By Alex Webbe
Pilara Piaget (2-0) scored a convincing 22-13 win over Magual (0-2) while La Dolfina (2-0) stays perfect in 18-13 win at the expense of winless Alegria (0-2) Friday afternoon in the Hurlingham Open in Buenos Aires. Sebastian Merlos scored twelve goals in the victory.
Pilara Piaget jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on its way to a commanding 13-6 halftime lead over an out-gunned Magual lineup as play in the 2012 Hurlingham Open championship got underway after rain delays.
The teams scored two goals apiece in the fifth as Magual seemed to stem the Pilara Piaget surge.
Three unanswered goals from Pilara Piaget in the sixth had Magual trailing by ten goals, 18-8 with just two chukkers left in regulation time.
Magual outscored Pilara Piaget 3-2 in the seventh period, 20-11, but the rally was weak and short-lived.
Each team added two more goals to their totals in the final chukker as Pilara Piaget rode away with the 22-13 victory.
La Dolfina 18, Alegria 13
In a game that was much closer than anticipated, La Dolfina trailed early before charging out to an 8-5 halftime lead on its way to an 18-13 win over Alegria in the second Hurlingham Open match of the day.
Alegria scored the only goal of the opening chukker for the 1-0 early advantage and fended off La Dolfina in the second to continue to lead by a single goal, 3-2 after two periods.
La Dolfina got its attack on track in the third chukker, scoring three times to take its first lead of the game, 5-4.
The 40-goal La Dolfina machine got into gear in the fourth, holding Alegria to a single goal while scoring three times to move ahead, 8-5.
Three more goals from La Dolfina in the fifth had them leading Alegria by four goals, 11-7 as they started to distance themselves from the challenger with two chukkers left in the game.
Alegria made an effort to catch up in the seventh, but La Dolfina appeared to be coasting as the period ended with Alegria trailing by six goals, 16-10.
Alegria continued to press the attack with La Dolfina content to deflect their passes. Alegria outscored La Dolfina 3-2 in the final seven minutes of the game but still held on for a comfortable 18-13 win.
Action will continue in Hurlingham Open play on Saturday with Ellerstina (1-0) facing La Aguada (0-1) followed by a duel between La Natividad (1-0) and La Aguada/Las Monjitas (0-1).