Ylvisaker
Cup qualifiers identified, pairings unsettled
By
Alex Webbe
Eight 20-goal polo teams faced-off in four matches Sunday
at the International Polo Club in Wellington, but the results still didn’t
clarify who would be meeting in Friday’s quarterfinals of the 2013 Ylvisaker
Cup.
In one of the day’s two key morning matches, Villa Del
Lago eliminated a talent-laden Valiente side from Ylvisaker Cup competition by
handing it its third straight loss in an 11-10 thriller that went down to the
wire.
The two teams exchanged goals in the opening chukker with
Villa Del Lago’s Magoo Laprida converting a pair of penalty shots for goals while
Valiente responded with single goals from Santi Torres (penalty goal) and Bob
Jornayvaz. The first chukker of play
ended in a 2-2 deadlock.
Laprida took a pass from teammate Guille Aguero in the
second and scored to give Villa Del Lago a one goal advantage, 3-2. A 60-yard penalty conversion from Laprida
extended the lead to 4-2 before Valiente could respond. Ten-goaler Pelon Stirling took the ensuing
throw-in and carried it 150 yards down the field for the score and it was
4-3. Torres closed out the scoring in
the first chukker with his second goal of the game on a penalty conversion and
it was all even once again, 4-4
Villa Del Lago’s Laprida added a goal in the third on a
penalty conversion and Aguero converted a penalty shot for a goal as well. Valiente kept from getting shut out with a
goal from the field by Stirling. The
first half came to an end with Valiente trailing by a single goal, 6-5.
A re-focused Valiente team took the field in the fourth
chukker and put three goals on the scoreboard while holding Villa Del Lago to a
single 60-yard penalty goal from Laprida.
Valiente cashed in on a pair of goals from Stirling and a penalty goal
from Torres. After four chukkers of play
Valiente led, 8-7.
Scoring wasn’t in abundance in the fifth with Torres and
Agustin Obregon scoring from the field for the only goals of the chukker. With one period left in regulation play Valiente
held a narrow one goal edge, 9-8.
Laprida’s sixth penalty goal of the game tied it up at
9-9 and a goal from Jared Zenni had them ahead, 10-9. Torres converted a penalty shot for a goal
for a 10-10 tie with just over a minute left to play. With Villa Del Lago on the attack, Agustin
Obregon pounced on a deflected ball and carried it through the goal posts for
the winning goal.
Laprida set the pace for the Villa Del Lago attack with
seven goals (six on penalty shots).
Obregon scored twice while Zenni and Aguero scored single goals in the
win. Torres scored five goals for
Valiente (four on penalty shots).
Stirling added four goals and Jornayvaz scored once in a losing effort.
ERG
14, ORCHARD HILL 10
In other Sunday morning action, Scott Wood’s ERG team
beat Orchard Hill 14-10 to remain undefeated in Ylvisaker Cup action and secure
a berth in Friday’s tournament quarterfinals.
Paco de Narvaez converted two 60-yard penalty shots for
goals and added another from the field in a fast-paced opening chukker as they
rode off to an early 3-2 lead over a determined Orchard Hill foursome. Orchard Hill picked up a pair of goals on
penalty shots by Jeff Hall.
De Narvaez and Hector Galindo extended the lead to two
goals. 5-3, in the second with de Narvaez scoring on a penalty shot for a goal
and Galindo adding a goal from the field.
Hall added a goal to the Orchard Hill total, but ERG continued to lead,
5-3.
ERG broke loose in the third chukker, scoring four times
while holding Orchard Hill to a single penalty goal from Hall. Jeff Blake and Wood (penalty goal) added
single goals for ERG; de Narvaez scored twice (one on a penalty shot) for a 9-5
halftime advantage.
De Narvaez added two more penalty goals in the fourth and
teammate Blake scored another goal from the field. Hall added another penalty goal for Orchard
Hill. ERG extended its lead to seven
goals, 12-5
The two teams exchanged single goals in the fifth with
Lucas Criado scoring on a 40-yard penalty shot while de Narvaez scored is ninth
goal of the game for a 13-6 lead.
