By Alex Webbe
Chapa Uno (1-1) upset La Aguada 9-7 on the Number 2 field at Palermo today as competition continues in the 2011 Argentine Open. The loss drops La Aguada’s record to 1-1 as they try to adapt to the loss of team leader Miguel Novillo Astrada who has been sidelined with a riding muscle tear, and is doubtful for the team’s showdown with La Dolfina next week.
With a lack of either focus or teamplay, the two teams struggled through a 0-0 first
chukker, and didn’t create a lot of excitement in the second period. Two minutes into the second period, Nacho Astrada converted a Penalty 4 to account for all of the scoring through the first periods in a 1-0 contest.
Chapa Uno showed signs of life in the third when Polito Pieres found himself on the
connecting end of a pass from teammate Rodrigo Andrade to tie it up at 1-1. A foul by Chapa Uno put La Aguada on the penalty line in the final minute of the chukker. Ignacio Toccalino (substituting for Miguel Astrada) converted the penalty shot to end the chukker with La Aguada guarding a tenuous one goal, 2-1 lead.
Choppy play continued into the fourth chukker, with Chapa Uno taking advantage of a La Aguada foul. Jaime Huidobro converted the shot for a goal and a 2-2 tie.
Polito Pieres put Chapa Uno on top with a great individual play, three minutes into the period to make it 3-2 for their first lead of the day. Just over a minute later Pieres scored again for a 4-2 advantage. Pieres took the ensuing throw-in 150 yards down the field for his third consecutive goal and a 5-2 lead. La Aguada struggled to find its
identity, but none of the characteristics of the familiar Novillo Astrada team were present, and a renewed Chapa Uno team left the field at the end of the first half on the winning end of a 5-2 score.
Rodrigo Andrade opened the fifth chukker with a goal from the field in the first minute of play, 6-3, before La Aguada could respond. Chapa Uno continued to control the ball until Nacho Astrada scored his first goal from the field, but they continued to trail by three goals as the chukker ended.
La Aguada seemed to come to life for a moment in the sixth with Eduardo Astrada scoring in the opening seconds of play cutting the Chapa Uno to lead to two goals,
6-4. La Aguada continued to press the attack, and began to show some of the trademark moves of the team. Blocks, picks and ride-offs supported the play of a teammate as they crept closer to the Chapa Uno goal, but an interception and a clearing pass extinguished any further thoughts of a rally.
Huidobro took advantage of a Penalty 5 by converting the 100 yard shot about halfway through the chukker. Ninety seconds later, Guillermo Caset converted a penalty shot to give Chapa Uno an 8-4 cushion. La Aguada mounted a run at goal with less than a minute to play in the period, with Pieres making a heroic clearing save that resulted in a Safety. Nacho Astrada missed the penalty shot and the sixth chukker came to a close with Chapa Uno boasting a four goal advantage.
Just over a minute into the seventh chukker Pieres found himself on the receiving end of an 80-yard, well-placed backhander by Caset, but the shot at goal went wide. Andrade took advantage of a pass from Pieres to make it 9-4 with less than two minutes left in the seventh. Nacho Astrada converted a 40-yard penalty shot to end the period. La Aguada trailed 9-5 with one chukker left in regulation time.
Once again, La Aguada charged into the play with Nacho Astrada making a 200-yard run for a goal. La Aguada was pressing the attack once again in front of the Chapa Uno goal, but a clearing shot from Chapa Uno scattered the threat. La Aguada scored
their final goal of the match with less than a minute to play as Nacho Astrada
converted a penalty shot for a goal in the 9-7 loss to Chapa Uno.
Pieres led the Chapa Uno attack with four goals, Andrade and Huidobro scored two goals apiece and Caset added a goal in the win.
Nacho Astrada scored five times for La Aguada (three on penalty shots).Toccalino and
Eduardo Astrada added single goals in the losing effort.
LA DOLFINA 20, PILARA
PIAGET 7
It was business as usual for La Dolfina as they steamrolled Pilara Piaget 20-7 in the
late game this afternoon at Palermo with Adolfo Cambiaso scoring nine times in
the win. La Dolfina (2-1) remains undefeated, averaging over 20 goals a game, while Pilara Piaget falls to 0-2.
Bautista Heguy got Pilara Piaget on the scoreboard first, taking a pass from Magoo
Laprida for the opening goal. Less than a minute later, La Dolfina answered with a goal from the field from Pelon Stirling, who was following up a Cambiaso drive to the goal. Pablo MacDonough drove the ball through from over 100 yards out for a 2-1 lead. La Dolfina had an opportunity to add another goal to its total with 30 seconds
left in the chukker, but the penalty shot by Cambiaso was blocked and the
chukker ended with Pilara Piaget trailing by a single goal, 2-1.
A new La Dolfina team took the field in the second chukker with Juan Martin Nero jumping all over a mishandled ball in front of the Pilara Piaget goal for a score just
44 seconds into the period, 3-1. MacDonough quickly made it 4-1, taking the throw-in and carrying it down the field for a score. Cambiaso made it
5-1 on a penalty conversion. The breaks weren’t happening for Pilara Piaget with Luke Tomlinson’s open goal penalty shot getting blocked. Nero closed out
the chukker with his second goal of the match. Pilara Piaget found itself looking at a five goal, 6-1 deficit after just two periods of play.
La Dolfina didn’t look as if it was pressing in the third, with Heguy scoring from the
field and Cambiaso converting a penalty shot to keep La Dolfina ahead by five goals, 7-2 at the end of the period.
Pilara Piaget continued to press the La Dolfina defense with Heguy taking advantage of fouls to score three penalty goals. Cambiaso accounted for La Dolfina’s only goal of the period with Pilar Piaget getting back into the game, trailing 8-5.
Whatever Cambiaso told his teammates at halftime, they appeared to be listening, as they outscored Pilara Piaget 11-0 over the next three chukkers. Defense was outstanding, and the teamwork of the La Dolfina players reminded everyone that this was a 39-goal team and was comprised of some of the games top players.
Cambiaso converted two penalty shots in the fourth and Nero and Stirling added single goals for a 12-5 lead.
Cambiaso scored twice from the field in the sixth, with MacDonough and Stirling rounding out the scoring with single goals and an impressive 11 goal 16-5 advantage.
La Dolfina produced three more unanswered goals in the seventh chukker. Following a missed penalty (Safety) shot by Cambiaso to open the chukker, Stirling and MacDonough scored single goals, 18-5. Cambiaso ended the period with a
penalty goal leaving Pilar Piaget trailing, 19-5.
Hilario Ulloa and Heguy chipped in single goals in the final chukker, but there
wouldn’t be enough time for Pilar Piaget to catch the explosive La Dolfina
offense. Stirling closed out the scoring in the impressive 20-7 win.
Cambiaso was credited with eight goals on the day. Stirling scored five times; MacDonough added four goals; and Nero added three for the win.
Heguy scored six goals for Pilara Piaget. Ulloa added a goal in the loss.
Argentine Open action continues on Sunday, November 27 with Estancia Grande (1-0) meeting Alegria (0-1) in the early game followed by a showdown between 2010 defending champion Ellerstina (1-0) and Chapaleufu Indios II (0-1).