C. V. Whitney opens the 26-Goal Season at IPC with fourgames
By Alex Webbe
After a see-saw battle through the opening half of play,Valiente I drove on to score a 9-6 win over Lechuza Caracas, last year’sdefending C. V. Whitney Cup champion at the International Polo Club inWellington, kicking off the 26-goal season.
Miguel Astrada got Valiente I on the scoreboard early ona goal from the field, with Lechuza Caracas tying it up at 1-1 about halfwaythrough the opening chukker of play.
Second chukker action provided more defense than offensewith Polito Pieres scoring for Valiente I on a 200 yard run down thefield. Obregon kept it even at 2-2 withhis second penalty goal of the contest as Lechuza Caracas seemed unable ofpenetrating the Valiente I defense.
A pair of goals from Miguel Astrada were countered by asingle score from Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler Sapo Caset as the first half endedwith Valiente I guarding a narrow 4-3 advantage.
Confidence grew in the veteran Valiente I team as they tookthe field in the second half as they picked up goals from team captain BobJornayvaz and Pieres. A determinedValiente I defense kept Lechuza Caracas from scoring as they extended theirlead to three goals, 6-3.
Penalties were costly to Lechuza Caracas in the fifthperiod with Pieres and Miguel Astrada each converting a penalty shot for agoal. Lechuza Caracas team captainVictor Vargas scored the only goal of the chukker for his team as they trailed8-4 with one chukker left to play.
Goals from 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero and Obregon cutinto the Valiente I lead, 8-6, but the Lechuza Caracas rally would be cutshort. Pieres scored the final goal ofthe game in the 9-6 Valiente I win.
Pieres and Miguel Astrada scored four goals apiece in thevictory, with Pieres being named MVP. Jornayvaz added a single goal and Miguel Astrada’s horse, Wembley, was honored as Best PlayingPony.
Obregon scored three goals to lead the Lechuza Caracasoffense. Nero, Caset and Vargas addedsingle goals in the loss.
ORCHARDHILL 12, ALEGRIA 10
Alegria charged out to a 6-3 halftime lead earlier in theday in C. V. Whitney Cup play, but it would be Orchard Hill’s second half rallythat would carry the day in a 12-10 win in the single elimination tournament.
Julian Mannix got Alegria on the scoreboard first with agoal from the field while Orchard Hill struggled to find its offense. The first chukker ended in a 1-0 Alegrialead.
Orchard Hill was shut out for the second consecutivechukker while Alegria picked up goals from Mariano Aguerre and Fred Mannix(penalty goal). Two chukkers into thegame, Orchard Hill was trailing, 3-0.
Lucas Criado finally got Orchard Hill in the scoringcolumn, 3-1, in the third period, followed by an Alegria penalty goal fromTomas Garcia del Rio, 4-1. Ten-goalerPablo MacDonough and Mariano Gonzalez each scored a penalty goal for OrchardHill, 4-3, but del Rio and Aguerre responded in kind as the first half endedwith Alegria riding a 6-3 lead.
Orchard Hill team captain Steve Van Andel opened thesecond half with a goal from the field, 6-4, but Alegria answered with apenalty goal from Fred Mannix and a goal from the field from del Rio. Alegria had extended its lead to four goals,8-4, with two chukkers left to be played.
Orchard Hill did an about face in the fifth, blanking theAlegria offense for the first time all day and putting up five unansweredgoals. Gonzalez opened the scoring witha penalty goal followed by a goal from the field from Criado. Three straight goals from MacDonough gave OrchardHill their first lead of the day and had them holding a 9-8 advantage.
Aguerre scored the first goal of the sixth chukker, tyingit up at 9-9, but Orchard Hill had the momentum going in their direction. A penalty goal from Gonzalez and a goal from thefield from Criado had Orchard Hill ahead, 11-9. Del Rio responded with his fourth goal of the game, but Orchard Hill wason a roll. Gonzalez scored the finalgoal of the game to give Orchard Hill a 12-10 win.
MacDonough and Gonzalez scored four goals apiece in theOrchard Hill win. Criado added threegoals and Van Andel chipped in a goal in the victory.
