Valiente
I and Valiente II advance to Piaget Gold Cup semifinals
By
Alex Webbe
Adolfo Cambiaso showed everyone in the stadium at the
International Polo Club Sunday afternoon why he is considered to be the top
player in the game as he scored twelve times in leading Valiente II to a
convincing 15-6 win over an impotent Alegria foursome in a quarterfinal of the
USPA Piaget Gold Cup.
Cambiaso scored the first goal of the game less than a
minute into the game, but Alegria responded with single goals from Tomas Garcia
del Rio and Fred Mannix. The first
chukker ended with Alegria on top of a 2-1 score.
In less than thirty seconds of the second chukker, Fred
Mannix scored for a 3-1 lead, but that was when the sleeping Valiente offense
got to work. An Alegria foul put Cambiaso
on the penalty line just thirty seconds later when he converted a penalty shot
for a score, 3-2. Alejo Taranco rode a
rocket of a gray pony down the field and drove the ball through the goal posts
from nearly 100 yards out to tie it up at 3-3.
With just under two minutes left in the chukker, Pelon Stirling sent an
85-yard pass down the field to a racing Cambiaso who drove it through the posts
to give Valiente a 4-3 lead. Cambiaso
gobbled up the ensuing throw-in and carried it down the field to score the
final goal of the game as Valiente I bounced back to lead by two goals, 5-3.
Cambiaso’s fifth goal of the game came in the opening minute
of the third chukker to extend the Valiente II lead to three goals, 6-3. Two minutes later, Alegria’s Mariano Aguerre
scored from the field, cutting the lead back to two goals, 6-4. Cambiaso took the following throw-in down the
field again, scoring just seconds later for a 7-4 Valiente II advantage. Cambiaso’s seventh goal of the game came with
two minutes left in the period and ended the first half with Valiente II ahead
by four goals, 8-4.
The second half offered no more help for Alegria than the
past two chukkers had as Valiente scored five unanswered goals in the fourth
chukker. A pair of goals from Cambiaso
was followed by a goal from the field from Taranco for an 11-4 lead. Two more goals from the “great one†(one from
the field and one on a 60-yard penalty shot) ended the chukker with Valiente II
coasting with a 13-4 lead.
Defenses tightened in the fifth period with neither team
capitalizing on ball control or shots on goal.
A goal from the field from Cambiaso in the last 50 seconds of play ended
the chukker with Valiente II boasting a humiliating 14-4 lead with one chukker
left to play.
Valiente II team captain Robert Jornayvaz opened the
final chukker with a goal from the throw-in as Valiente II extended its lead to
eleven goals, 15-4. Jornayvaz had
another well-orchestrated run at the Alegria goal just a minute later, with the
shot at goal going just wide. Single goals
from Aguerre and Garcia del Rio closed out the game with Valiente II earning a
berth in Thursday’s semifinals with the 15-6 victory.
Cambiaso was credited with an impressive twelve goals on
the day. Taranco scored twice and
Jornayvaz added a goal in the win.
Fred Mannix, Aguerre and Garcia del Rio scored two goals
apiece in a losing effort.
VALIENTE
I 11, LECHUZA 10 OT
Earlier in the day, Valiente I needed overtime to score
an 11-10 win over a talent-laden Lechuza team to move into the Piaget gold Cup
semifinals.
Lechuza opened the match with three straight goals before
Valiente I could respond. A 70-yard goal
from the field from 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero was followed by a pair of goals
from Facundo Obregon for the early 3-0 lead.
Miguel Astrada got Valiente I on the scoreboard with a goal from the
field. Just a minute later a Lechuza
foul in the goal mouth gave Valiente I an easy penalty shot in the goal mouth
that Miguel Astrada converted. The first
chukker ended with Lechuza leading, 3-2.
Lechuza got a single penalty goal from 10-goaler Sapo
Caset in the second period but were totally abused by a relentless Valiente I
offense that scored four goals. A
40-yard penalty goal from Miguel Astrada was followed by three goals from the
field from Nacho Astrada and the game was all even at 4-4.
Polito Pieres scored his first goal of the day for Valiente
I in the third chukker, but Lechuza countered with a penalty goal from Caset. The score remained tied at 5-5 at the end of
the first half.
The fourth chukker belonged to Lechuza as they got a pair
of penalty goals from Caset and two goals from the field from Nero. Miguel Astrada converted a 60-yard penalty
shot for a goal, trailing Lechuza by a single goal, 9-8.
Lechuza team captain victor Vargas scored the first goal
of the fifth chukker in the opening minute of play. A pair of penalty goals from Miguel Astrada
ended the chukker in a 10-10 deadlock.
An intense sixth chukker saw the teams racing from end to
end with no results. With time expiring and
the final horn sounding, a sudden-death overtime period was forced.
Both teams struggled for control of the ball in the
overtime chukker, but it would be a ball driven by Valiente I that would evoke
a foul and put Miguel Astrada at the penalty line. With six minutes left to play, a Valiente I
player was fouled, sending Miguel Astrada to the penalty line once again. The 40-yard shot was converted and Valiente I
rode off the field with the 11-10 win.
Miguel Astrada led all scoring with seven goals (six on
penalty shots). Nacho Astrada scored
three times and Pieres added a single goal in the victory.
A balanced Lechuza attack had Caset leading the scoring
with four penalty goals. Nero added
three goals from the field. Obregon
scored twice and Vargas accounted for a single goal.