Park Place and La Indiana Secure Place in 2018 Cartier Queen’s Cup Final
The semi-finals of the 2018 Cartier Queen’s Cup saw Park Place defeat Valiente 11-9 in the first semi-final on the Duke’s Ground, La Indiana defeated La Bamba de Areco 13-6 in the second semi-final on the Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club.
The opening game saw Park Place put immense pressure on the Valiente offense, restricting their possession and causing numerous unforced errors. Holding Valiente to zero field goals over the final four chukkas, Park place controlled open play with a more aggressive and efficient attack. Valiente were able to stay in the game due to Park Place’s foul count, as they received nine penalty attempts, converting seven. Ultimately, the impressive defensive performance of Hilario Ulloa to disrupt Valiente’s possession, along with Tommy Beresford making every defensive backhand thrown at him ensured Park Place’s victory.
In the opening two chukkas of the game, the two teams were tight and evenly matched, as Park Place and Valiente alternated goals for the first 10 goals of the game. Scoring the first five goals for Valiente, Magoo Laprida led the way offensively, but the duo of Juan Britos and Hilario Ulloa scored three and two goals respectively, leading to a 5-5 tie. Park Place extended their lead to two for the first time in the game in the third chukka, thanks to Hilario Ulloa’s perfect 4 for 4 shooting in the half as Park Place held a 7-5 advantage.
The second half saw the teams continue to trade goals as Valiente was unable to close the deficit as they converted zero of their three shot attempts from the field. Park Place’s defensive efforts allowed them to generate their own offense as they continued to shoot at goal, but saw their efficiency drop in the second half. Ulloa was critical over the final three chukkas as he scored five consecutive goals for Park Place, bringing his total to seven in the game, while containing Adolfo Cambiaso and Laprida on the attack. Overcoming their 13 fouls, resulting in nine penalty attempts, Park Place finished the victory in the sixth chukka as Britos converted his second penalty attempt of the game, sending Park Place into Sunday’s final.
The second semi-final saw La Indiana outclass La Bamba de Areco by scoring a multitude of field goals with both team and individual efforts and plenty of individual scores. The duo of Nic Roldan and Facundo Pieres were dominant throughout the game, accounting for all 13 La Indiana goals, with Pieres perfect from the penalty line on six attempts. Controlling open play, La Indiana outshot La Bamba de Areco 18-8, while holding their opponents to just 25% shooting from the field. Committing too many unforced errors, La Bamba de Areco were unable to stay within reach of a La Indiana team that booked their place in the final.
After an even first chukka, La Indiana overwhelmed La Bamba de Areco, shooting at goal six times in the second chukka to open a two-goal lead, led by two penalty conversions from Pieres. La Bamba de Areco failed to record a field goal in the opening half, but found themselves down by just one goal, due to La Indiana shooting just 3 for 10 from the field. La Bamba de Areco relied on fouls from La Indiana for their offense with David Stirling converting 4 of his 7 attempts to keep his team within one at the end of the first half.
La Indiana extended their lead behind the combined efforts of Pieres and Roldan, while continuing to keep La Bamba de Areco off the scoresheet from the field. Awarded with two more penalty attempts, La Bamba de Areco missed both attempts, allowing La Indiana to separate themselves and push their lead to three. Any hope of a La Bamba de Areco comeback disappeared in the fifth chukka despite scoring their first field goal of the game, as Pieres converted all three of his penalty attempts to further their advantage to five goals. La Indiana highlighted their victory with three more goals in the final chukka to secure the convincing 13-6 victory, to meet Park Place on Sunday in the final of the 2018 Cartier Queen’s Cup.