Four games kick off 2015 USPA Piaget Gold Cup
By Alex Webbe
A heavily-favored Orchard Hill polo team (Steve Van Andel, Ezequiel Ferrario, Polito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) rode onto the field Thursday morning to face Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Pelon Stirling and Julio Arellano) in the opening game of the 2015 USPA Piaget Gold Cup at the International Polo Club at the International Polo Club. It took an overtime goal by Facundo Pieres to secure the win as a disappointed Coca-Cola team left the field on the short end of a 13-12 score.
It was a minute and-a-half into the game when Orchard Hill 10-goaler Facundo Pieres drove the ball through the Coca-Cola goalposts for a 1-0 lead. Pelon Stirling got Coca-Cola on the scoreboard at the 3:22 mark, 1-1, but ensuing goals from Polito Pieres and Ezequiel Ferrario ended eh first chukker in the lead, 3-1.
Facundo Pieres added three more goals in the second period (two on penalty shots) with Stirling scoring a single goal for Coca-Cola. After two chukkers of play, Orchard Hill led by four goals, 6-2.
The Coca-Cola offense woke up in the third. Julio Arellano converted a 30-yard penalty shot for a goal at the 4:20 mark, 6-3, and added a goal from the field two minutes later on a long pass from Stirling, 6-4. Structured defense held the powerful Orchard Hill attack scoreless as Coca-Cola was awarded a goal on a Penalty 1 and closed out the first half with a goal from Stirling that tied the game, 6-6, with six seconds on the clock.
There was no let up from Coca-Cola as they continued to pressure Orchard Hill both offensively and defensively. The two teams traded goals in the fourth chukker. Coca-Cola team captain Gillian Johnston scored on a pass from Julio Arellano that gave Coca-Cola their first lead of the game, 7-6. Facundo Pieres converted a 60-yard penalty shot, 7-7. Arellano responded 40-yard penalty shot to give Coca-Cola the lead again, 8-7. Facundo Pieres tied the game at 8-8 with the final goal of the period with 40 seconds in the chukker.
After a scoreless three minutes of fifth period play, Polito Pieres scored to give Orchard Hill a 9-8 advantage. The game was tied again at the 1:14 mark when an Orchard Hill foul resulted in a Penalty 1, awarding Coca-Cola a goal and leveling the score at 9-9.
The action accelerated in the sixth chukker Facundo Pieres scored on a neck-shot in the opening seconds of play to give Orchard Hill a 10-9 edge. A minute later Facundo stretched the lead to two goals on a penalty conversion, 11-9. Consecutive goals from Arellano (one on a 40-yard penalty shot) leveled the score once again, 11-11. Facundo Pieres scored on a brilliantly-executed nearside neck-shot that gave Orchard Hill a one goal lead, 12-11. Sugar Erskine scored his first goal of the game deadlock it at 12-12 and force a sudden-death overtime chukker.
Following a brief intermission, both teams returned to the field with the players fighting for possession and control of the ball. A Coca-Cola foul gave Orchard Hill an early opportunity to end the game, but the 60-yard penalty shot went wide, and the game continued. Another Coca-Cola foul resulted in an Orchard Hill hit from the center of the field where Facundo Pieres cook control of the ball and carried it through the goal posts for the 13-12 Orchard Hill victory.
Facundo Pieres scored four of his game high ten goals on penalty shots. Polito Pieres added two goals and Ezequiel Ferrario scored once in the win. Stirling and Arellano scored for goals apiece for Coca-Cola. Johnston and Erskine added single goals and the team was awarded two goals on Penalty 1s.
Las Monjitas 18, Engel & Volkers
The Gold Cup’s newest entry, Engel & Volkers (Jared Zenni, Kris Kampsen, Santi Torres and Matias Magrini) was hoping to make a successful debut in Thursday’s noon game of the tournament, but a veteran Las Monjitas lineup (Camilo Bautista, Facundo Sola, Sebastian Merlos and Eduardo Novillo Astrada) roughed them up in an 18-8 drubbing.
Engel & Volkers received two goals by handicap from the 26-goal Las Monjitas team, and added to it with a goal from the field from Kris Kampsen for a 3-0 lead. Facundo Sola converted a penalty shot that got Las Monjitas on the scoreboard with a penalty goal, 3-1, but Kampsen countered with a 60-yard penalty conversion, 4-1. Goals from Sebastian Merlos and Sola (penalty goal) ended the first period with Las Monjitas trailing by one goal, 4-3.
Sola tied the game at 4-4 in the opening 30 seconds of the second chukker Merlos then scored three consecutive goals (one on a 60-yard penalty shot) that had Las Monjitas in front, 7-4. Matias Magrini scored the final goal of the chukker, but it was Las Monjitas in control of the game with a 7-5 lead.
Las Monjitas shut down the Engel & Volkers offense for the next two chukkers while the Las Monjitas lead continued to grow. Merlos scored twice in the third as Las Monjitas extended their lead to four goals, 9-5.
Three fourth chukker goals from Sola (two on penalty conversions) and a pair from Eduardo Astrada had Engel & Volkers down by nine goals with two chukkers left to play.
