La Indiana Bounces Back With Key Win Over Pilot
After a loss in their opening game of the 2018 Ylvisaker Cup, La Indiana bounced back with a key game against Pilot, finishing with the exciting 11-10 victory. Led by six goals from Victorino Ruiz Jorba, La Indiana dominated the third and fourth chukkas, outscoring Pilot 7-2 and withstanding a late push from Pilot’s elite duo of Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres to hold on for the narrow one goal victory.
Fouls were an issue for La Indiana throughout the game as they committed 12 fouls, leading to six penalty attempts for Pilot, all of which were converted by either Gonzalito or Facundo Pieres. Usually a strength due to the possession tactics of the Pieres’, Pilot was outplayed in open play by La Indiana as the physical play of Facundo Obregon continually broke up Pilot’s attacks and set plays resulting in chances for a La Indiana counter attack. Outshooting Pilot 16-9 in the game, La Indiana’s duo of Jeff Hall and Victorino Ruiz Jorba were the key to their attack, combining for seven field goals on twelve shots.
The back and forth game was tied 6-6 at half, but a 3-0 fourth chukka in favour of La Indiana provided them with the edge leading into the final two chukkas. Pilot mounted a comeback behind La Indiana’s four fouls in the fifth chukka, resulting in two penalty goals for Facundo Pieres, while Timmy Dutta and Curtis Pilot both scored from the field to tie the game at 10-10. Ruiz Jorba’s sixth goal of the game in the final chukka put La Indiana up for good, as a late drive from Facundo Pieres was once again thwarted by Obregon, giving La Indiana the 11-10 victory.
The opening game of the day saw Colorado display a dominant performance in their first game of the tournament, using exceptional team defence to keep SD Farms off the scoresheet for nearly three straight chukkas, building a lead behind the offensive talents of Diego Cavanagh and Juan Britos. A positional switch saw Santino Magrini in the #4 position and his impact was felt as SD Farms finished with just two field goals on seven shots in the game. Moving up to the #2 position, Britos was exceptional offensively, including a nearside neckshot under pressure and from distance that will certainly go down as one of the best goals of the year.
SD Farms started strong, looking to build on their momentum from their win over La Indiana as they scored the first two goals of the game for the early 2-0 lead. From that point on, it was Colorado that dominated possession and had SD Farms on the defensive throughout the second half. Finishing with six goals on the game, four of which came via the penalty line, Cavanagh continued to lead a young Colorado team that displayed the potential to make a run through the Ylvisaker Cup.