Del Rio scored four times for Alegria. Aguerre was credited with three goals andFred Mannix added a pair. Julian Mannixscored one goal in the loss.
ZACARA11, LAS MONJITAS 10
In a noon C. V. Whitney Cup match, Las Monjitas ledthroughout the game, leading by as many as three goals with just one chukker toplay before falling to Zacara on a last second goal in the 11-10 Zacara win.
Zacara’s Joaquin Pittaluga scored the opening goal of thegame, but Javier Astrada responded with three first chukker goals for a 3-1 LasMonjitas lead. Javier Astrada converteda penalty goal and added two goals from the field as Las Monjitas took earlycontrol of the game.
Ten-goaler Facundo Pieres got Zacara back into it in thesecond with a pair of goals, and Magoo Laprida added a goal from thefield. Las Monjitas scored single goalsfrom Eduardo Astrada and Javier Astrada, however, and held on to a narrow 5-4edge going into the third period.
Defenses took hold in the third chukker, limiting LasMonjitas to a single goal from the field from Javier Astrada. Pieres converted a 40-yard penalty shot for agoal, but Zacara continued to trail, 6-5, after the first half of the game.
Two more goals from Eduardo Astrada in the fourth werecountered by a single goal from Pieres. Las Monjitas continued to dominate, holding an 8-6 advantage.
Zacara picked up another goal from Pittaluga in the fifthchukker, but goals from Javier Astrada and Eduardo Astrada extended the LasMonjitas lead to three goals, 10-7, with seven-and-a-half minutes left inregulation time.
Pieres found his rhythm in the sixth chukker as he scoredback-to-back goals from the field. Aconverted penalty shot tied it up at 10-10 with time running out. Zacara continued to press the attack withseveral shots just missing the mark. Withjust seconds on the clock, Laprida pushed the ball through the Las Monjitasgoal posts for the 11-10 win.
Pieres led the field with seven goals. Teammates Laprida and Pittaluga scored twogoals each.
Javier Astrada was credited with six goals for LasMonjitas. Eduardo Astrada added four goalsin a losing effort.
COCA-COLA14, AUDI 7
In the upset of the day, a talented Audi lineup that included10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres was humbled by an aggressive Coca-Cola team 14-7 ina battle that was one-sided from the beginning.
First chukker goals from Coca-Cola’s Luis Escobar andJulio Arellano were answered by a single penalty goal from Jeff Hall with Audifinding themselves in the whole from the get-go.
The Coca-Cola team produced shutout defense in the secondand third chukkers to build a commanding 8-1 halftime lead.
In second chukker action, Gillian Johnston and HilarioUlloa scored single goals from the field while Julio Arellano converted a40-yard penalty shot to give Coca-Cola a 5-1 advantage.
A streaking Ulloa added two more goals in the thirdperiod while Arellano picked up his first goal from the field. Coca-Cola found themselves on the winningside of an impressive 8-1 halftime score.
Ulloa added two more goals to his personal total andCoca-Cola got another goal from Arellano in the fourth. Audi finally got some offense started,garnering single goals from Nico Pieres and Gonzalito Pieres. The fourth chukker ended with Coca-Colaboasting an 11-3 lead with two chukkers left to be played.
Audi took the field in the fifth chukker with a sense ofresolve. A more organized attack foundteam captain Marc Ganzi at the front end of the offense as he scored threeconsecutive goals for Audi. Ulloa closedout the scoring with his seventh goal of the day as Coca-Cola left the field toremount for the final chukker of play with a six goal, 12-6 lead.
Audi tried to recapture the ardor it had exhibited in thefifth period, but were cut short. Arellano scored from the field to give Coca-Cola a seven goal, 13-6lead. Hall converted a penalty shot forAudi and team captain Gillian Johnston scored the final goal of the game in the14-7 rout.
Ulloa ended the day with a total of seven goals. Arellano added four goals in the win. Johnston was credited with two goals andEscobar scored once.
Ganzi scored three times for Audi. Hall added two penalty goals and GonzalitoPieres and Nico Pieres were held to single goals.