By Alex Webbe
Between technical penalties and a player ejection, Nacho Astrada scored six goals in leading Las Monjitas to a 13-11 win over White Birch in the opening round of the 2008 C. V. Whitney Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington on Friday morning.
Mariano Aguerre scored three of the first four goals of the game in the opening chukker, and it appeared that White Birch would take advantage of the experience it gained by competing in the 26-goal Lechuza Caracas Cup earlier in the month, but that was not to be the case.
In less than two minutes in the second chukker Javier Astrada raced up and down the field with impunity, scoring three consecutive goals on runs of well over 150 yards, taking a 4-3 lead.
Lucas Monteverde finally managed to stop the bleeding, scoring from the field to knot it at 4-4. Moments later, Eduardo Astrada scored to put Las Monjitas back on top, 5-4.
Nacho Astrada added a goal from the field and Javier Novillo Astrada converted a penalty shot for a 7-4 lead. Monteverde converted on a Penalty 2 for White Birch, but Las Monjitas team captain Camilo Bautista scored on a well-placed shot, and Las Monjitas led 8-5 at halftime.
Less than a minute-and-a-half into the fourth period, White Birch team captain Peter Brant vehemently protested an umpire’s call. He was issued a red card. Brant continued to voice his objections, and upon receiving his second foul, was sent off the field for the duration of the chukker.
An angry Brant galloped to the end of the field, threw his whip and gloves to the ground. He sat down for a moment and then climbed into his car and drove off, opting not to continue.
White Birch played a man short for the remainder of the period, falling behind 11-7 before returning with Ulysses Escapite in the place of the absent Brant.
A revitalized White Birch attack capitalized on three penalties with Monteverde converting them. Eduardo Novillo Astrada scored his second goal of the game, however, and Las Monjitas held a shrinking 12-10 advantage.
Nacho Astrada exploded on a Penalty 5, converting from nearly 100 yards to make it 13-10. With time expiring, Monteverde scored his eighth goal of the game in an attempt to rally the White Birch troops, but time would run out with Las Monjitas on the winning end of a 13-11 score in the single elimination tournament.
White Birch’s Lucas Monteverde led all scoring with eight goals. Teammate Mariano Aguerre scored three goals, all in the opening chukker.
Team captain Camilo Bautista scored once in the third chukker and the Astrada brothers accounted for the remaining twelve goals. Nacho scored six times, four times on penalty shots and twice from the field. Javier scored four times, converting one penalty shot and adding three goals from the field, and Eduardo scored twice from the field.
C. V. Whitney Cup action will continue on Saturday with a noon game between Audi and Bendabout while Orchard Hill meets Isla Carroll at 3 pm.