Valiente Scores 13-8 Victory; Audi, ERG and Patagones Also Get Wins in USPA Lucchese America Cup
By Alex Webbe
A reshuffled lineup that brought 8-goaler Magoo Laprida to the Valiente lineup gave Bob Jornayvaz’s Denver team its first win of the California high-goal season in a fast-paced 13-8 win over hapless Mansour to cap a four match day in the opening round of the USPA Lucchese America Cup competition at the Santa Barbara Polo Club on Friday afternoon.
With 9-goalerEduardo Astrada still sidelined with a pulled jockey muscle, Valiente rode onto the field with a lineup that included Laprida, Negro Astrada, Carlucho Arellano and Jornayvaz.
The game started at a fast pace, but it was the defense that held the initial scoring efforts to a minimum. Santiago Trotz scored the first goal of the game for Mansour before Astrada answered with a goal from the field and a penalty conversion for a 2-1 Valiente lead.
Astrada opened the second chukker with a goal but Martin Zegers and Trotz responded with single goals for Mansour to knot the game at 3-3 after the first two chukkers of action.
Astrada scored the first goal of the third frame before Trotz converted a penalty shot to keep it even at 4-4. Laprida tallied the final goal of the chukker from the field, however, for a narrow 5-4 halftime lead for Valiente.
Zegers tied the game in the fourth period with a Penalty 3 shot before Carlucho Arellano caught fire. Arellano scored three straight goals to take the lead and the momentum from Mansour. The chukker ended with Valiente on top of an 8-5 score.
Arellano and Laprida each added single goals from the field in the fifth chukker for a 10-5 advantage before two penalty goals from Zegers kept Mansour within two goals of the lead.
Ben Soleimani picked off an errant knock in by Valiente in the final chukker for a goal, but the teamwork and stick play of the Valiente team proved to be too much for Mansour. Two more goals from Astrada and a final goal from Arellano sealed the deal with a 13-8 Valiente (1-0) victory.
Astrada led all scoring with six goals. Arellano scored five times from the field with newly acquired Magoo Laprida accounting for two goals in the win.
Zegers led Mansour (0-1) with four goals. Trotz scored three times and Soleimani added a single goal.
AUDI 16, GRANTS FARM 12
Marc Ganzi returned to the Audi lineup for the America Cup and knocked off Grants Farm 16-12 in Friday’s 2pm contest.
In a heated contest that saw four technical penalties meted out, Audi took a narrow 3-2 lead after the opening chukker on the strength of goals from Luis Escobar, Kris Kampsen and Juan Bollini. Grants Farm responded with goals from Andy Busch and Sugar Erskine.
Kampsen scored the first goal of the second period before Jeff Hall put two balls through the goal posts for Grants Farm. Ganzi scored a go-ahead goal for Audi before Hall’s third goal of the chukker tied it at 5-5.
Hall added two more goals in the third period and Erskine scored once for Grants Farm, but Audi responded. Kampsen converted two 60-yard penalty shots and Escobar added his second goal of the game to even the score at 8-8 at halftime.
Escobar continued his excellent play, scoring twice to put Audi up 10-8 in the fourth. Erskine converted a penalty shot, but at the end of the period Audi held a narrow 10-9 advantage.
Goals from the field from Bollini and Kampsen opened the fifth chukker before Hall converted two penalty shots to keep Grants Farm to within a goal of the lead, trailing 10-9. Escobar’s second goal of the chukker allowed Audi to leave the field with a 13-11 edge.
Erskine scored in the sixth chukker, but the Audi (1-0) team was too much for Grants Farm(0-1). Goals from Escobar, Bollini and Kampsen gave Audi gave Audi the 16-12 win.
Jeff Hall led both teams with seven goals. Teammate Erskine added four and team captain Andy Busch scored once in the loss.
Kampsen and Escobar scored six goals apiece for Audi. Bollini accounted for three goals from the middle of the lineup and Ganzi scored once.
ERG 11, ZACARA 10
Scott Wood’s ERG team flexed its muscles as it rode off to a 7-3 halftime lead before holding on to a last chukker rally by Zacara to save an 11-10 win in Friday’s noon contest.
Zacara got goals from each of its players in the loss and rallied for four last chukker goals while shutting out ERG, but came up just short in the first round competition.
Jeff Blake and Paco de Narvaez combined for all eleven of the ERG goals while Nicolas Pieres and Miguel Astrada scored four goals apiece for Zacara.
PATAGONES 12, LUCCHESE 11
In the morning game, Patagones needed three sixth chukker goals to sneak past a determined Lucchese team in a 12-11 win.
Patagones went up early, 3-1, after the first chukker on two goals from Carlos Gracida and a single goal from Brandon Phillips. Gonzalo Avendano and Carlos Gracida made it 5-1 in the second chukker before goals from Lucchese’s Julio Gracida and Mike Azzaro cut the Patagones lead back to two goals, 5-3.
Lucchese outscored Patagones 3-1 in the third chukker, earning them a 6-6 halftime tie, getting single goals from Julio Gracida, Andres Weisz and Azzaro. Patagones was held to a single Phillips goal.
Phillips rode into the fourth chukker with guns blazing. Scoring once from the field before converting a penalty shot, Lucchese found itself trailing 8-6. Julio Gracida scored his fourth goal of the game to keep it close with Patagones ahead by a single goal, 8-7.
The fifth chukker appeared to belong to Lucchese as Azzaro and Weisz each scored to take a 9-8 lead, but a well-placed shot from the field by Carlos Gracida had it even again at 9-9.
Azzaro scored the go-ahead goal for Lucchese in the sixth and Julio Gracida put them up 11-9, but there was plenty of time left on the clock. Fouls gave Patagones the opportunities it was looking for in the final minutes of play as Phillips converted two penalty shots to tie it at 12-12.
On the ensuing throw-in, Gonzalo Avendano backed the ball to a waiting Carlos Gracida who drove the ball down the field to Carlos Avendano. Carlos Avendano carried the ball through the goal posts for the winning score as Patagones (1-0) pulled out the 12-11 win.
Julio Gracida led Lucchese (0-1) with five goals while Brandon Phillips led all scoring with six goals for the 12-11 win.