La Dolfina rally to extra time win at Hurlingham
By Herbert Spencer
Adolfo Cambiaso’s La Dolfina Peugeot, playing without two of their 10-goalers, rallied from a 6-goal deficit Sunday to beat the Novillo Astradas’ La Aguada BMW 13-12 in extra time and gain a place in the final of the 117th Hurlingham Open.
It was team spirit and pure grit that won out in adversity, with Cambiaso himself scoring the golden goal less than a minute into the ninth chukka on a pass from Guillermo “Sapo†Caset, the team’s high scorer and Most Valuable Player of the match.
La Dolfina had started in the tournament as a 39-goal team, but their 10-goaler Lucas Monteverde was under suspension, replaced by 8-goaler Caset. Then 10-goaler Lolo Castagnola was sidelined with flu, substituted by 7-goaler Guillermo Terrera. So Cambiaso’s squad was down to 34-goals against La Aguada’s 37.
La Dolfina held La Aguada scoreless in the first chukka to lead 2-0. Then the Novillo Astradas caught fire, denying La Dolfina any goals for two chukkas and building an 11-5 advantage by the sixth period. The La Aguada campaign began collapsing in the seventh as La Dolfina held them scoreless and tied the match up in the eighth, pushing it into extra time.
The first match of the day, between Alegria Air France (34) and Indios Chapaleufú II Cardón (31) was also a cliff-hanger, with the lead changing more than once and Alegria securing a narrow 18-17 victory less than a minute before the final bell.