By Alex Webbe
Ten goals from Jeff Hall helped power Orchard Hill to a 13-12 overtime upset victory over a strong Skeeterville team in the 2008 USPA Piaget Gold Cup Monday afternoon.
“”You’ve got to have a little luck during the season,” said Hall as he reflected on the win. “We’ve been playing well,” he added, “we just weren’t getting any breaks.”
Well Orchard Hill made plenty of its own breaks on Monday afternoon.
In what began to look like a blowout, Skeeterville took advantage of one goal by handicap from the 26-goal Orchard Hill team to race off to a 5-1 lead after the first two chukkers.
Hall converted two penalty shots and Hector Galindo added a goal from the field for Orchard Hill in the third period while Skeeterville’s Julio Arellano notched a penalty goal for Skeeterville for a 6-4 halftime advantage.
The teams exchanged goals in the fourth chukker with Skeeterville getting scores from team captain Will Johnston, Arellano and Adam Snow while Orchard Hill countered with goals from Angel Torres (playing for team patron Steve Van Andel) and two more goals from Hall. Skeeterville held the lead at 9-7.
“We didn’t panic,” said Orchard Hill 8-goaler Galindo. “We just kept pressing and kept getting better.”
Orchard Hill made up some ground in the fifth period as Hall scored three times. Goals from Arellano and Snow, however, kept Skeeterville on top of an 11-10 score.
Owen Rinehart’s first goal of the game put Skeeterville up 12-10 in the final period of regulation time, but Orchard Hill continued to press. Hall’s ninth and tenth goals of the game tied it at 12-12 as time expired and there was a brief recess before overtime play began.
Skeeterville mounted the first run at goal, but a well-placed defensive backhand shot from Hall sent the ball to a galloping Lucas Criado who raced down the field. With Skeeterville players trying desperately to catch him, Criado scored the winning goal, and Orchard Hill left the field with the 13-12 win.
“I knew I had the horse for it,” said Criado, “I just kept telling myself, you must score the goal, you must score the goal.”
Hall led all players with ten goals on the day. Teammates Torres, Galindo and Criado scored single goals.
Arellano scored six times for Skeeterville. Snow added three goals and Rinehart and Johnston each scored a goal.
ISLA CARROLL 14, WHITE BIRCH 10
In a see-saw battle that saw the score tied seven times, Isla Carroll beat White Birch 14-10 in the second round of Gold Cup play Monday morning.
Mariano Aguerre opened the scoring for White Birch as he converted two penalty shots in the first chukker, but aggressive riding and adept mallet work allowed Isla Carroll’s 10-goaler, Facundo Pieres to even the score with two goals from the field.
Pieres converted two penalty shots in the second frame while White Birch relied on a penalty goal from Lucas Monteverde and a goal from the field from Ulysses Escapite, who was filling in for Peter Brant.
With the score even at 4-4, the defense stiffened allowing single goals from Marcos di Paola and Monteverde.
The teams left the field at halftime in a 5-5 tie.
Constantly battling for field position and shot opportunities, Magoo Laprida scored the go ahead goal for Isla Carroll in the opening minute of the second half. Monteverde came right back for White Birch to knot it at 6-6. Gonzalo Avendano (playing for John Goodman) put Isla Carroll back on top before Monteverde’s second goal of the chukker had it even one more time at 7-7. Pieres carried he ball down the field as time was running out and scored to put Isla Carroll back on top in an 8-7 contest.
Monteverde tied it for the last time to open the fifth chukker before Isla Carroll went on a spree that would outscore White Birch six goals to two in the final two chukkers for the 14-10 win.
Pieres and di Paola scored six goals apiece for Isla Carroll. Laprida and Avendano each added a goal in the victory.
White Birch’s Monteverde led all scorers with seven goals. Aguerre scored twice and Ulysses Escapite added a single goal.
The win improves Isla Carroll’s record to 2-0 while White Birch falls to 0-2.
USPA Piaget Gold Cup action continues on Tuesday with an 11 am game between Lechuza Caracas (0-1) and Las Monjitas (0-0).