By Alex Webbe
The old sports adage says that “offenses win games and defenses win championships”, and La Dolfina proved it to be correct Friday afternoon as they recaptured the Argentine Open Championship title in a one-sided 16-10 victory over Ellerstina in Palermo, Argentina in front of over 15,000 cheering fans.
La Dolfina dominated the throw-ins and controlled the ball early on, limiting Ellerstina to just a pair of penalty goals in the first three chukkers. La Dolfina smothered the Ellerstina team with a disciplined defense that limited their shots on goal and had them struggling for a goal from the field throughout the first half. Penalties were also the bane of the young Ellerstina team as they gave up seven goals from fouls. Three missed penalty scoring opportunities from Cambiaso (two blocked, one missed) kept Ellerstina in the game, but it was clear early that Ellerstina would have trouble scoring.
Cambiaso scored on a penalty shot for the first goal of the game and La Dolfina got a second goal from Juan Martin Nero. Facundo Pieres converted a pair of penalty
shots for Ellerstina for a 2-2 first chukker.
A pair of Ellerstina penalties in the second period combined with shutout defense had La Dolfina on top of a 4-2 score as both teams had trouble getting away clear shots at the opponent’s goal.
La Dolfina took advantage of disciplined teamwork and some missed opportunities from Ellerstina to run the score to 7-2 at the end of the third chukker. Nero added two more goals from the field and Cambiaso scored his fourth of the game (first from the field) while Facundo Pieres missed scoring on a breakaway and had a 40-yard
penalty shot blocked.
Ellerstina continued to press the La Dolfina defense in the fourth, capitalizing on a pair of penalties that allowed Facundo to add a pair of goals to the Ellerstina total.
Cambiaso responded with a 30-yard penalty conversion and found a streaking Stirling down field with a pinpoint pass for another goal. The first half ended with La Dolfina riding off the field with a comfortable five goal, 9-4 advantage over a struggling Ellerstina foursome.
A determined Ellerstina team took the field in the fifth chukker as Facundo Pieres broke through the La Dolfina defense in the opening minute of play to score his first goal from the field. He added a penalty goal less than a minute later, but that would be the end the scoring in the chukker. Ellerstina cut into the La Dolfina lead, 9-6,
but were unable to take control of the play.
Gonzalito Pieres scored his first goal of the game in the sixth period on a pass from Nachi Heguy, but La Dolfina responded with a pair of penalty goals from Cambiaso.
Ellerstina continued to press, but at the end of the period La Dolfina lead by four goals, 11-7
Cambiaso opened the seventh with a penalty goal followed by a goal from Facundo Pieres as he took the ensuing throw-in and raced down the field for a goal, 12-8. Four consecutive La Dolfina goals (two from Pablo MacDonough and single goals from Cambiaso and Stirling) all but ended it for Ellerstina. The boys in black rebounded from seven goal deficits late in two earlier finals with La Dolfina, but that would not be the case today.
Not conceding a thing, Ellerstina charged onto the field in the final chukker as if it were all even, but the La Dolfina defense wouldn’t crack. A penalty goal from Facundo Pieres and a goal from the field from Nico Pieres would close out the scoring, giving the 2011 Argentine Championship trophy to La Dolfina in a 16-10 triumph.
Cambiaso led all scoring with nine goals (seven from the penalty line) and was named MVP for his efforts. Nero scored three times and MacDonough and Stirling scored two goals apiece.
Facundo Pieres recorded eight goals (six on penalty shots) and was honored as the leading scorer in Open play. Nico Pieres and Gonzalito Pieres added single goals in a losing effort.