By Alex Webbe
Facundo Pieres scored nine goals as Zacara (2-0) downed Bendabout 15-13 in Piaget USPA Gold Cup action Wednesday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Given one goal by handicap from the 26-goal Bendabout team, Zacara wasted little time in adding to it. Three first chukker goals from Pieres were countered by a single penalty goal from Bendabout’s Julio Arellano as Zacara rode off with a 4-1 first chukker lead. Goals from Mariano Uranga and Pieres in the second frame gave Zacara a 6-5 lead as Bendabout got three goals from Julio Arellano (all on penalty shots) and a goal from the field from Sugar Erskine. The period ended with Zacara holding on to a 6-5 advantage.
Two more goals from Pieres and a goal from the field from Sebastian Merlos had Zacara up, 9-8 at the half with Arellano scoring three more goals on penalty shots for Bendabout.
Merlos scored the first goal of the fourth chukker and Pieres followed suite, giving Zacara an 11-8 lead. Magoo Laprida’s first goal of the day and another penalty goal from Arellano sent the game into the fifth with Zacara continuing to hold the lead, 11-10.
The fifth was a breakout chukker for Zacara, getting goals from Merlos, Pieres and team captain Lyndon Lea while holding Bendabout to a single goal from Laprida. As the horn ending the chukker ended, Zacara stretched its lead to three goals, 14-11.
Pieres scored his ninth goal of the match in the sixth chukker in leading Zacara to a 15-13 win over Bendabout. Erskine and Arellano each added a goal from Bendabout in the final chukker, but the game had already been decided.
Pieres scored nine times form Zacara. Merlos chipped in three goals and Lyndon Lea and Mariano Uranga scored single goals for the win,
Arellano matched Pieres’ nine goals in the match. Erskine and Laprida each added two goals in the game.
CRAB ORCHARD 10, VALIENTE 9
Crab Orchard, last year’s Piaget USPA Gold Cup winner, looked to be getting their act together as they took a close 10-9 game from a very competitive Valiente (0-2) lineup.
Offsetting penalty goals from Valiente’s Miguel Astrada and Crab Orchard’s Nachi Du Plessis had the game all even at 1-1 after the first chukker, and even again at 3-3 after the second chukker of play. Hilario Ulloa provided a pair of goals from Crab Orchard while Miguel Astrada stroked the ball through the posts twice for Valiente.
Ulloa and Du Plessis each scored a goal in the third, but Valiente got two goals from Nacho Astrada and another goal from Pablo Pieres on a long drive through the posts. The first half ended with Valiente holding on to a 6-5 lead.
Crab Orchard stepped up its defense in the fourth, shutting out the Valiente offense while adding a pair of penalty goals from Du Plessis and a goal from the field from Adolfo Cambiaso. After four chukkers of play, Crab Orchard left the field on top of an 8-6 score.
Valiente’s Nacho Astrada accounted for the only goal of the fifth period, cutting into the Crab Orchard lead and trailing by a scant 8-7 score.
Du Plessis scored on his fifth penalty shot of the day in the final chukker, and Cambiaso added a goal for Crab Orchard while Valiente was forced to settle for goals from Miguel Astrada and Bob Jornayvaz as Crab Orchard celebrated the 10-9 win.
Du Plessis led all scoring with five goals. Ulloa scored three times and Cambiaso added a pair of goals in the win.
Miguel Astrada led the Valiente team with four goals. His brother Nacho Astrada scored three times while Pieres and Jornayvaz added single goals.
HAWKS 10, FARAWAY 6
Ten-goaler Mariano Aguerre was at top form and Faraway (1-1) looked like “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight” Wednesday morning as the Hawks (2-0) rolled over Faraway 10-6 in the second round of play in Piaget USPA Gold Cup action.
Faraway received one goal by handicap but didn’t score from the field until Lucas Monteverde’s second chukker goal.
The Hawks scored the opening goals of the game in the first chukker on goals from Aguerre and Freddie Mannix. The Hawks added three more goals in the second with Mariano Gonzalez converting a penalty shot for a goal while Aguerre added two more from the field.
A battered and bruised Mike Azzaro (from a fall last week in a game) scored on a penalty shot for Faraway in the third chukker, but goals from Aguerre and Freddie Mannix had the Hawks soaring to a7-3 halftime lead.
Faraway held the Hawks to a single goal (Aguerre) in the fourth, but were unable to score themselves. Two more goals in the fifth (Julian Mannix and a penalty goal from Gonzalez) went unanswered as the Hawks ran off with a seven goal lead, 10-3 going into the final chukker.
The Faraway offense finally showed up in the sixth, but it was a case of too little, too late. Single goals from Monteverde (penalty shot) Nic Roldan and Azzaro cut the Hawks’ final margin of victory to four goals, 10-6.