With ERG cruising in the sixth, Orchard Hill tried
desperately to get back into the game.
Scoring four consecutive goals (single goals from Steve Van Andel and Criado
and a pair of penalty goals from Hall), Orchard Hill cut the lead to three
goals, 13-10. A penalty conversion by
Galindo ended the game with Orchard Hill falling, 14-10.
ERG’s de Narvaez was credited with nine goals (six on
penalty shots). Galindo and Blake scored
a pair of goals apiece and Wood added a goal in the win. Hall led the Orchard Hill charge with seven
goals. Criado added a pair of goals and Van
Andel scored once in the loss.
AUDI
8, LECHUZA 7
With Audi in a must-win situation Sunday afternoon when
they faced previously undefeated Lechuza Caracas, Nic Roldan led the way with
three first half goals, scoring twice form the field and converting a penalty shot
for a goal. Nico Pieres scored the other
three goals for Audi as they held on for a narrow 6-5 lead.
Polito Pieres scored three times for Lechuza in the
opening half. Carlos Avendano and Adam
Snow added single goals.
A scoreless fourth period allowed the drama to build as
both teams raced up and down the field in an effort to break the game open.
Polito Pieres scored twice in the fifth (once on a
penalty shot). Roldan managed a single
goal for Audi as the teams were all even at 7-7.
Goals were hard to come by in the final chukker, and it
was a Lechuza foul that sent Roldan to the penalty line where he converted the
shot for the winning goal in the 8-7 Audi victory.
Roldan led the Audi attack with five goals (three on
penalty shots). Nico Pieres scored two
of his three goals from the field.
Polito Pieres was credited with five goals for Lechuza, three on penalties. Snow and Avendano added single goals in
losing effort.
LUCCHESE
10, FARAWAY 8
Faraway had struggled its way through the opening rounds
of the Ylvisaker Cup, falling victim to Lechuza Caracas (8-6) and Audi (11-3),
but managed to rally the troops for Sunday’s stadium match against a powerful
Lucchese foursome, but coming up short in the 10-8 loss.
Lucchese took the field with Argentine 9-goaler Agustin
Merlos taking the place of his brother Sebastian who had suffered a broken rib
in the team’s Friday afternoon 14-12 loss to Lechuza. Flying in two days ago to get ready for the
26-goal competition, the younger brother was drafted to fill out the Lucchese
lineup, and it was a fine performance he put in.
Agustin Merlos scored three first chukker goals for
Lucchese as they ended the period with a 3-1 advantage. Juan Monteverde scored Faraway’s only goal.
Merlos added two more Lucchese goals on penalty shots in
the second and Kris Kampsen scored a goal as Faraway found themselves trailing
6-2 after second chukker. Pelon Escapite
scored a single goal for a Faraway team that struggled to put the ball through
its opponent’s goalposts.
Faraway continued to step its game up, matching Lucchese
goal for goal in the third. Kampsen
scored twice from the field while Santiago Chavanne added a penalty goal and a
goal from the field. After three periods
of action Lucchese boasted an 8-4 halftime lead.
A determined Faraway team took the field in the fourth
chukker and shut down the Lucchese attack.
Single goals from Monteverde and Hutton Goodman cut the lead to two
goals, 8-6, and the momentum looked to be shifting.
Kampsen’s fourth goal of the game came early in the fifth
period, 9-6, but Faraway hadn’t given up yet.
A pressing attack caused Lucchese to foul, with Goodman on the scoring
end of a pair of penalty shots. With one
chukker left to play the Lucchese lead had been reduced to a single goal, 9-8.
The tempo of the game was elevated to break-neck speed as
both teams attempted to break through the defenders to score. An early foul on a Lucchese player sent
Goodman to the penalty line for a third time, but the tying shot went
wide. A penalty was called on Faraway with
less than two minutes in regulation time.
Agustin Merlos converted the shot and Lucchese held on for the 10-8
victory.
Merlos led the field with six goals on the day (three on
penalty shots). Kampsen added four goals
for the win. Goodman scored three times
for Faraway (twice on penalty shots). Chavanne and Monteverde added two goals apiece
and Escapite chipped in a goal in the loss.