The 2013 Maserati U. S. Open Championship at the International Polo Club in Wellington got off to an exciting start with Coca-Cola scoring a come-from-behind 12-11 win over Audi while in the second game on the day, Zorzal managed to eke out a 10-8 win over ERG.

Audi got the ball rolling in the opening chukker against Coca-Cola with a single goal from the field from Nico Pieres with only 43 seconds left on the clock.  At the end of the first chukker, Audi drove off with a narrow 1-0 advantage.

Single goals from Nico Pieres, his older brother Gonzalito Pieres and Jeff Hall in the second chukker were countered by a pair of penalty conversions from Julio Arellano.  Coca-Cola trailed by two goals, 4-2, going into the third.

The play of Audi 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres continued to be electrifying in third period action.  A textbook pass to his brother Nico Pieres registered the first goal of the chukker less than 30-seconds into the chukker.  Sugar Erskine scored his first goal of the game for Coca-Cola, but ensuing scores from Nico Pieres and Jeff Hall extended the Audi lead to four goals, 7-3.  Sebastian Merlos added two more goals to the Coca-Cola total while Hall scored Audi’s final goal of the chukker for the 8-5 halftime lead.

The two teams traded goals in the fourth, with Arellano scoring with a goal from the field and converting a 60-yard penalty shot for Coca-Cola.  Hall and Gonzalito Pieres scored their third goals of the match.  After four chukkers of play, Audi maintained its three goal lead, 10-7.

Coca-Cola managed to assert its offense and take control of the game in the fifth chukker.  Shutout defense and single goals from the field from Gillian Johnston and Arellano had Coca-Cola within a goal of Audi, 10-9.

Erskine tied it up at 10-10 with an opening goal in the sixth, but Audi’s Hall responded with a nicely lofted ball that cut just inside of the goal posts for an 11-10 Audi advantage.  Erskine tied it up once again at 11-11, and four minutes into the chukker, Merlos drove a deep neck-shot through the goal posts for the winning goal in the 12-11 victory.

Arellano led the Coca-Cola team with five goals.  Merlos and Erskine added three goals apiece while Johnston came up with a single goal in the win.  Nico Pieres and Hall scored four goals each for Audi.  Gonzalito Pieres scored three times in the loss.

ZORZAL 10, ERG 8

Opening goals from Zorzal’s Freddie Mannix (40-yard penalty goal) and Jason Crowder were complimented by excellent defense in the first chukker of Thursday’s second Maserati U. S. Open match.  Zorzal left the field with a 2-0 lead.

Both ERG and Zorzal focused on their defense in the second, with Marianito Obregon scoring the only goal of the chukker for a 3-0 Zorzal lead.  ERG struggled to find its offense and found themselves in the hole by three goals.

Both offenses got cranked up in the third with Crowder converting a penalty shot and scoring another from the field.  Mannix scored his second goal of the day for a 6-3 Zorzal advantage.  ERG kept pace, however, with a single goal from Eduardo Astrada and two more goals from Agustin Merlos.  ERG continued to trail at the end of the first half, 6-3.

ERG stormed back into the game as the second half began.  A pair of goals from ERG’s Paco de Narvaez (one on a penalty shot) and a penalty goal from Merlos had ERG within a goal of Zorzal, 7-6.  Obregon scored Zorzal’s only goal of the chukker.

Obregon’s third score of the game in the fifth was sandwiched between ERG goals from Merlos and de Narvaez.  After five chukkers of play the game was deadlocked at 8-8 with one period of regulation time left to play.

Zorzal put out the fire in the final chukker of play.  Two goals from Crowder went unanswered in the 10-8 opening round win.

Merlos scored four times for ERG.  De Narvaez added three goals and Astrada scored a goal in the loss.  Crowder scored five times for Zorzal.  Obregon added three goals and Mannix scored twice in the 10-8 victory.