Despite the efforts of the La Aguada/Las Monjitas players, Ellerstina was in control throughout their 16-12 win at Palermo on Sunday afternoon.
Following a day on which rains postponed play, Ellerstina (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Nachi Du Plessis and Nico Pieres) and Alegria (Polito Pieres, Hilario Ulloa, Lucas Monteverde and Alfredo Capella Barabucci) scored wins in their second round of play in the 2014 Argentine Open Championship at Palermo, Buenos Aries, Argentina.
The victories by Ellerstina and Alegria leave them with identical 2-0 records, with their meeting on Sunday, November 30th deciding their Zone winner and a berth in the Argentine Open final. Remember that it was Alegria who upset Ellerstina last year in the semifinal match, ending a six year Argentine Open final appearance. Ellerstina is expected to ride onto the field next Sunday with 9-goaler Mariano Aguerre in the saddle. Aguerre was forced to Sunday’s game due to a shoulder he sprained in last week’s game against Chapaleufú. Alegria, however, will take the field without team captain Fred Mannix, who recently underwent an operation to repair a damaged mallet hand suffered in their last meeting with Ellerstina in Hurlingham Cup play.
In Sunday’s first match Polito Pieres and Hilario Ulloa combined for 15 goals as Alegria registered an 18-15 win over a veteran Chapaleufú lineup.
In a fast-paced game, Alegria went up 3-1 after first chukker play as Ulloa demonstrated his skills on the field. Chapaleufú stormed back in the second.
Behind Pepe and Eduardo Heguy, outscoring Alegria, 3-2, and cutting the lead to a single goal, 5-4. The two teams exchanged goals in the third, with each putting up a pair. After three chukkers of play, Alegria held on to a one goal advantage, 7-6. Alegria got three goals in the fourth, but Chapaleufú stayed close. Two goals kept them in the hunt as they trailed by just two goals, 10-8, at the end of the first half.
Two Alegria goals went unanswered in the fifth as the pink-shirted Alegria foursome got some separation from Alegria, 12-8.
Four sixth chukker goals from Alegria extended their lead to as Chapaleufú struggled to score twice in the period. Alegria rode off the field with a 16-10 lead with just two chukkers left to play.
Chapaleufú dominated seventh chukker action as they scored four times. Alegria was held to a single goal but continued to lead, 17-14.
Alegria put the brakes on the Chapaleufú rally in the eighth chukker. The two teams scored single goals in the final seven minutes of play as Alegria celebrated the 18-15 win.
Pieres led all scoring with eight goals (two on penalty conversions). Ulloa added seven goals; Lucas Monteverde scored twice; and Alfredo Capella Barabucci was credited with a goal in the victory. Pepe Heguy scored six times for Chapaleufú as his career goal total for Argentine Open play surpassed the 400 mark (404). Eduardo Heguy scored five of his team high six goals on penalty shots. Nachi Heguy scored twice and Bautista Heguy was held to a single goal in the loss.
Ellerstina 16, La Aguada/Las Monjitas
In the second match of the day, a reshuffled Ellerstina lineup, with Nachi Du Plessis replacing the injured Mariano Aguerre, charged out to a one-sided 10-4 halftime lead before coasting to a 16-12 win over an outgunned La Aguada/Las Monjitas team (Lucas James, Magoo Laprida, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Alejandro Novillo Astrada).
Ellerstina left Du Plessis to defend while the Pieres brothers had their way with La Aguada/Las Monjitas. Ellerstina took the early 3-1 lead, extending it to four goals, 6-2, in the second chukker.
La Aguada/Las Monjitas finally got back on track in the third. Matching Ellerstina goal for goal, La Aguada/Las Monjitas appeared to get their bearings in the third, but Ellerstina erased that notion in the fourth chukker. Shutout defense and two goals extended the Ellerstina lead to six goals at the end of the first half, 10-4.
While La Aguada/Las Monjitas tried to claw their way back into the game in the second half, the Ellerstina attack continued to sting. Four more goals in the fifth period were answered by a single goal. The lead grew to nine goals, 14-5, with just three chukkers left to play.
La Aguada/Las Monjitas outscored Ellerstina 4-2 in the final two chukkers of the game, but Ellerstina was content to save their horses as they coasted to the 16-12 victory.
Facundo Pieres led all scoring with nine goals (six on penalty conversions). Gonzalito and Nico Pieres scored three goals apiece and Nachi Du Plessis added a gal for the win. All six of Alejandro Novillo Astrada’s scores came on penalty shots. Magoo Laprida added five goals and Lucas James scored one goal in the loss.
Saturday’s rain postponed games will be played on Monday, November 24th with La Aguada (Facundo Sola, Sapo Caset, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Ignacio Novillo Astrada) facing Miramar (Gonzalo Del Tour, Valerio Zubiaurre, Inaki Laprida and Santiago Toccalino) at 2PM followed by a match between La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) and Magual (Alejandro Muzzio, Ignacio Toccalino, Marcos Di Paola and Jaime Huidobro) at 4:30PM.