By Alex Webbe
The semifinals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington are set for next Wednesday with Lucchese (4-0) and Piaget (3-1) facing off at 1 pm while Audi (4-0) and Coca-Cola take to the field in a 3 pm contest to decide this year’s finalists.
Lucchese was the first team to lock up a berth in the semifinals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup with a solid 14-11 win over a competitive Orchard Hill foursome.
Pelon Stirling scored the first goal of the game and teammate Cote Zegers made it 2-0 with a first chukker goal. Facundo Obregon kept Orchard Hill from being shut out with a penalty conversion. At the end of the first period, Orchard Hill trailed 2-1.
Stirling added three penalty goals in the second, with Santi Torres scoring his first goal of the game on a shot from the field. Orchard Hill managed single goals from Obregon and Lucas Criado (penalty conversion), but Lucchese extended its lead to three goals, 6-3.
Orchard Hill staged a third chukker rally that tied it up, picking up two penalty goals from Hector Galindo and single goals from the field from Criado and Obregon. Stirling scored Lucchese’s only goal of the period on a penalty goal. At the end of the first half the score was all even at 7-7.
Stirling opened the scoring in the second half with a goal from the field, but Galindo answered back with a goal for Orchard Hill to keep it knotted up at 8-8. Stirling converted a penalty shot for a goal and added two more goals from the field as Lucchese left the field at the end of the chukker with an 11-8 advantage.
Orchard Hill stormed onto the field in the fifth and continued to press their attack. Obregon converted two more penalty shots for goals to come within a goal of the lead, 11-10 when Lucchese woke up. Goals from Zegers and Torres closed out the period with Lucchese carrying a three goal, 13-10 lead into the final chukker of play.
As both teams battled for control of the ball, Obregon slipped through the Lucchese defenses and scored. Torres responded with a Lucchese goal, in what would be the final score of the game. Time expired with Lucchese taking the game by a 14-11 score and becoming the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup next Wednesday.
Stirling led the field with nine goals. Torres scored three times and Zegers contributed two goals to the win.
Obregon’s six goals led the Orchard Hill attack. Galindo added three goals and Criado scored twice in a losing effort.
PIAGET 14, CIRCA 9
Undefeated Circa rode into the second quarterfinal of the day with a perfect 3-0 record in Ylvisaker Cup competition and scored the opening three goals of the game, but it would be Piaget who would ride off with the game in a 14-9 slugfest that would see 23 fouls whistled in the contest.
Argentine 9-goaler Hilario Ulloa gave circa an early 3-0 lead as he converted on three successive penalty shots for goals in the first period of play. Piaget returned the favor, picking up penalty goals from Miguel Astrada, Juan Bollini and Jason Crowder as they rode a 3-3 tie into the second chukker of the game.
Astrada converted two more penalty shots for goals and added a goal from the field as Circa struggled to find an effective offensive game plan. After two chukkers of play, Piaget held a 6-3 edge.
Martin Pepa and Ulloa scored single goals from the field for Circa, limiting Piaget to a penalty goal from Crowder. At the end of the first half, Piaget owned a 7-5 lead over Circa.
Circa tied it up at 7-7 on goals from Pepa and Ulloa, but Crowder gave the lead back to Piaget as he scored two goals from the field in brilliant runs and impressive stickwork. The fourth period ended with Piaget ahead, 9-7.
Piaget broke it open in the fifth with Crowder and Astrada adding two goals apiece while limiting Circa to single goals from Circa team captain Chris Del Gatto and Ulloa (penalty goal). With one chukker left to be played, Piaget commanded a 13-4 lead.
Crowder added a final goal in the sixth while the Piaget defense shutout the Circa offense for the second time in a 14-9 victory.
Crowder set the pace for Piaget with seven goals. Astrada added six goals to the total and Bollini chipped in a goal as well.
Ulloa scored six goals for Circa. Pepa added a pair of goals and Del Gatto scored once in the loss.
