By Alex Webbe
Marc Ganzi. Photo by David Lominska.
Audi and Lucchese squared off in a hotly-contested 3pm game that would determine the seeding for the semifinals of the 2011 Bombardier Pacific Coast Open, with Audi driving off with the 11-10 overtime win at the expense of the 2010 defending champs.
Jeff Blake scored the first goal of the game to put Lucchese on top early, but two goals from the field from Audi team captain Marc Ganzi showed the defending champs just how quickly the tables can be turned. Adolfo Cambiaso scored the final goal of the chukker which ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Lucchese erupted in the second frame with four unanswered goals to take a healthy 6-2 advantage. “I had three great opportunities to score in the chukker and didn’t,” confessed Ganzi. “The shots were close, but not through the posts.”
Third chukker goals from Gonzalito Pieres and Carlos Gracida and miserly defense cut the Lucchese lead to two goals, 6-4 as the first half came to an end.
Both defenses tightened in second half play. Pieres managed to score the only goal of the chukker to cut the Lucchese margin to a single goal, 6-5, as Audi continued to chase Cambiaso and company.
“Carlitos played really well today,” said Ganzi. “He was quick on offense and effective on defense,” he added. “He was the perfect complement to the team today.”
Lucchese showed there was no quit in them as they stormed the field in the fifth. Two goals from the field from Cambiaso and single goals from Julio Gracida and Blake pushed the Lucchese lead to three goals, 10-7. Audi scored on penalty goals from Ganzi and Pieres, but lost ground with one chukker of regulation time left to be played.
For the third time in the contest Audi’s defense kept Lucchese off of the scoreboard as Pieres converted a penalty goal and Carlos Gracida scored from the field. A final penalty conversion from Pieres locked it up at 10-10 as time expired.
“You really feel the pressure when there are four minutes left to play and your trailing Cambiaso’s team by three goals,” said Ganzi, “but we never gave up.”
After a brief intermission both teams returned to the field, with Lucchese getting the first run at the goal. A set play to Cambiaso was foiled by the Audi defense and they had their run at the Lucchese goal. The shot went wide of the goal, and Lucchese was bringing the ball in once again. The Audi defense did its job one last time as Gonzalito drove the ball down the sideboards. Carlitos Gracida picked it up and drove a shot downfield to his father. Carlos Gracida picked it up on the offside as Blake was charging to take him out of the play, and scored on the nearside for the winning goal with just over two minutes gone in overtime.
Pieres led the Audi team with five goals. Teammates Ganzi and Carlos Gracida each scored three goals for the victory.
Cambiaso scored five goals for Lucchese. Blake added three and Julio Gracida accounted for a pair of goals in the loss.
The victory gives Audi a perfect 3-0 record and top seed in Thursday’s semifinals. Audi will play the winner of the Piaget-Mansour game with Lucchese meeting the winner of the ERG-Grants Farm showdown.
ERG 13, GRANTS FARM 8
Paco de Narvaez. Photo by David Lominska.
“We’re going to be facing this same team again on Sunday,” said Grants Farm 8-goaler Jeff Hall after falling to ERG 13-8, “and we just wanted to get through today’s game without any injuries to horses or players.”
Grants Farm might have ridden into the match with no sense of emergency in mind, but it was clear that ERG had different ideas. After last Sunday’s 16-10 loss to Lucchese ERG felt that they had something to prove, and with every member of the team getting on the scoreboard, they might have accomplished their goal.
Nic Roldan scored the only goal of the first chukker for a 1-0 lead as both teams took their time getting their offenses started.
A pair of goals from Sebastian Merlos (one from the field and one by penalty) in the second was complimented by shutout defense by ERG as they edged out to a narrow 2-1 advantage.
Merlos added three more goals in the third and team captain Scott Wood scored his first goal of the day from the field. Grants Farm got a pair of goals from Roldan and a single goal from the field from Jeff Hall, but it was ERG that rode off the field carrying a two goal, 6-4 edge.
ERG continued to press its attack in the fourth period while Grants Farm seemed content to play just hard enough to keep the game moving along. Roldan scored a goal from the field for Grants Farm. Two goals from Paco de Narvaez and a single goal from Merlos ended the chukker with ERG on top, 9-5.
Hall and Roldan scored the opening goals of the fifth before Miguelito Torres answered with a goal for ERG. Roldan’s sixth goal of the contest ended the chukker with ERG trying to protect a two goal, 10-8 cushion with one chukker left to play.
Two more penalty conversions for goals from Merlos and another goal from the field from Wood were scored without any response from Grants Farm, and ERG took the match in a convincing 13-8 fashion.
“We did what we wanted to do today,” said Hall. “We got some air in the horses and nobody got hurt. When Sunday rolls around, we’ll be ready.”
The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Sunday at 1pm to decide who will earn the right to face Lucchese in next week’s semifinals.
Ben Soleimani. Photo by David Lominska.
PIAGET 4, MANSOUR 1
In what amounted to little more than a ride about in the morning contest, Piaget scored a 4-1 win over Mansour on the strength of three goals from the field from Melissa Ganzi and a penalty conversion from Miguel Astrada.
Mansour’s sole goal came in the fifth chukker from team captain Ben Soleimani.
Piaget and Mansour will take the field once again on Sundayat 3pm to determine who will play Audi in next Thursday’s Bombardier Pacific Coast Open semifinals.