L to R-La Irentia’s Juan Ruiz Guiñazu chasing Ellerstina 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres in Argentine Open action Monday afternoon at Palermo. Ellerstina won by a convincing 17-10 score. (Photo courtesy of Matias Callejo)
Following a rain-delayed Sunday meeting in Argentine Open play at Palermo in Buenos Aires, Ellerstina (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Polito Pieres and Nico Pieres) tried to get back to form following their Hurlingham Open title win over La Dolfina by beating La Irenita (Juan Ruiz Guiñazu, Juan M. Zavaleta, Matías MacDonough and Clemente Zavaleta), 17-10.
Gonzalito Pieres scored the first goal of the game for Ellerstina followed by a 30-yard penalty conversion by Facundo Pieres. Matias MacDonough finally got La Irenita on the scoreboard with a penalty shot after over four minutes into the opening period. Facundo Pieres closed out the chukker with a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal and a 3-1 Ellerstina lead.
Polito Pieres scored is first goal of the game to open the scoring in the second period, 4-1. La Irenita countered with a goal from Juan Ruiz Guiñazu to make it 4-2. Facundo Pieres scored the final goal of the chukker on a well-placed pass from cousin Polito Pieres to make it 5-2.
Ellerstina took control of the third period as they scored five unanswered goals to stretch their lead over La Irenita to eight goals, 10-2. Polito Pieres started the five-goal run going with back-to-back goals to make it 7-2. Facundo Pieres scored on a 30-yard penalty shot less than a minute later before adding another goal on a pass from Polito Pieres, 9-2. Nico Pieres closed out the chukker with his first goal of the day and La Irenita found themselves trailing, 10-2.
MacDonough scored the first two goals of the fourth period, converting a 30-yard penalty shot before adding a goal from the field, 10-4. Facundo Pieres responded with a 60-yard penalty conversion followed by a goal from the field from Gonzalito Pieres in the final seconds of the chukker for a 12-4 halftime score.
A subdues Ellerstina attack watched La Irenita score twice in the fifth while misfiring on their own scoring opportunities. Juan Martin Zavaleta opened the scoring with a goal from the field followed by the only other goal of the chukker by teammate MacDonough. Ellerstina continued to lead, however, 12-6.
Nico Pieres scored the only goal in a defensive sixth chukker, following up on a run by Gonzalito Pieres. La Irenita was held scoreless and fell behind by seven goals, 13-6.
Clemente Zavaleta scored his first goal of the game to open the seventh period, 13-7, but Ellerstina stormed back. Consecutive goals from Nico Pieres, Facundo Pieres and Gonzalito Pieres had Ellerstina holding a nine-goal advantage over La Irenita, 16-7, going into the final chukker.
Eighth period goals from Guiñazu, Clemente Zavaleta in the first minutes of the period, followed by a goal from Nico Pieres. Guiñazu scored the final goal of the game but it was Ellerstina with the easy win, 17-10.
La Aguada-Las Monjitas 13, El Paraiso 12, OT
The second game of the day was the more competitive of the two with La Aguada-Las Monjitas (Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Eduardo. Novillo Astrada, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Ignacio Novillo Astrada) taking the early lead only to fall behind a spirited El Paraiso lineup (Agustin Merlos, Ignacio Toccalino, Ignacio Heguy and Santiago Toccalino) before rallying to tie the game in the eighth chukker and score the winning goal in sudden-death overtime.
Agustin Merlos scored the first goal of the day to give El Paraiso a 1-0 lead in the opening chukker but it was La Aguada-Las Monjitas who scored the next six goals of the contest, stretching into the third chukker.
Goals from Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Ignacio Novillo Astrada ended the first period with La Aguada-Las Monjitas in front, 3-1.
Alejandro Novillo Astrada scored the only goal of the second period as the El Paraiso made defensive adjustments. La Aguada-Las Monjitas extended their lead to 4-1.
Goals from Ignacio Novillo Astrada and Alejandro Novillo Astrada had El Paraiso trailing by five goals in third period action before a goal from Santiago Toccalino and two goals from Merlos cut into the lead, 6-4. Eduardo Novillo Astrada scored the final goal of the chukker to maintain the lead, 7-4.
El Paraiso rallied in the fourth with Merlos scoring three times and Ignacio Toccalino scoring once. The El Paraiso defense held La Aguada-Las Monjitas scoreless and led at the end of the first half, 8-7.
The two teams traded goals in the fifth with Ignacio Novillo Astrada and Alejandro Novillo Astrada scoring single goals for La Aguada-Las Monjitas. Merlos and Ignacio Toccalino countered with goals of their own as El Paraiso held the one goal advantage, 10-9.
Both defenses tightened in the sixth with Merlos accounting for the only goal of the chukker. The El Paraiso lead stood at two goals, 11-9 with two chukkers remaining in regulation play.
Play was measured in the seventh with Eduardo Novillo Astrada scoring first and Santiago Toccalino responding with the final goal of the chukker. El Paraiso ended the seventh period on top of a 12-10 score.
A determined La Aguada-Las Monjitas team controlled the field in the eighth chukker. Supported by a solid defensive effort, Eduardo Novillo Astrada scored the first goal of the chukker, 12-11, with Ignacio Novillo Astrada tying the game in the waning seconds of play, 12-12, to force a sudden-death overtime.
La Aguada-Las Monjitas didn’t waste any time in the overtime period. Alejandro Novillo Astrada scored the winning goal in the first 33 seconds of play for the 13-12, come-from-behind victory.
Alejandro Novillo Astrada led his team in scoring with five goals (three on penalty shots) including the game winner in overtime. Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Ignacio Novillo Astrada scored four goals apiece for the win. Merlos scored six of his game-high eight goals on penalty conversions. Ignacio Toccalino and Santiago Toccalino each scored twice in the loss.