Park Place Remains Undefeated in 2020 Cartier Queen’s Cup
The final two days of group play in the 2020 Cartier Queen’s Cup began with a thrilling overtime victory for Monterosso over Segavas, with Guillermo Terrera playing the hero in the 11-10 overtime victory. In a match-up between the two remaining undefeated teams, Park Place narrowly edged Next Generation 10-9 on the Duke’s Ground at Guards Polo Club.
Little separated the two teams in the opening game as both converted all four of their penalty attempts, leaving the outcome to be decided from the field where Monterosso held the slight advantage with one more field goal. Jeronimo del Carril excelled in the #4 position for Monterosso, scoring two goals while distributing the ball effectively to collect three assists. Tightly marked on both sides of the ball, Monterosso and Segavas conceded few easy chances, forcing conversions from the penalty line late in the match. An interception and quick goal in the opening moments of overtime was ultimately the difference in Monterosso’s 11-10 victory.
A quick start for Monterosso saw them keep the ball in the attacking half, preventing Segavas from scoring while adding two goals, one each from del Carril and Terrera to hold an early 2-0 advantage. Luke Wiles opened the scoring for Segavas in the second chukka, but foul trouble prevented them from tying the game, conceding a penalty 2 conversion to Ignacio Toccalino to remain trailing by two. After conceding zero fouls through the first two chukkas, Monterosso found themselves in foul trouble of their own as four fouls in the third chukka left them without possession. A penalty conversion for Joaquin Pittaluga along with a field goal from Mark Tomlinson tied the game at 3-3 entering the second half.
The defensive style of the first half did not carry over into the fourth chukka as the offense picked up resulting in end-to-end action. Alternating all five goals in the fourth chukka, the score bounced back and forth until Pittaluga’s second goal ended the chukka to give Segavas the narrow one-goal advantage. Undeterred, Monterosso fought their way back into a tie behind the penalty shooting of Toccalino, who converted both penalty 2 attempts as part of a three-goal chukka for Monterosso. The evenly matched contest carried all the way into the final seconds. After a crucial penalty 4 conversion made by Segavas, Monterosso quickly responded with a penalty goal of their own, sending the game into overtime. After three minutes of exceptional play that saw the ball remain in the middle of the field, a backhand from del Carril sent Terrera on a break away to goal, where he ran the ball through the goal for the thrilling 11-10 victory.
The highly anticipated match-up between the two remaining undefeated teams in Park Place and Next Generation provided an exciting match that came down to the final seconds. Despite scoring just two goals from the field, including zero in the first half, Park Place’s Facundo Pieres produced offense from the penalty line, converting seven of his eight attempts. While Next Generation produced a more efficient offense from the field, foul trouble throughout the second half placed Park Place on the penalty line where they ultimately claimed the thrilling 10-9 victory.
A penalty 3 conversion by Diego Cavanagh provided the only offense in the opening chukka as the two teams entered the game with organized defences that prevented open runs to goal. A foul ridden second chukka resulted in seven combined fouls between the two teams with Park Place taking advantage of the opportunities from the penalty line to convert three penalty attempts and hold an early 4-2 lead. The momentum of the game shifted before the end of the first half due to the three-pronged attack of Adolfo Cambiaso, Poroto Cambiaso and Diego Cavanagh. Scoring one goal each, they effectively controlled possession and kept Park Place off the scoreboard to finish the first half leading by one.
Continuing to rely on their penalty shooting, Park Place restored the tie on another penalty conversion from Facundo Pieres, but they finally broke through from the field, receiving their first field goal from Will Harper in the fourth chukka. The inability of Next Generation to keep Park Place off the penalty line proved to be problematic over the final two chukkas when Park Place took the lead in the fifth chukka behind two more goals from Facundo Pieres. A missed penalty 2 and penalty 4 ultimately sealed Next Generation’s fate as Park Place grew their lead to three after a safety conversion. A last push from Next Generation saw them pull back within one, but time expired before they could tie the game, resulting in the exciting 10-9 victory for Park Place.
All matches remain behind closed doors but every game is being filmed and can be viewed LIVE via a pay per view service at guardspoloclub.com/guards-tv.
| Rank | Player | Goals Scored |
| 1 | Facundo Pieres | 31 |
| 2 | Joaquin Pittaluga | 26 |
| 3 | Tommy Beresford | 25 |
| 4 | Nico Pieres | 21 |
| 5 | Bartolome Castagnola | 20 |
| 6 | Ignacio Toccalino | 18 |
| 7 | Diego Cavanagh | 16 |
| 8 | Juan Martin Zubia | 15 |
| 9 | Poroto Cambiaso | 14 |
| 10 | Juan Gris Zavaleta | 12 |