Ellerstina and La Aguada score second day wins in Hurlingham Open
By Alex Webbe
Following the opening day of play in the 2011 Hurlingham Open that saw La Dolfina hammer Chapa Uno 23-11 and Pilara Piaget fend off a contentious Estancia Grande foursome, 17-15, the 2010 defending championship Ellerstina team took to thefield.
In the opening match of the day, Facundo Pieres scored eight goals in leading Ellerstina to an 18-11 win over a struggling Alegria team.
Hard ridingand precision shooting put Ellerstina up 4-0 after the opening chukker as Alegria fought to organize an effective defense against a swarming Ellerstina attack.
Mariano Aguerre led the Alegria offense onto the field in the second chukker, outscoring the defending championship Ellerstina team 3-2, but trailing 6-3 after thefirst two periods.
The Ellerstina onslaught continued to pose problems for the Alegria defenders asthey ran up a commanding 15-8 lead after six chukkers. With the Ellerstina team coasting through the final two periods, each team managed to score a final three goals and Alegriafell to the defending champions, 18-11.
LA AGUADA 15, CHAPA II 10
It’s been a whilesince the Novillo Astradas dominated play on the Argentine Open scene, but they systematically took care of business Wednesday afternoon by scoring a 15-10 winover Chapa II despite seven goals from Eduardo Heguy.
A slow starthad La Aguada and Chapa II tied at 1-1 after the opening chukker, but theAstrada brothers struck early and often in the second. Four unanswered goals in the second chukker hadLa Aguada ahead 5-1, and riding off with a 9-4 halftime lead.
Chapa managed to rack up a total of four goals in the fifth and sixth periods, but the Astradas continued to roll, taking a 12-5 lead with two chukkers left inthe game.
La Aguada concentrated on defense in the final two chukkers as Chapa II pressed itsattack. La Aguada added three more goals to their total in the seventh and eighth periods, and managed to hold Chapa II to three goals, taking the contest 15-10. Javier Astrada led the La Aguada attack with sevengoals.
Action will continue in the Hurlingham Open on Saturday, October 22 with Pilara Piaget (1-0) meeting Chapa Uno (0-1) in a 2PM contest followed by a matchup between La Dolfina (1-0) and Estancia Grande (0-1).