USPA Piaget Gold Cup Quarterfinals Set
By Alex Webbe
Thelast round of preliminary matches took place for the 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cupat the International Polo Club in Wellington, setting the stage for upcomingquarterfinals in the prestigious tournament.
Victoriesby Valiente II, Piaget and Coca-Cola solidified the pairings with a definitiveschedule for Sunday and Monday:.
Valiente I (2-1) will face Lechuza Caracas (2-1) at noon on Sunday, April 18; while Valiente II (3-0) will do battle with Alegria (1-2) in the day’s 4pm contest.
Zacara (3-0) will meet Piaget (2-1) at 10am on Monday, April 19; followed by ERG (3-0) playing Coca-Cola (2-1) at noon.
VALIENTEII 11, LECHUZA CARACAS 10
In a game that looked more like an intense practice thana tournament match, Valiente II (3-0) rode to an 11-10 win over Lechuza Caracasin 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup play at the International Polo Club in Wellington,securing it the top seed in its section. In spite of the loss, Lechuza Caracas (2-1) will also be participatingin the quarterfinals.
In the Friday morning action, Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler,Sapo Caset, scored the first goal of the game just 90 seconds into the chukkerfor a 1-0 lead. Two more penalty goalsfrom Caset extended the Lechuza Caracas advantage to 3-0. Juan Martin Nero, Lechuza’s other 10-goaler,scored to make it 4-0 before Valiente II finally responded. With 1:27 on the clock, Cambiaso scoredValiente II’s first goal of the game. Less than a minute later, Cambiaso converted a penalty shot for a goal,ending the chukker with Lechuza ahead, 4-2.
Caset and Cambiaso exchanged penalty goals in the earlyminutes of the second chukker as Lechuza continued to lead, 5-3. Halfway through the period, Pelon Stirlingscored from the field to cut the Lechuza lead to a single goal, 5-4. With time running out, Nero rifled a shotthrough the Valiente II goalposts from over 100 yards out. The chukker ended with Lechuza leading bytwo, 6-4.
Valiente II pressed its attack in the third, picking upan early goal from Stirling to cut the lead to a single goal, 6-5. Three minutes later, it was Stirling who tiedit up at 6-6 with his second goal of the period. With just :52 left in the chukker, Cambiasogave Valiente II its first lead of the game on a penalty conversion. The first half ended with Valiente II ahead,7-6.
Valiente II held Lechuza Caracas scoreless for the secondconsecutive chukker in the fourth chukker. A goal from the field from Robert Jornayvaz was complimented by apenalty goal from Cambiaso and Valiente II extended its lead to three goals,9-6.
Lechuza fought back in the fifth chukker, as Nero tookthe ball from the opening throw-in and drove it down the field for a goal,9-7. Cambiaso responded with a 60-yardpenalty conversion about a minute later, 10-7, and Alejo Taranco’s first goalof the game put Valiente II on top by four goals, 11-7. With a minute left in the period, Caset cutthe lead back to three goals to end the chukker trailing Valiente II, 11-8.
With both teams already assured of appearing in thequarterfinals, they both seemed to be conserving their horses in the finalperiod of play. Two goals from Casetwere all of the offense that the sixth chukker with Valiente II cruising to an11-10 victory.
Caset led the field with seven goals (three onpenalties). Nero added three goals in alosing effort.
Cambiaso scored five of his team high six goals onpenalty shots. Stirling added threegoals and teammates Taranco and Jornayvaz scored one goal apiece for the win.
PIAGET14, ORCHARD HILL 10
The second Piaget Gold Cup match of the day had Piaget (2-1)securing a quarterfinal berth at the expense of Orchard Hill (0-3).
Piaget charged onto the field and scored the first threegoals of the match. Gonzalito scored thefirst goal of the game in the first two minutes of play. Jeff Hall followed up with a goal from thefield just thirty seconds later and capped it off with a penalty conversion latein the chukker. Pablo Macdonough jumpedon a miss-hit by Gonzalito Pieres and carried the ball 200 yards down the fieldfor a goal with seven seconds left in the period. Piaget held on to a 3-1 lead after theopening chukker.
