By Alex Webbe
Mike Azzaro and Nic Roldan combined for seven goals Wednesday afternoon to lead Mt, Brilliant (2-1) to a 10-9 win over Valiente ((0-3) in Ylvisaker Cup competition at the International Polo Club in Wellington.
Mt. Brilliant wasted little time as Azzaro charged out of the opening lineup with the ball and carried it down the field for the first goal of the game.
Valiente responded with a goal of their own as the attacking players pressured Mt. Brilliant into a foul. Jeff Hall connected on the 60-yard penalty shot and the score was tied, 1-1. Roldan displayed some of his fancy stickwork in a second Mt. Brilliant attack, and put them up, 2-1. Another costly foul, however, gave Valiente another penalty shot, and with Argentine 9-goaler Miguel Astrada driving it through, the chukker ended in a 2-2 tie,
Valiente took a 4-3 lead after the second, with Astrada converting a pair of penalty shots while the Mt. Brilliant offense was held to a single goal from the field from Azzaro. Valiente entered the third chukker with a narrow 4-3 advantage.
Astrada added his fourth goal of the game in the third, but Mt. Brilliant was hitting its stride. A pair of goals from Roldan were complimented by single goals from Azzaro and team captain Bo Goodman. The first half ended with Mt. Brilliant holding on to a 7-5 lead.
Defenses tightened in the fourth chukker and in spite of well-orchestrated runs up and down the field by both teams, the only goal of the period was scored by Mt. Brilliant’s Ulysses Escapite. Valiente now trailed, 8-5.
Goals from Azzaro and Goodman were countered by a penalty goal from Astrada. Mt. Brilliant had stretched its lead to four goals, 10-6, with one chukker left to be played.
It wasn’t complacency by Mt. Brilliant as much as it was the determination of the Valiente team that closed the game in the score of the game. Frantic drives by Valiente netted them three goals (two by Astrada and one by Hall). Astrada scored the final goal of the game in the 10-9 loss as the final horn sounded.
Astrada led all scoring with seven goals. Hall added two.
Mt. Brilliant’s offense had every member of the team getting on the scoreboard. Azzaro accounted for four goals; Roldan had three and Goodman scored twice. Escapite added a goal in the win, as well,
PATAGONES 13, FARAWAY 11
Patagones improved its record to 2-1 with Wednesday afternoon’s 13-11 win over Faraway (1-3) in earlier Ylvisaker Cup action.
Faraway took the early lead on a pair of goals from Julio Arellano, but Patagones answered back with a goal from the field from Carlos Avendano and a penalty conversion from Memo Gracida. Martin Donovan put Patagones up 3-2 with his first goal of the game, but with seconds left in the chukker, Faraway’s Julio Gracida (son of Memo Gracida) stole the ball and carried it down the field for a the tying score, 3-3, as time expired.
Julio Gracida added two more goals to the Faraway total in the opening minutes of the second chukker, before Patagones stormed back. A goal from the field from Martin Donovan and a pair of penalty goals from Memo Gracida had Patagones holding a narrow 6-5 lead.
As Faraway struggled with its offense, missing a number of scoring opportunities, Patagones found their own attack a little listless. A single goal by Memo Gracida ended the first chukker, and Patagones took a two goal, 7-5 lead, as the first half ended.
Patagones added two more goals in the fourth chukker with Donovan scoring for the third time while Memo Gracida registered his fifth goal of the match. Patagones shut out the Faraway offense for the second straight chukker and moved ahead, 9-5.
Faraway seemed to get its offense together in the fifth, getting goals from Gaston Laulhe, Julio Gracida and Arellano, but had no defense to answer the Patagones attack. A pair of goals from Patagones team captain Gonzalo Avendano and a penalty conversion from Memo Gracida ended the period with Faraway gaining no ground. Patagones continued to lead by four goals, 12-8.
Julio Gracida opened the final chukker with his fifth goal of the game, but Memo Gracida’s game high seventh goal kept the pressure on. Single goals from Arellano and Laulhe cut the lead, but the game ended with a 13-11 Patagones win.
Memo Gracida led all scoring with seven goals. Donovan added three goals, Gonzalo Avendano scored twice and Carlos Avendano accounted for a single goal in the win.
Julio Gracida led the Faraway team with five goals. Arellano scored four times and Laulhe added two goals.
Ylvisaker Cup play will continue on Thursday afternoon at the International Polo Club with a 1 pm match between Bendabout (1-1) and Lechuza (0-2) followed by a 3 pm showdown between ERG (2-1) and Equuleus (2-0).