Alegria vs La Irenita
The seventh game in the 2017 Hurlingham Open displayed a dominating performance by Alegria as they defeated La Irenita 18-5 at AAP Pilar.
From the opening throw-in, the fast paced attack of Alegria was on full display as Sapo Caset continuously broke away to goal, receiving quick backhands and long passes to separate himself from the La Irenita defence. Finishing with 13 goals in the game, Caset utilized the defensive work of Fred Mannix and playmaking abilities of Hilario Ulloa and Facundo Sola to play a consummate #1 position. Outshooting La Irenita 30-5, Alegria’s cohesive unit of four was equally tough for La Irenita to get past offensively as it was for them to contain defensively.
Early in the game, La Irenita struggled to gain possession, as Alegria won eight of the first ten throw-ins, racing out to a quick 9-1 lead after the opening two chukkas. Caset led the way with six goals, while Ulloa, Sola and Mannix all found the goal, adding one goal each. Without their regular back Matias MacDonough, who was replaced by Guillermo Willington, La Irenita had difficulty containing the quick offense of Alegria, often finding themselves in a trailing position in the first half.
Alegria continued their quick passing attack in the 3rd and 4th chukkas, scoring five more goals, highlighted by Caset’s 9th goal to finish the half. Four Alegria fouls in the 4th chukka resulted in two penalty goals for Juan Ruiz Guinazu but La Irenita’s inability to stop the Alegria attack and primarily Caset, led to them trailing 14-4 at half time.
An adjustment from La Irenita saw Willington move to the back position, allowing Corchito Zavaleta to be more involved in the middle of the field. The change was effective in slowing the Alegria attack as they finished the game shooting 2 for 11, scoring just four goals in the final three chukkas. While the adjustment helped defensively, La Irenita was unable to produce enough scoring chances throughout the game, only shooting at goal five times, converting two of those shots.
Alegria used a dominant team performance both offensively and defensively to finish with the convincing 18-5 victory to move to 2-0 in the Hurlingham Open.
Cria Yatay vs La Aguada Las Monjitas
The eighth game of the 2017 Hurlingham Open needed overtime as La Aguada Las Monjitas completed their late comeback to finish with the 11-10 victory over Cria Yatay at AAP Pilar.
In a tightly contested game that saw a combined 21 fouls, Cria Yatay was able to produce more chances during open play, but it was ultimately the penalty chances for each team that was the deciding factor in the game. Converting seven of their nine penalty attempts, including the game winning penalty 2 in overtime, La Agauda was able to overcome a balanced Cria Yatay offense that outshot them 14-6 throughout the game.
The first chukka followed the storyline of the game as Cria Yatay held La Aguada to zero shots while missing both of their shot attempts from the field. Three Cria Yatay fouls resulted in two penalty goals for La Aguada, one each from Miguel and Alejandro Novillo Astrada, as La Aguada gained the early 2-0 lead.
La Aguada found themselves in foul trouble over the next two chukkas committing six fouls, leading to four penalty goals for Joaquin Pittaluga, as Cria Yatay was able to narrow the deficit to one goal after the first four chukkas, despite shooting just 1 for 8 from the field. While La Aguada only shot at goal four times, they were able to take advantage, converting three of those four shot attempts to maintain their one goal lead.
The game changed in the 5th chukka as Cria Yatay’s work in open play began to pay off, as Christian and Ignacio Laprida scored one goal each from the field, while Pittaluga converted a penalty 4 to tie the game at 8-8. The defensive work of the Laprida brothers throughout the game, kept the possession with Cria Yatay as they continued to pressure the La Aguada defence.
Cria Yatay used their momentum in the 5th chukker to add two more goals in the 6th chukker, while preventing La Aguada from shooting at goal or getting to the penalty line, providing Cria Yatay with their first lead at 10-8 with only one chukka remaining. While La Aguada was unable to produce many shots at goal, only finishing with six for the entire game, they were able to get to the penalty line late as Alejandro Novillo Astrada converted a penalty 4 and a safety 60, just as time was expiring to send the game into overtime.
Overtime did not last long as La Aguada quickly gained possession and a pass downfield from Ignacio Novillo Astrada forced Cria Yatay into committing a foul in front of their own goal, as Alejandro Novillo Astrada converted the penalty 2 for his 7th goal of the game, leading La Aguada to the 11-10 victory.
