Valiente II remains undefeated; Coca-Cola evens its
record at 1-1
By Alex Webbe
Coca-Cola (1-1)made up for the 15-8 shelling it suffered
at the hands of Lechuza Caracas (2-0) last Thursday by dealing a 14-7 beat-down
to Orchard Hill (0-2) in 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup play at the International
Polo Club in Wellington Tuesday afternoon.
Coca-Cola took an early 3-2 lead on first chukker goals
from Luis Escobar, Gillian Johnston and Hilario Ulloa. Orchard Hill managed a 60-yard penalty goal
from Mariano Gonzalez and a goal from the field from Pablo Macdonough.
Two more goals from the field from Escobar in the second
period were joined by a 60-yard penalty goal from Julio Arellano for a 6-4
lead. Orchard Hill was held to penalty
goals from Gonzalez and MacDonough.
Shutout defense by Coca-Cola and a goal from Hilario
Ulloa watched the lead expand to three goals at the end of the first three
chukkers of play, 7-4.
Orchard Hill tried to climb back into the fray in the second
half, keeping Coca-Cola off of the scoreboard, but managed only a single goal
from Gonzalez. Coca-Cola continued to
lead, but Orchard Hill had cut the spread down to two goals, 7-5.
Goals from Ulloa, Arellano and Escobar went unanswered in
the fifth chukker as Orchard Hill continued to have trouble organizing an
effective attack. The Coca-Cola lead was
five goals now, 10-5.
Orchard Hill scored the first two goals in the opening 60
seconds of the sixth chukker, but that would be the end of the mini-rally. A goal from the field from MacDonough just
thirty seconds into lay was complimented by a 60-yard penalty conversion from
Gonzalez twenty-nine seconds later. The
Coca-Cola lead was narrowed to three goals, 10-7. A pair of goals from Arellano (one from the
field and one on a penalty) and a single goal from Ulloa closed out the game
with Coca-Cola riding off with a convincing 14-7 win.
Ulloa scored six times for Coca-Cola. Escobar added four goals; Arellano was
credited with three goals (two by penalty) and Johnston added a goal in the
win.
Four of Orchard Hill’s goals came from Gonzalez (three on
penalty shots). Macdonough added three
goals (one by penalty).
VALIENTE
II 8, LAS MONJITAS 6
In a low-scoring battle between the talented lineups of Valiente
II (2-0) and Las Monjitas (0-2), Valiente II emerged victorious with an 8-6
win.
It was nearly two-and-a-half minutes into the game before
Alejo Taranco scored the first goal of the game for Valiente II. Las Monjitas managed s single goal from
Javier Astrada with 90 seconds on the clock and the teams deadlocked at 1-1.
Las Monjitas went up 2-1 with a penalty goal from Eduardo
Astrada, two minutes into the second period.
Pelon Stirling responded with a goal from the field for Valiente II just
a minute later, and the score stood. The
teams were all even at 2-2 after the first two chukkers.
Las Monjitas got two more goals in the third on penalty
conversions from Eduardo Astrada, but Valiente II wasn’t a spectator in the
game. A penalty goal from Taranco and a pair
of goals from Adolfo Cambiaso (one on a penalty shot and one from the field)
had Valiente II sitting on a narrow 5-4 halftime lead.
Two goals from Stirling in the fourth were scored against
a silent Las Monjitas offense as Valiente II stretched their lead to three
goals, 7-4.
The Valiente II defense scored a second consecutive
shutout of the Las Monjitas attack in the fifth, but managed just a single goal
from Stirling. The Valiente II lead had now
ballooned to four goals, 8-4, with seven minutes left to play.
Javier Astrada and Inaki Laprida had both scored goals
earl in the final chukker, but that was where it stopped. The Valiente II defense ate up precious time
while controlling the ball for much of the final chukker as Las Monjitas
suffered their second loss in an 8-6 Valiente II victory.
Stirling led the Valiente II attack with four goals (one
on penalty). Cambiaso and Taranco each
scored two goals (each of them had a penalty goal).
Javier Astrada set the pace for Las Monjitas with four
goals. Eduardo Astrada and Laprida added
single goals in the loss.