Las year’s Piaget Gold Cup MVP, Santi Torres, scored his first goal from the field in the opening seconds of the fifth chukker, 14-6. Sola converted a 30-yardpenalty shot, 15-6. Kampsen ended the chukker with a goal from the field with eleven seconds left on the clock. Las Monjitas continued to lead, 15-7.
Torres opened the sixth chukker with a goal, 15-8, but that was the end of the mini-rally. Goals from Merlos, Astrada and Sola ended the game with Las Monjitas recording the 18-8 victory.
Sola led the Las Monjitas attack with eight goals (five on penalty conversions). Merlos and Astrada scored five goals apiece in the win. Kampsen’s three goals were a high for Engel & Volkers. Torres scored twice and Magrini added a goal. The team also received two goals by handicap.
Lechuza Caracas 14, Valiente 13
In a hotly-contested match that was tied ten times, Lechuza (Victor Vargas, Nico Pieres, Juan Martin Nero and Juan Garcia Grossi) scored a 14-13 win over Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Guillermo Terrera, Alejo Taranco and Adolfo Cambiaso) in the Piaget Gold Cup’s third game of the day.
The two teams traded goals in the opening chukker with Nico Pieres scoring twice for Lechuza and Valiente getting goals from Adolfo Cambiaso (a 60-yard penalty conversion) and Guillermo Terrera for a 2-2 opening chukker.
Cambiaso and Terrera scored single goals in second chukker play while the Valiente defense held Lechuza scoreless. At the end of the second chukker Valiente held a 4-2 advantage over Lechuza.
Lechuza fought back in the third. Ten-goaler Juan Martin Nero opened the chukker with a goal from the field, cutting the Valiente lead to a single goal, 4-3. Terrera and Pieres each scored twice to end the first half with Valiente holding on to a narrow 6-5 advantage.
Pieres tied the game at 6-6 with the opening goal of the second half. Juan Garcia Grossi gave Lechuza the lead, 7-6, with his first goal of the day. Alejo Taranco and Pieres traded goals that had Lechuza in the lead by a single goal, 8-7. Cambiaso leveled the score at 8-8 with a 40-yard penalty conversion to end the chukker.
The two teams battled evenly through the fifth period. Lechuza goals from Victor Vargas and Pieres (penalty conversion) were offset by goals from Valiente team captain Bob Jornayvaz and Terrera. After five chukkers of play he score was all even at 10-10.
Cambiaso, Terrera and Jornayvaz scored single goals to give Valiente a 13-12 lead, but a third goal from Pieres (a 60-yard penalty goal) locked it up at 13-13, forcing a sudden-death overtime period.
Nero came through for Lechuza in the overtime chukker, scoring on a 100-yard shot on goal that gave the game to Lechuza Caracas.
Pieres was credited with ten goals on the day for Lechuza (three on penalty shots). Nero added two goals with Vargas and Grossi each scoring a goal. Terrera scored six times for Valiente. Cambiaso added four goals; Jornayvaz scored twice and Alejo Taranco added a goal.
Audi
In their last 26-goal meeting, Audi (Marc Ganzi, Gonzalito Pieres, Rodrigo Andrade and Fred Mannix) came up on the short end of a 15-11 score in the 2015 C. V. Whitney Cup semifinal match. This time it was Alegria (Julian Mannix, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) with the hot hand as they rolled out to an 11-6 halftime score before running off with the 16-13 victory.
The 25-goal Audi team received one goal by handicap and added five more in opening chukker play. Three goals from Gonzalito Pieres (two on penalty shots) and single goals from Rodrigo Andrade and Fred Mannix had Audi leading by three goals at the end of the first chukker. Alegria got single goals from Hilario Ulloa, Sterling Giannico and Julian Mannix (penalty goal) for the 6-3 score.
Two more Audi goals in the second chukker were accompanied by shutout defense. After two chukkers of play, Valiente was on top of the 8-3 lead.
Alegria got its offense working in third period action. Pieres scored three consecutive goals (two on penalty shots) white Alegria relied on single goals from Ulloa and Sterling Giannico. A Penalty 1 padded their total, but after the first half it was all Audi, 11-6.
Two more goals in the fourth chukker had Pieres converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal and Andrade scoring a goal from the field, 13-6. Ulloa scored on a 40-yard penalty shot for Alegria, who continued to trail, 13-7.
Fifth chukker goals from Ulloa (penalty conversion) and Julian Mannix were countered by a pair of goals from Andrade as Audi continued to dominate the game, 15-9.
Alegria was the recipient of a goal on a Penalty 1 in the opening minute of the sixth chukker, 15-10, and consecutive goals from Julian Mannix (one from the field and the other on a penalty conversion cut the Audi lead to three goals, 15-12. The Alegria rally continues as Ulloa scored with 2:31 remaining, but that was when the Audi defense clamped down. The Alegria offense was silenced for the duration of the game, with Andrade scoring the final goal of the game for the 16-13 Audi victory.
Pieres scored six of his seven goals on penalty conversions. Andrade added five goals from the field with Fred Mannix scoring twice and Ganzi being credited with a goal. The team also received one goal by handicap. Ulloa led the Alegria offense with five goals. Julian Mannix scored four times (twice on penalty shots). Giannico added two goals and the team received two goals on two Penalty 1s.