2013 La Dolfina polo team L to R-Juan Martin Nero, Pablo MacDonough, Pelon Stirling and Adolfo Cambiaso.
La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martín Nero) got off to a slow start in the last semifinal of the 2013 Tortugas Open in Buenos Aires but started to gel halfway through the opening chukker. Three La Dolfina goals were answered by a pair of scoring efforts by La Natividad (Sapo Caset, Nachi Heguy, Rodrigo Andrade and Lolo Castagnola) with La Dolfina leaving the field at the end of the first chukker with a delicate 3-2 lead.
La Dolfina added two more goals in second chukker action while limiting a talented La Natividad foursome to a single score. La Dolfina extended its lead to two goals, 5-3.
Adolfo Cambiaso converts a penalty shot to give La Dolfina a three goal lead, 6-3. La Natividad was unable to get on the scoreboard as La Dolfina extended their lead.
Two more fourth chukker La Dolfina goals were countered by a single goal from La Natividad. With three chukkers left to play La Natividad was finding themselves out-played and trailing by four goals, 8-4.
With each chukker the La Dolfina attack seemed to gain momentum. La Dolfina added three more goals to their total in the fifth. La Natividad responded with a single goal and found themselves behind by six goals, 11-5.
Thee more La Dolfina goals went unanswered in the sixth, and La Dolfina took complete command of the game. Shutout defense allowed La Dolfina to run off with a nine goal lead, 14-5.
La Natividad scored their first goal since the fourth chukker but two scored from La Dolfina ended the game in a powerful 16-6 victory.
Adolfo Cambiaso led all scoring with seven goals (three on penalty conversions). Juan Martin Nero scored four times; Pelon Stirling added three goals; and Pablo MacDonough scored twice. Three of Sapo Caset’s five goals came on penalty shots and Rodrigo Andrade scored the other goal for La Natividad.
The win will send La Dolfina into the Tortugas Open finals against Ellerstina/Piaget (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Mariano Aguerre and Nicolás Pieres) on Saturday, October 12.