COCA-COLA 15, VALIENTE I 10
Coca-Cola rebounded after suffering their first loss of the season and handed Valiente I a healthy 15-10 beating as it continued its march toward a possible third consecutive 20-goal tournament title. Coca-Cola took the season opening Herbie Pennell Cup and rode off with the Joe Barry Memorial Cup as well before suffering a loss at the hands of Circa last week.
Coca-Cola’s Sugar Erskine finally got Coca-Cola on the scoreboard after an uneventful first couple of minutes of play. Action got no more pronounced throughout the balance of the chukker with Coca-Cola taking the narrow lead off the field with them after the first period of play.
Valiente I took control of the second period, gathering three goals from Santiago Toccalino (one on a penalty shot) and a goal from the field from Martin Donovan, for a 4-2 edge. Coca-Cola managed but a single goal on a 40-yard penalty conversion from American 9-goaler Julio Arellano. The chukker ended with Valiente in the possession of a 4-2 advantage.
Coca-Cola swept back into the lead in the third chukker on single goals from Gillian Johnston and Arellano (penalty conversion) and a pair of goals from Mason Wroe. Valiente I was held to a single goal from Jeff Hall, as they trailed 6-5 at the end of the first half.
Five more Coca-Cola goals rocked the Valiente I defense in the fourth period with Erskine scoring once from the field and Arellano scoring four times (three penalty conversions). Toccalino scored a single goal for Valiente I, but they found themselves in an 11-6 hole as the chukker ended.
Goals from the field from Arellano and Erskine ran the Coca-Cola lead to seven goals, 13-6, before Valiente I could respond. A penalty goal from Toccalino and a goal from the field from Hall cut into the Coca-Cola lead, but Valiente I continued to trail by five goals, 13-8.
Erskine added two more goals to the growing Coca-Cola total in the final chukker of play while Valiente I was limited to a pair of goals from Toccalino (one from the field and the other goal on a penalty conversion). The final horn sounded with a resounding 15-10 Coca-Cola victory.
Arellano accounted for seven of the Coca-Cola goals. Erskine scored five times. Wroe registered a goal from the field and a penalty conversion and team captain Gillian Johnston scored a single goal in the win.
Toccalino was the high scorer for Valiente I with seven goals. Hall added two goals and Donovan scored once.
AUDI 11, VILLA DEL LAGO 9
In choppy play, Audi scored a pair of goals in a fifth chukker rally that carried them to an 11-9 win over Villa Del Lago in the final match of Friday’s quarterfinals of the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup.
Audi got on the scoreboard early, picking up a pair of goals from the field from Brazilian 8-goaler Rodrigo Andrade for an early 2-0 lead. Villa Del Lago scraped their way back into the game with a closing first chukker penalty goal from Magoo Laprida. After the opening seven minutes of play, Audi held on to a tenuous 2-1 advantage.
Nic Roldan extended the Audi lead with a pair of goals from the field and a 40-yard penalty conversion. Villa Del Lago kept it close, picking up a goal from the field from Augustin Obregon and a penalty goal from Pelon Escapite. The second chukker ended with Audi ahead, 5-3.
The Villa Del Lago defense controlled the third period, shutting out the Audi attack while picking up a pair of much needed goals from Escapite. A 60-yard penalty conversion and a goal from the field had it all even at 5-5 at the end of the first three chukkers of play.
Lucas Lalor scored twice from the field in the fourth, but single goals from Laprida and Escapite kept it all even at 7-7, as Audi missed capitalizing on a 60-yard penalty shot.
Two more penalty goals from Roldan went unanswered in the fifth as Audi took the lead, 9-7, and never trailed again.
Laprida and Obregon scored single goals in the final chukker, but single goals from Andrade and Roldan (penalty goal) were enough to carry the day as Audi drove off with the 11-9 win.
Roldan led all scoring with six goals. Andrade added three goals and Lalor accounted for two goals in the victory.
Escapite led the Villa Del Lago attack with four goals. Laprida scored three times and Obregon accounted for two goals in the loss.