Zacara Wins in OT, Lucchese and Valiente Remain Perfect
By Alex Webbe
Zacara (1-1) evened its record Sunday afternoon by scoring a 10-9 overtime win over a punchless Piocho Ranch (0-2) team that took the field without either Memo Gracida or Tom Barrack in the lineup in the second round of play in the 2010 Skene Cup at the Santa Barbara Polo Club.
Fielding an 18-goal lineup that included Joel Baker (2) and Matias Zavaleta (4), Piocho received one goal by handicap and got off to an aggressive start in a defensive-oriented first chukker with Julio Gracida’s single goal from the field accounting for all of the scoring.
Jeff Hall got Zacara on the scoreboard in the second period, but a pair of goals from Julio Gracida (one by penalty, one from the field) had Piocho holding to a 4-1 lead after the first two chukkers.
Argentine 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa scored the opening goal of the third chukker, but again it was the defense that dominated the play. Carlos Gracida converted a Penalty 2 to close out the scoring and give Piocho a 5-2 halftime advantage.
“I thought we had control of it in the first half,†said Piocho’s Carlos Gracida, “but they came out strong in the fourth and fifth chukkers.â€
Zacara put three goals on the scoreboard in the fourth chukker (a goal each from Ulloa, Hall and Robert Jornayvaz, Jr.-filling in for the absent Lyndon Lea) while holding Piocho scoreless, and it was all even at 5-5.
A stronger fifth period had Zacara adding another three goals while a lone goal from Carlos Gracida was all Piocho could muster. Zacara took an 8-6 lead into the sixth chukker.
Goals from Carlos Gracida and Baker tied it at 8-8, but Charlie Peterson put it through the goal posts for Zacara for a 9-8 edge. Baker’s second goal of the period knotted it up at 9-9 and the chukker ended.
After a brief intermission, the teams returned to the field in the sudden death overtime.
Both teams battled for control of the ball and took well-coordinated runs up and down the field, each missing a number of scoring opportunities.
It was Zacara, however, that finally broke the scoring drought. Hall converted a well-placed pass from Peterson, and Zacara rode off with a well-earned 10-9 win.
Ulloa and Hall led the Zacara scoring with four goals apiece. Jornayvaz and Peterson accounted for single goals in the win.
Julio and Carlos Gracida each scored three times. Baker added two and Piocho received one goal by handicap.
LUCCHESE 14, MANSOUR 11
It was a well-balanced attack that set the pace for the Lucchese (2-0) team in a 14-11 win over Mansour (1-1) in the early afternoon Skene Cup contest.
Taking the field without its star player (10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso was busy leading his Dubai team to a 14-12 win in the finals of the British Open), Lucchese received one goal by handicap and relied on the field generalship of 9-goaler Lucas Criado to lead them to their second consecutive win.
With Mansour matching them goal for goal throughout the first three chukkers, Lucchese ended the first half with a narrow 6-5 advantage, and that was only by virtue of the one goal it received by handicap from the 20-goal Mansour team.
Criado scored his third and fourth goals of the game in the fourth while the defense held Mansour to a single goal from Santiago Toccalino. Lucchese extended its lead, 8-6,
The fifth chukker belonged to Lucchese. Four straight goals from Lucchese saw Criado, Andres Weisz and team captain John Muse start to run away from the Mansour team, building up a 13-7 lead over an out-horsed Mansour lineup.
“They took the game from us in the fifth chukker,†Mansour’s Luis Escobar conceded. “Andres (Weisz) played exceptionally well.â€
Mansour might have been trailing by six goals, but they showed no notice of it as they charged into the final chukker of play.
Muse scored his third goal of the game to open the final chukker, but then it belonged to Mansour. Four consecutive goals saw Escobar, Toccalino and Martin Zegers score, but there was not enough time left. The final horn sounded with Lucchese on top, 14-11.
Criado scored six goals for Lucchese; Weisz added four and Muse accounted for three goals. Lucchese received one goal by handicap.
Zegers was the high scorer for Mansour with six goals. Toccalino scored three times and Escobar added a pair in the loss.
VALIENTE 12, GRANTS FARM 10
In one of a pair of morning contests, Valiente (2-0) kept its record perfect with a 12-10 win over a strong Grants Farm (1-1) team on the strength of balanced scoring that saw every member of the Valiente team getting on the scoreboard.
A pair of goals from Kris Kampsen and a single goal from Nacho Astrada had Valiente up 3-1 after the first chukker, with Jeff Blake accounting for the sole Grants Farm score.
Three more Valiente goals went on the scoreboard in the second period with Kampsen, Astrada and Juan Carlos Harriott each scoring. Grants Farm got single goals from Cachi Garcia-Velez and Sugar Erskine, but trailed 6-3.
Goals from Kampsen and Astrada had Valiente up by five goals in the third chukker, but two penalty conversions from Jeff Blake kept Grants Farm in the game, trailing at halftime, 8-5.
Valiente notched another three goals in the fourth frame, with Kampsen accounting for a pair of them and team captain Bob Jornayvaz adding a single goal. Grants Farm was held to a single goal from Erskine, and they continued to trail, 11-6.
A penalty goal from Erskine and a goal from the field from Blake cut the Valiente lead to three goals, but Kampsen tallied his seventh goal of the game to end the fifth for a 12-8 advantage.
Blake scored the only two goals of the final chukker for Grants Farm, but it wasn’t enough. Valiente took a perfect 2-0 record with them after scoring the 12-10 win.
Kampsen led all scoring with seven goals (leading all players in tournament scoring with 18 goals in the last two games). Astrada added three and Harriott and Jornayvaz scored single goals in the win.
Blake scored six goals for Grants Farm. Erskine racked up three goals and Garcia-Velez scored once.
AUDI 14, ERG 9
Taking the field with a scrambled lineup that had injured 10-goaler Lolo Castagnola (ribs) watching from the sidelines, Audi (1-1) scored a resounding 14-9 win over ERG (0-2), putting it right back into the competition.
Six-goaler Juan “Jota†Chavanne filled in for the ailing Castagnola, and a 16-goal Audi team got four goals by handicap and made it through the first chukker with a 5-3 lead.
Juan Bollini’s second penalty conversion of the game had Audi up 6-3, as a talented ERG foursome was held scoreless.
The two teams exchanged goals in the third, with Paco de Narvaez converting a pair of penalty shots while Bollini scored once from the field and once from the penalty line. Audi was ahead by three goals at the end of the first half, 8-5.
Once again it was Bollini with a pair of goals for Audi while ERG struggled to get single goals from de Narvaez and Santiago Torres in the fourth. Audi continued to lead, 10-7.
“Juan (Bollini) played lights out polo,†offered Marc Ganzi, who watches his wife Melissa and her teammates push ERG around the field.
De Narvaez opened the scoring in the fifth period followed by a pair of penalty goals from Bollini. ERG team captain Scott Wood converted a penalty shot and Audi’s Del Walton closed out the scoring with a goal from the field, moving his team ahead 13-9.
Unable to get on the scoreboard in the final chukker, ERG watches Chavanne score his only goal of the game for the final 14-9 Audi win.
Bollini led all scoring with eight goals on the day. De Narvaez was high scorer for ERG with five goals.