A penalty goal from Hall and a goal from the field fromMarc Ganzi were countered by a pair of goals from Orchard Hill’s MarianoGonzalez. Piaget continued to lead bytwo goals, 5-3, as the second chukker ended.
Penalty goals from Gonzalez and MacDonough in the thirdchukker were offset by a pair of goals from the field by Gonzalito Pieres andteams rode off the field at halftime with Piaget stubbornly holding on to the 7-5lead.
Penalty goals from Mariano Gonzalez and Gonzalito Pieres hadPiaget in front, 8-6. A goal from thefield from MacDonough cut the lead to a single goal, 8-7, but Hall put Piagetback on top by two to end the period, 9-7.
Piaget went on a run in the fifth, beginning with apenalty goal from Hall in the opening minute of the chukker. Gonzalito Pieres scored at the five minutemark and Nico Pieres added another goal shortly thereafter. Gonzalez converted another penalty shot for agoal to end the chukker, but Orchard Hill continued to trail, 12-8.
Piaget continued the attack into the sixth chukker withGonzalito Pieres converting a penalty shot for a goal and Nico Pieres executinga beautiful nearside neck shot for a score and a 14-8, six goal lead. With just under two minutes in regulationtime, Pablo MacDonough scored a goal from the field and then came right back toadd another with under a minute on the clock. Time expired, with Orchard Hill trying to extend their rally, falling toPiaget, 14-10.
MacDonough led Orchard Hill with seven goals (three onpenalties). Gonzalez scored threepenalty goals.
Gonzalito Pieres was credited with seven goals (three onpenalty shots) for the Piaget team. Halladded four goals (three on penalties). Nico Pieres scored twice and Ganzi added a goal in the win.
COCA-COLA9, LAS MONJITAS 8
In the final battle for a playoff spot in the 2012 USPAPiaget Gold Cup, Coca-Cola scored a hard-fought 9-8 win over a surging LasMonjitas team Friday afternoon.
Coca-Cola team captain Gillian Johnston scored the firstgoal of the game, but was countered by a pair of goals from Las Monjitas10-goaler, Eduardo Astrada. Las Monjitastook the early lead, 2-1.
Both defenses tightened up in the second period withJulio Arellano’s penalty goal the only offense in the chukker. After two periods of play, the score was alleven at 2-2.
Arellano added three more goals in the third, scoringonce from the field and converting two penalty goals. Javier Astrada scored one from the field as Coca-Colamove in front at the end of the first half, 5-3.
Stubborn defenses and missed scoring opportunities in thefourth chukker left Eduardo Astrada’s penalty goal as the only offense, cuttingthe Coca-Cola lead to a single goal, 5-4.
A determined Coca-Cola team took control of the game inthe fifth and taking an 8-5 lead. A pair of penalty goals from Arellano andHilario Ulloa’s first goal from the field had Coca-Cola leading Las Monjitas bythree goals, 8-5. Javier Astrada wascredited with Las Monjitas’ only goal of the chukker.
Ulloa scored again in the sixth, 9-5, before Las Monjitasput three straight goals on the scoreboard. Inaki Laprida and Javier Astrada scored single goals from the fieldwhile Eduardo Astrada converted a penalty shot for a goal. The Coca-Cola lead had been cut to a singlegoal and Las Monjitas had the momentum, but it wasn’t enough as Coca-Cola shutdown the rally and rode off the field with a 9-8 victory and a berth in the quarterfinals.
Coca-Cola’s Julio Arellano scored five of his six goalson penalty shots and led the team in scoring. Ulloa registered two goals and Johnston scored once in the win.
Eduardo Astrada scored four times for Las Monjitas. Javier Astrada added three goals and Lapridanotched a single goal in a losing effort.