wednesday’s semi-final to face La Bamba de Areco.