By Alex Webbe
Playing with the remnants of last year’s championship team (Paul Pieres came in to replace Sebastian Merlos), Great Oaks scored an opening 16-14 win over Equuleus in the 2010 Hampton Cup at the Bridgehampton Polo Club Friday afternoon behind nine goals from Tomas Garcia Del Rio.
Tomas scored five of his game high nine goals in the first half as Great Oaks surged to a 9-7 first half lead that saw both teams zeroing in on the opponent’s goal posts.
Balanced scoring on behalf of Equuleus had Facundo Obregon, Adam Snow and Mariano Gonzalez scoring two goals apiece in the fast-paced opening three chukkers of play.
Equuleus outscored Great Oaks 4-3 in the fourth chukker, getting three goals from Argentine 7-goaler Gonzalez and a goal from Obregon, cutting the Great Oaks lead to a single goal after four, 12-11.
Penalty goals from Obregon and Gonzalez were countered by a pair of goals from Tomas Garcia Del Rio in the fifth, with Great Oaks clinging to a one goal advantage going into the final chukker of play.
Tomas Garcia Del Rio scored the first goal of the sixth chukker but Snow’s fourth goal of the game kept it close at 15-14. Pieres added a single goal to end the scoring and deliver a 16-14 win to Great Oaks (1-0).
Tomas Garcia Del Rio led all scoring with nine goals on the day, six coming from penalty shots.
Pieres scored four times and Marcos Garcia Del Rio added three goals in the win.
Gonzalez led the Equuleus (0-1) attack with six goals. Snow scored six times and Obregon added three in the loss.
CIRCA 12, CABALLEROS 9
Replacing Steve Lefkowitz and renaming the old Heathcote team, Caballeros, did little to slow down the determined attack of the Circa team, as it built on a 6-5 halftime lead to score a decisive 12-9 win in the opening round of play in 2010 Hampton Cup competition Saturday afternoon.
The Caballeros received one goal by handicap from the 19-goal Circa lineup, but couldn’t seem to get its offense on track in the early goings. Single goals from Naco Taverna and Tommy Biddle were complimented by a pair of goals from Nick Manifold, but Circa still managed to take an early 6-5 halftime lead.
Circa got three goals from Guille Aguero, a pair of goals from Magoo Laprida and a single goal from Martin Pepa to edge the Caballeros at the end of the first half.
Circa combined shutout defense in the fourth period with goals from Laprida and Aguero to extend its lead to three goals, 8-5 before coasting to a 12-9 win.
Laprida and Aguero led the Circa (1-0) attack with five goals apiece. Pepa added two in the victory.
Biddle led the Caballeros (0-1) attack with four goals. Taverna and Manifold each scored two goals.
BLACK WATCH 10, CERTIFIED 8
Black Watch opened Hampton cup play on Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought, see-saw 10-8 win over a very competitive Certified foursome.
Black Watch took an early 3-1 lead after the first chukker of play behind three penalty conversions from Nacho Figueras while limiting the Certified team to a single goal from Inaki Laprida.
Certified returned the favor in the second period, getting single goals from Gonzalo Garcia Del Rio, Nic Roldan and Michael Borrico while shutting down the Black Watch attack and moving ahead, 4-3.
Goals from Lucas Criado and Figueras in the third period were accompanied with a solid defensive effort by Black Watch, and at the end of the first three chukkers, Certified trailed 5-4.
Goals from Figueras and Tomas Obregon extended the Black Watch lead to 7-5 after four chukkers, limiting the Certified attack to a single penalty goal from Roldan as both teams struggled to take control of the pace of the game.
A three goal eruption in the fifth period was all that Black Watch needed to shut down any Certified uprising. Two goals from Criado and Figueras’s sixth goal on the day had Black Watch comfortably ahead, 10-6. Roldan converted a 60-yard penalty shot for Certified’s only goal of the chukker.
Laprida and Roldan added single goals in the final period of play, but it was not enough as Black Watch (1-0) rode off with the 10-8 win.
Figueras set the pace for the day with six goals. Criado scored three times and Obregon added a goal in the win.
Roldan scored all four of his goals on penalty shots. Laprida accounted for a pair of goals and Borrico and Garcia Del Rio each chipped in a goal for Certified (0-1).
Hampton Cup action will continue on Tuesday when Circa (1-0) meets the 2010 Mercedes Benz Challenge Cup championship team, La Alegria (0-0) at 5pm.