Ellerstina needed four eighth chukker goals from Facundo Pieres to tie it up and put the game into overtime, allowing the win,
La Aguada (Guillermo Terrera, Facundo Sola, Miguel Novillo Astrada, and Nachi du Plessis) had Argentine Open defending champion Ellerstina (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Mariano Aguerre and Nicolás Pieres) on the ropes Saturday afternoon on the Number 1 field at Palermo in Buenos Aires before an eighth chukker rally tied it up and allowed Ellerstina to score the winning goal in the 14-13 overtime win.
Following Ellerstina’s impressive 23-14 win over Chapaleufú in last week’s opening game of the 2013 Argentine Open, the meeting with La Aguada appeared to be nothing more than a warm-up as the black-shirted Ellerstina team got ready for a rematch with La Dolfina in the tournament finals—but that wasn’t the case.
The two teams felt one another out in the opening chukker of play, leaving the field in a 1-1 tie, with no idea of what was to unfold.
In second chukker play, La Aguada matched Ellerstina goal for goal as the two teams remained even at 3-3 after two chukkers of play.
Goals were hard to come by in the third. Each team managed just a single goal. Ellerstina and La Aguada remained knotted up at 4-4 as the bell sounded at the end of the chukker.
The 31-goal La Aguada team continued to give the 39-goal Ellerstina fits as the fourth chukker got underway. La Aguada put three goals on the scoreboard while Ellerstina came up short for the first time with only two goals. The first half ended with La Aguada holding a surprising 7-6 lead.
Both defenses doubled down in the fifth chukker. Ellerstina managed the only goal of the period and tied it up once again, at 7-7.
A determined La Aguada team took the field in the sixth chukker, outscoring Ellerstina 3-1. A bewildered Ellerstina team left the field trailing by two goals, 10-8.
La Aguada tacked three more goals on the scoreboard in the seventh period as Ellerstina continued to struggle on offense. Ellerstina scored once in the chukker but with one goal left in regulation time they trailed by four goals, 13-9.
Ellerstina finally got serious in the final chukker. Four consecutive goals and shutout defense managed to tie it up at 13-13 and force overtime. La Aguada had managed to control most of the game but the defending Argentine Open champion still had enough life in it to strike back.
The winning goal was scored by Mariano Aguerre in the overtime period and Ellerstina dodged a bullet and scored their second consecutive Argentine Open win. La Aguada displayed seamless teamwork but came up short in the 14-13 loss.
Facundo Pieres scored ten times (six on penalty goals). Mariano Aguerre and Nico Pieres added two goals apiece for the win. Facundo Sola and Miguel Novillo Astrada scored five goals apiece (three of Astrada’s were on penalty conversions). Guillermo Terrera was credited with three goals in a losing effort.
ALEGRIA 19, CHAPALEUFÚ 16
Earlier in the day Alegría (Polito Pieres, Lucas Monteverde, Hilario Ulloa and Frederick Mannix) scored their second victory in as many outings with a 19-16 win over Chapaleufú (Alberto Heguy, Francisco Elizalde, Bautista Heguy and Eduardo Heguy) on Palermo’s Field 2 in Argentine Open play, but not without a strong challenge from the veteran Chapaleufú lineup.
Alegria (1-0) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the opening chukker, but Chapaleufú (0-1) fought right back in the second, scoring three times and cutting the Alegria lead to a single goal, 5-4.
The two teams exchanged goals in the third, with each side scoring a pair. After three chukkers Alegria continued to defend a 7-6 one goal lead.
Chapaleufú scored three times in the fourth chukker while limiting the Alegria offense to two goals. At the end of the first half of play it was all even at 9-9.
A pair of Alegria goals went unanswered in the fifth. Chapaleufú fell behind by two goals, 11-9.
Chapaleufú took control of the sixth scoring four times while holding a potent Alegria offense to two goals. It was all even once again at 13-13.
A re-focused Alegria team rode onto the field for the seventh period and promptly scored six times. Chapaleufú manages no more than a single goal as they fell behind, 19-14.
Chapaleufú scored twice in the final chukker as the Alegria team coasted to a 19-16 win.
Polito Pieres proved that the 12 goals he scored last week in his debut return to open polo was no fluke. His 11 goals (four on penalty conversions) led the Alegria team. Hilario Ulloa added six goals while Lucas Monteverde scored twice for the victory. All 13 of Eduardo Heguy’s game leading goals came on penalty shots for Chapaleufú. Pepe Heguy added two goals and Bautista Heguy added a goal in the loss.
Argentine Open action continues on Sunday, November 24th with La Natividad (1-0) meeting Magual (0-1) in the 2PM opener and La Dolfina (1-0) facing La Aguada/Las Monjitas (0-1) at 4:30PM. The final of the 2013 Argentine Open is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 7th.