Ellerstina charged out of the opening throw-in Sunday afternoon, running up a 4-1 lead after the first seven minutes of play. La Aguada has been the only team, other than La Dolfina in the Hurlingham finals, to defeat the black-shirted Z team, and they look to exact revenge upon them today.
Ellerstina went up 5-1 in the second chukker before La Aguada returned fire. Determined to show Ellerstina that they can beat them again, La Aguada scored three goals in the second period, Ellerstina’s second goal of the chukker would end the period with them in front, 6-4.
The La Aguada defense that held Ellerstina to a mere eight goals in their last meeting showed up in the third chukker, shutting them down completely. La Aguada managed a single goal, cutting the Ellerstina lead to a delicate one goal, 6-5.
La Aguada scored consecutive goals to open the fourth chukker, giving them a 7-6 lead. Ellerstina rallied back scoring three times to end the first half with a two goal, 9-7 advantage.
Ellerstina continues to pick up, momentum in the second half, adding two more goals in the fifth chukker while holding La Aguada to a single score. At the end of the period, Ellerstina is on top, 11-8.
La Aguada fights to get back into the game, but Ellerstina matches them goal for goal. At the end of the sixth chukker Ellerstina continues to lead by three goals, 13-10.
Ellerstina and La Aguada both scored in the opening minutes of the seventh. Ellerstina continued to hold the lead, 14-11. A well-executed shot at goal from Gonzalito Pieres gave Ellerstina a four goal lead, 15-11. Ellerstina scores the final goal of the chukker. La Aguada falls behind by five goals, 16-11.
Ellerstina was outscored BY La Aguada in the eighth chukker, 3-2, but held on for the 18-14 win that would return them to the finals of the Argentine Open against arch rival La Dolfina on Saturday afternoon at 3pm at Palermo.
LA NATIVIDAD 14, LA AGUADA/LA SMONJITAS 11
In the first match of the day on the Number 2 field at Palermo in Buenos Aires, La Natividad (Polito Pieres, Nachi Heguy, Rodrigo Andrade and Lolo Castagnola) handed La Aguada/Las Monjitas (Lucas James, Magoo Laprida, Eduardo Astrada and Alejandro Astrada) a 14-11 loss in their final game in the 2012 Argentine Open competition.
La Natividad held La Aguada/Las Monjitas to a pair of goals in the opening chukker while scoring three times for the early lead. After the first chukker, La Natividad led, 3-2.
Two more goals from La Natividad in the second period kept them in front of a struggling La Aguada/Las Monjitas foursome. La Aguada/Las Monjitas managed a single goal in the second but trailed 5-3 at the end of the chukker.
Defense was the theme of the third chukker. La Natividad managed a single goal while La Aguada/Las Monjitas was blanked. Three chukkers into the game La Natividad was in front by three goals, 6-3.
La Aguada/Las Monjitas outscored La Natividad in the fourth, picking up a couple of goals while holding La Natividad to a single score. The first half ended with La Natividad holding a two goal advantage, 7-5.
Goals continued to be hard to come by as second half action began. The two teams swapped goals and the fifth period ended with La Natividad protecting a two goal, 8-6 edge.
La Natividad continue to control the play. Two more goals for La Natividad in the sixth chukker. La Aguada/Las Monjitas managed a single goal but trail by three goals, 10-7.
Once again, La Aguada/Las Monjitas and La Natividad exchanged goals, with each side registering a pair. With one period left in regulation time, La Natividad sat on top of a 12-9 score.
The final chukker of play had the teams playing even for the second consecutive chukker. Both La Natividad and La Aguada Las Monjitas managed to score a pair of goals for the final 14-11 La Natividad win.