Zacara evens record in 13-9 win
By Alex Webbe
ERG outscored Zacara 9-7 in the last four chukkers of Thursday afternoon’s match in the 2011 Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington by it was the first two chukkers of play that sealed their fate.
Zacara six goals in the first two chukkers on its way to a 13-9 win, as a talented ERG team flailed helplessly at the ball in an effort to stave off an early rout that put them in a hole that they fought to get out of.
ERG didn’t score a goal until the final minute of the second chukker, and found themselves behind 8-4 at the half.
In its opening game of the tournament, Zacara looked like the “gang that couldn’t shoot straight†as it struggled to find an offense in a low-scoring 8-6 loss, but Thursday afternoon was a different story.
Goals by Mariano Uranga, Jeff Blake (penalty shot) and Gonzalo Del Tour had Zacara ahead 3-0 after the first chukker as ERG (1-1) struggled to put together any coordinated attack of its own.
Team captain Lyndon Lea scored two goals in the second and Del Tour added another goal for a 6-0 lead before ERG finally responded.
A penalty call with just over a minute left I the period put Jason Crowder at the line where he converted the shot for a goal, and the chukker ended with ERG trailing by five goals, 6-1.
Crowder converted two more penalty shots in the third, cutting the Zacara lead to three goals, 6-3, but that would be as close as ERG would come all day. Del Tour scored from the field for Zacara, 7-3. Santi Torres got on the scoreboard with a goal before Blake’s second penalty goal of the game ended the first half with Zacara riding an 8-4 lead.
Del Tour added a pair of goals in the fourth while ERG got single goals from Paco De Narvaez and Crowder. The Zacara lead held at four goals, 10-6.
Blake scored his third goal of the game in the fifth period, and Zacara got two more goals from Uranga. Crowder scored a goal from the field, but trailed 13-7 with one chukker left to play.
ERG continued to press its attack, battling futilely to get back into the game, but despite two unanswered goals from Crowder, Zacara coasted through the sixth chukker for the 13-9 win.
Ylvisaker Cup action is slated to continue on Friday, February 4 at 3pm between Equuleus (1-0) and Lechuza Caracas (0-0).