By Alex Webbe
Wet fields forced the postponement of two more Monday matches in the 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington, with only two of the four scheduled games taking place. Both games, however, provided plenty of excitement with each of the games being decided in the final seconds of the final chukker.
At noon, it was a last second goal from Sapo Caset that powered Lechuza Caracas to a 15-14 win over Piaget while Nic Roldan’s tying goal attempt just missed scoring as time expired, giving Zacara the 16-15 victory.
Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero scored the opening goal of the game after the first two minutes of play, but it was all Piaget after that. Marc Ganzi tied it up with Piaget’s first goal of the game followed by four more unanswered goals. Nico Pieres scored consecutive goals and Jeff Hall and 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres added single goals. After the opening chukker of play, Piaget led, 5-1.
Lechuza 10-goaler Sapo Caset scored Lechuza’s second goal of the day on a penalty shot less than a minute into the second chukker, 5-2. Hall responded by converting a pair of penalty goals for Piaget for a commanding 7-2 advantage. Caset answered back with a goal from the field, 7-3. Facundo Obregon racked up his first goal of the game, and Caset cut the Piaget lead to just two goals with a goal in the final seconds of the chukker, 7-5.
Both defenses tightened in the third with neither team giving up uncontested ground. With 41 seconds left in the period, Hall converted a penalty shot for a goal and first half closing score of 8-5, Piaget.
It was nearly three minutes into the second half of play when Caset scored for Lechuza, 8-6. A goal from teammate Obregon a minute later cut the lead to a single goal, 8-7. Fielding a pass from Nero on the ensuing throw-in, Lechuza Caracas team captain, Victor Vargas, carried the ball through the Piaget goalposts for the tying goal, 8-8. Lechuza continued to press the Piaget defense, resulting in a pair of penalties that Caset converted into goals and a 10-8 Lechuza lead at the end of the chukker.
Both teams battled for control of the ball in the fifth chukker, with Piaget attempting to stop the bleeding and Lechuza trying to keep the momentum going. Two minutes into the period Hall converted a 40-yard penalty shot, cutting the Lechuza lead down to a single goal, 10-9. Obregon responded with a goal from the field followed by a spectacular neckshot for a goal from Nero. The Lechuza lead hung at 12-9 with over five minutes left in the chukker. Nico Pieres fired back for Piaget followed by a goal from brother and teammate, Gonzalito Pieres, cutting the lead down to a single goal, 12-11 halfway through the period. Matt Coppola (substituting for Ganzi at the end of the fourth chukker-no injury, business meeting in New York) tied it up at 12-12 with 2:22 left in the chukker, and a gal from Hall with less than two minutes in the period gave the led back to Piaget, 13-12.
Two minutes into the final chukker, Caset converted a penalty shot to even it up at 13-13. Hall responded with a penalty conversion for Piaget for a 14-13 edge with just over four minutes left in the game. Caset had it all even once more, 14-14, with less than two minutes on the clock. A final drive down the field was launched by Lechuza. The 30 second horn sounded with Caset driving it through the goalposts just six seconds later for the 15-14 winning goal.
“It was a tough game,” offered Vargas following the match. “They’re a very good team,” he said.
Caset led all scoring with ten goals (eight on penalty shots). Vargas, Nero and Obregon added two goals apiece for the win.
Hall was credited with seven goals for Piaget (six on penalty shots). Nico Pieres scored three times. Gonzalito Pieres registered two goals and Ganzi and Coppola scored single goals in the loss.
ZACARA 16, AUDI 15
The twenty-three goal Audi team was spotted three goals by Zacara as the game began, with Nic Roldan making it 4-0 just two minutes into the game. Ten-goaler Facundo Pieres got Zacara on the scoreboard on a penalty conversion, cutting the lead to three goals, 4-1.
Pieres opened the second chukker with a 60-yard penalty conversion in the opening seconds of play, 4-2, and Diego Arellano (substituting for team captain Lyndon Lea) cut the lead down to a single goal, 4-3, as he carried the ball through the Audi goal for his first score of the tournament. Audi team captain, Melissa Ganzi, scored on a well-executed drive down the field. Roldan scored on a penalty shot and Rodrigo Andrade took the ball from the ensuing throw-in and raced down the field for his first score of the game, 7-3. Pieres closed the chukker with a penalty conversion but Zacara continued to trail, 7-4.
Goals were hard to come by in the third. Roldan scored about halfway through the chukker, but Arellano scored his second goal just seconds later. The first half came to a close with Audi on top of an 8-5 score.
Two Zacara goals opened the fourth chukker with Pieres converting a penalty shot and Arellano adding another goal from the field. The Audi lead was reduced to a single goal, 8-7. Roldan and Pieres exchanged penalty goals, with Audi holding on the lead, 9-8. Roldan scored from the field with under two minutes left in the period, 10-8. Pieres turned the game around in the last minute of the period, however, scoring a goal with 56 seconds on the clock, 10-9, and tying it up at 10-10 with six seconds remaining.
Roldan opened the fifth period with a 60-yard penalty conversion in the first ten seconds of play, 11-10 and three consecutive goals from Andrade made it 14-10 with Zacara struggling to stay in the game. Magoo Laprida picked up one goal for Zacara and Pieres converted a penalty shot for a goal, but Ganzi’s second field goal of the day had Audi ahead 15-12 with one chukker left to play.
Joaquin Pittaluga cut into the Audi lead with his first goal of the game, 15-13, and two penalty conversions from Pieres had it all even with under three minutes left in regulation time, 15-15. With 1:14 on the clock, Pittaluga scored a goal that gave Zacara its first lead of the game, 16-15. With time running out, Roldan took control of the ball and galloped toward the Zacara goal. With 24 seconds left in the game, Roldan’s shot at goal went just wide and the game ended in a Zacara win.
Pieres scored eight of his game high ten goals on penalty shots. Teammates Pittaluga, Laprida and Arellano added two goals apiece for the victory.
Roldan’s six goals led the Audi attack (three penalty goals). Andrade scored four times and Ganzi added two goals. Audi received three goals by handicap.