Zacara and Villa Del
Lago remain undefeated in Joe Barry Memorial Cup action
By
Alex Webbe
Villa Del Lago scored their second consecutive victory in
the 2013 Joe Barry Memorial Cup Friday afternoon at the International Polo Club
in Wellington in an exciting 13-12 overtime win at the expense of a scrappy
Lechuza Caracas foursome. The victory
gave them a 2-0 as they remain as one of only five teams in the fourteen team
field without a loss.
Tomas Goti scored two opening chukker goals (one on a
penalty shot) for Lechuza Caracas but Villa Del Lago responded with a pair of
goals from Magoo Laprida and a penalty conversion for a goal from Polito
Pieres. Villa Del Lago took the early
lead, 3-2.
The two teams matched one another goal for goal in the
second. Lechuza picked up two goals on
penalty shots from Goti and another goal from the field from team captain
Victor Vargas. Laprida answered back
with three goals, two on penalty conversions, as Villa Del Lago held on to a
narrow 6-5 edge.
Villa Del Lago picked up a goal on a penalty shot from
Laprida in the opening seconds of the third chukker for a 7-5 two goal
lead. A minute later Pieres added
another goal from the field, 8-5. Vargas
kept Lechuza Caracas in the fight as he scored his second goal of the game in
the final minute of the first half.
After three chukkers of play Villa Del Lago led, 8-6.
The battle raged on as the second half got underway. Both defenses tightened, and it was almost
four minutes into the fourth chukker when Goti’s third penalty goal of the
match cut the Villa Del Lago lead to a single goal, 8-7. Pieres closed out the period with consecutive
scores to put Villa Del Lago ahead by three goals, 10-7.
Goti converted a penalty shot for a goal as the fifth
period opened, 10-8, and teammate Vargas added his third goal of the day,
cutting the Villa Del Lago lead back to a single goal, 10-9. Midway through the chukker Goti connected on
his fifth penalty shot for a tying goal, 10-10.
A final drive by Villa Del Lago resulted in a goal from Agustin Obregon. Villa Del Lago left the field with an 11-10
advantage.
Sixth chukker action had Obregon scoring to extend the
Villa Del Lago lead to two goals, 12-10.
Lechuza Caracas fought their way back into the game on a pair of goals
from Goti that ended regulation play in a 12-12 deadlock.
Following a brief intermission both teams returned to the
field for the sudden-death overtime.
After a brief skirmish following the throw-in, Villa Del Lago was
awarded what appeared to be a game-ending 30-yard penalty shot. Laprida’s aim was off, however, and the game
played on. Laprida redeemed himself,
however, picking up the loose ball and scoring the winning goal on a shot from
the field, 13-12.
The victory boosts the Villa Del Lago record to 2-0 while
Lechuza Caracas fell to 0-2.
ZACARA
9, LUCCHESE 8
In the final tournament match of the day, 10-goaler
Facundo Pieres scored the opening goal of the game for Zacara, but Lucchese
came storming back. A goal from the
field from Andres Weisz and two more goals from Sebastian Merlos had Lucchese in
front after the first chukker, 3-1.
Pieres scored early in the second period to cut the
Lucchese lead to a single goal, 3-2, but despite an oppressive defense, Lucchese
wasn’t through. With over four minutes
gone in the chukker, Merlos scored his third goal of the day. After two periods of play Lucchese continued
to hold the advantage, 4-2.
Lucchese showed no signs of letting up on the dangerous
Zacara lineup, adding two more goals on penalty shots from Jason Crowder to
move on top, 6-2. Zacara finally broke
free of their Lucchese defenders with Ulloa scoring a goal from the field and
Pieres adding a penalty goal and a goal from the field. At the end of the first half the Lucchese
lead had been trimmed to a single goal, 6-5.
Zacara pitched shutout defense in the fourth chukker, but
were limited to a single goal on a penalty conversion Pieres. The score was all even at 6-6.
Crowder scored a goal from the field in the opening minutes
of the fifth period to squeak ahead, 7-6, as both teams fought for control of
the ball. A violent collision in the
mouth of the Lucchese goal resulted in a Penalty 1, and automatic goal awarded
to Zacara, 7-7. Hilario Ulloa scored the
go-ahead goal for Zacara in the final 40 seconds of the chukker for an 8-7
edge.
The final chukker had Pieres scoring his sixth goal of the
game on a shot from the field for a two goal, 9-7 lead. Crowder responded with a penalty conversion
for a goal a minute later to bring Lucchese to within a goal of Zacara, but it was
not to be. Time ran out with Lucchese
frantically attempting to mount a final assault, and Zacara took the game, 9-8.
Zacara’s (2-0) next game will be against an undefeated Valiente
(2-0) team Sunday morning. Lucchese
(0-2) will play Piaget (0-2) that same morning.
Competition continues in the 2013 Joe Barry Memorial Cup
on Saturday, January 19 with three matches that include a 10am contest between
Orchard Hill (1-1) and Coca-Cola (0-2); a 1pm meeting between Goose Creek (2-0)
and Crab Orchard (1-1); and a 3pm matchup between La Herradura (2-0) and Audi
(1-1).