Facundo Pieres shines in Zacara win
By
Alex Webbe
The game was tied seven times and never out of reach of
either team until the final minutes of the last chukker Sunday afternoon as
Zacara (2-0) rallied to score a 15-12 win over Orchard Hill (0-2) in the 2012
Nespresso United States Open Polo Championship competition at the International
Polo Club in Wellington.
Zacara opened up the game with three consecutive goals before
Orchard Hill found its offense. Argentine
10-goaler Facundo Pieres scored the first goal of the game on 60-yard penalty
shot and then followed up with a goal from the field a couple of minutes
later. Mike Azzaro scored his first goal
of the game to give Zacara a 3-0 lead.
With two-and-a-half minutes left in the chukker, Pablo MacDonough got Orchard
Hill on the score board with a well-placed shot through the Zacara goal posts. A minute later Mariano Gonzalez converted a
penalty shot, and then tied it up, 3-3, with thirty-five seconds remaining on
the clock.
Lucas Criado took the opening throw-in of the second
period and carried I down the field for a go-ahead goal, 4-3. Magoo Laprida made it all even at 4-4 just a
minute later with a goal from the field, and a goal from Zacara team captain
Lyndon Lea had Orchard Hill trailing 5-4 with three-and-a-half minutes left in
the chukker. Gonzalez took the ensuing throw-in
and knotted it up again at 5-5, but it was a penalty goal from Pieres that
ended the period with Zacara on top of a 6-5 score.
Pieres opened the third chukker with a goal from the
field, 7-5 when Orchard Hill’s Criado scored three straight goals from the
field. At the end of the first half of
play, Orchard Hill held an 8-7 advantage over a talented Zacara lineup.
Pieres opened the fourth with a goal from field from the throw-in
to tie it at 8-8, and a goal from Laprida had Zacara in front, 9-8. Orchard Hill responded with three goals in a
row (one from Gonzalez and two from MacDonough), extending their lead to two
goals, 11-9.
The Zacara offense opened up in the fifth, scoring an
early goal from Pieres and a second unanswered goal from Laprida for an 11-11
tie.
Pieres was named MVP and Lucas Criado’s 10-year-old
chestnut mare took Best Playing Pony honors.
Zacara took the field by storm in the final period of the
game. Pieres scored the first two goals
of the chukker in the first 50 seconds of the sixth, 13-11, and then made it
three in a row as he scored again halfway through the period, 14-11. Laprida slammed the door on a struggling
Orchard Hill offense with his fourth goal of the game, 15-11. Macdonough salvaged some pride as he kept
Orchard Hill from getting blanked with a goal from the field but it was Zacara celebrating
the 15-12 victory.
Pieres scored nine times for Zacara (four on penalty
shots). Laprida added four goals and
Azzaro and Lea scored single goals in the win.
Criado, Gonzalez and MacDonough scored four goals apiece
for Orchard Hill.
VALIENTE
II 10, LA ENSENADA 8
Earlier in the day, Valiente II (2-1) scored a 10-8 win
over La Ensenada (0-3) in US Open action, effectively eliminating them from the
tournament.
La Ensenada opened the scoring with goals from Juan
Garcia Grossi and Lucas James for a 2-0 lead.
Valiente II responded with single goals from Pelon Stirling and Santiago
Chavanne. At the end of the chukker Valiente
II held the lead by a narrow one goal margin, 4-3.
La Ensenada’s team captain, Ernesto Gutierrez, tied it up
with a goal in the second, but Stirling scored his first goal of the chukker on
a 60-yard penalty shot and added another from the field. With two chukkers finished, Valiente II was
in front by a one goal margin, 4-3.
Goals from Stirling and Alejo Taranco went unanswered,
and Valiente II left the field after the first half of play with a 6-3 score.
Defense tightened in the second half but Matias Magrini
slipped through the Zacara defense for a goal.
Chavanne scored a goal for Valiente II and La Ensenada found themselves
trailing, 7-4.
La Ensenada scored the first two goals of the fifth
chukker with Grossi notching the first score of the period followed by a goal
from James. Stirling stopped the
bleeding for Valiente II with his fifth gal on the day. Grossi scored again with Chavanne ending the
chukker with goal to keep Valiente II on top, 9-7.
Scoring was hard to come by in the sixth. Stirling converted a penalty shot for another
Valiente II goal, 10-7. La Ensenada
continued to press the attack, managing a single goal from the field from James
for the 10-8 Valiente II victory.
Stirling led the Valiente II attack with six goals. Chavanne scored three times and Taranco added
a goal as well.
Grossi and James set the pace for La Ensenada with three
goals each. Gonzalez and Magrini added
single goals in a losing effort.
COCA-COLA
9, LECHUZA CARACAS 7
Lechuza Caracas (2-1), the defending US Open Champion
suffered their first loss of the tournament as Coca-Cola (2-2) scored a 9-7
victory over a talent-laden roster.
An opening goal from Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler Juan
Martin Nero was countered by a goal from the field from Hilario Ulloa for a 1-1
first period.
The two teams exchanged goals in the second with Julio
Arellano giving a brief led to Coca-Cola, 2-1.
Moments later Lechuza Caracas team captain Victor Vargas scored the
tying goal, 2-2.
Scoring continued to be scarce with the two teams trading
single goals in the third. Sapo Caset
scored his first goal of the game for a 3-2 Lechuza Caracas lead, but Arellano
managed another Coca-Cola goal to deadlock it at 3-3 at the end of the first
half.
Coca-Cola picked up goals from Gillian Johnston and
Hilario Ulloa in the fourth with Lechuza Caracas responding with a single goal
from Caset. Coca-Cola had finally broken
the tie and taken a delicate one-goal, 5-4 advantage.
Lechuza Caracas battled back into contention in the fifth,
scoring three goals while allowing Coca-Cola a single goal from Ulloa. Lechuza Caracas counted goals from Vargas,
Caset (penalty conversion) and Nero as they move out in front of a 7-6 score.
The final chukker, however, belonged to Coca-Cola with
Arellano taking center stage. A pair of
penalty goals and a goal from the field were more than enough to carry Coca-Cola
to the 9-7 win.
Arellano led all scoring with five goals. Ulloa scored three times and Johnston added a
goal for the win.
Caset scored three goals for Lechuza Caracas. Vargas and Nero each scored twice in the loss.