Argentine 10-goaler Miguel Astrada scored nine goals in Piaget’s 11-10 win over Crab Orchard Saturday morning lifting their record to 2-1 in their bracket of play in the 20-goal Ylvisaker Cup competition at the International Polo Club.
Piaget received one goal by handicap and watched Crab Orchard’s Mariano Aguerre tie it up in the opening minute of the game on a goal from the field. Both defenses kept the scoring to a minimum for most of the balance of the period, but fouls got Crab Orchard into trouble late in the chukker. Miguel Astrada converted penalty shots at 1:29 and again with 25 seconds on the clock to lead Piaget to a 3-1 first chukker lead.
Joaquin Panelo extended the Piaget lead to three goals with a goal from the field in the opening 30 seconds of the second period. Two consecutive penalty conversions from Matias Magrini cut the Piaget lead to a single goal, 4-3 at the midway point of the chukker. Astrada added another penalty goal that was countered by a pair of goals from Magrini (one on a penalty shot), and the chukker ended in a 5-5 deadlock.
An early penalty against Crab Orchard opened the third, with Astrada converting the shot for 6-5 Piaget edge. Mariano Aguerre tied it up at 6-6 with his first goal of the game, but with 1:21 on the clock, Astrada gave Piaget a 7-7 halftime lead.
Piaget opened the second half on a roll, picking up two goals from Astrada (one on a penalty shot) for a 9-6 advantage. With a minute left in the period, Crab Orchard’s Felipe Viana scored to end the chukker trailing Piaget, 9-7.
An early Crab Orchard foul sent Astrada to the penalty line in the opening minute of the fifth where he converted a penalty shot for a goal. Two minutes later Astrada put Piaget up by four goals, 11-7, with a goal from the field. Magrini finally got Crab Orchard on the scoreboard with his fifth goal of the day, but Piaget left the field with a three goal lead, 11-8, and one chukker left in regulation time.
Crab Orchard tried to press the attack in the sixth chukker, but Piaget was up to the task. Two minutes into the period, Magrini drove a pinpoint pass over 70 yards down the field where a racing Aguerre picked it up and drove it through the goal posts. The Piaget lead had narrowed to two goals, 11-9 with Crab Orchard pressing. Viana scored the final goal of the match with three minutes on the clock, but Crab Orchard could get no closer. Time expired with Piaget riding off with the 11-10 win.
Astrada set the pace for the day with nine goals, six on penalty shots. Panelo scored once and Piaget received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal Crab Orchard lineup. Magrini scored five times for Crab Orchard, three on penalty conversions. Aguerre added three and Viana was credited with two goals. The Crab Orchard fell to 1-2 with the loss.
GOOSE CREEK 12, PORT MAYACA 8
A balanced Goose Creek attack that saw all four members of the team scoring ran out to a 6-4 halftime lead before downing Port Mayaca 12-8 in the final preliminary round of the Ylvisaker Cup Saturday afternoon at the International Polo Club.
Goose Creek got on the scoreboard early, with Luis Escobar converting a 60-yard penalty shot for the first goal of the game. Single goals from Cote Zegers, Maureen Brennan and Tano Vial closed out the chukker before Port Mayaca could respond. Goose Creek left the field at the end of the first chukker with a 4-0 lead.
Marianito Obregon scored on a penalty shot and a goal from the field in the second period while the Port Mayaca defense held Goose Creek to a single goal from Brennan. Goose Creek continued to lead, but Port Mayaca cut the lead to three goals, 5-2.
A penalty conversion from Carlucho Arellano in the third and a goal from the field from Stevie Orthwein were answered by a goal from Goose Creek’s Tano Vial. The first half ended with Goose Creek boasting a 6-4 advantage.
Port Mayaca continued to chip away at the Goose Creek lead in the fourth chukker as Obregon scored for the third time and Stevie Orthwein scored his first goal of the game. Escobar scored a goal from the field and the period ended with Goose Creek defending a narrow 7-6 edge.
Stevie Orthwein knotted it up at 7-7 in the fifth on a penalty conversion just three minutes into the chukker, but Goose Creek came alive. Escobar scored two goals in a row in just over a minute with Vial ending the chukker with a score that put Goose Creek in front, 10-7.
Vial converted a 40-yard penalty shot in the opening minute of the sixth chukker as Port Mayaca fought to get back into the game. Four more minutes passed before Escobar scored a goal from the field to give Goose Creek a five goal, 12-7 edge. Obregon scored the final goal of the game with just over a minute to play and Goose Creek celebrated their first Ylvisaker Cup win, 12-8.
Vial led the Goose Creek attack with five goals. Escobar was credited with four goals; Brennan added two; and Zegers scored once in the win. Obregon scored four goals for Port Mayaca (one on a penalty conversion. Stevie Orthwein added three goals, including a penalty goal, and Arellano converted a penalty shot for a goal in the loss.
ZACARA 9, COCA-COLA 8
An anemic Zacara attack fell behind early but rallied to score a 9-8 win over Coca-Cola in the third round of play in Ylvisaker Cup action in Saturday’s final game.
Zacara 10-goaler Facundo Pieres converted a penalty shot for a goal in the opening minute of the first chukker, and teammate Hilario Ulloa added a goal from the field. Coca-Cola got a pair of goals from Gillian Johnston and a single goal from Tommy Collingwood, however, for a 3-2 lead after the opening period.
Goals were scarce in the second chukker, with Ulloa managing a single goal in the final seconds of play. Coca-Cola and Zacara were all even at 3-3 after the second period.
The pace continued to quicken in the third, but scoring was at a premium once again. The replacement of Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea by 17-year-old Hugh Dollard didn’t have the same cohesiveness as it had exhibited in its two earlier wins, and scoring was more difficult for the realigned team. Julio Arellano scored on a 40-yard penalty shot to secure a 4-3 lead for Coca-Cola at the end of the first half.
Fourth chukker goals from Coca-Cola’s Johnston and Collingwood were countered by three goals from Pieres. The score was tied at 6-6, with two chukkers left to play.
Erskine dashed away from the Zacara defenders in the opening seconds of the fifth chukker for a go-ahead goal, 7-6, as Coca-Cola tried desperately to leave Zacara in the dust, but that was not to be. Ulloa scored the only other goal of the chukker and it remained knotted up at 7-7 going into the final chukker.
Ulloa gave Zacara the lead, 8-7 less than two minutes into the sixth chukker, but Coca-Cola fought back with a goal from the field from Erskine three minutes later to tie it up at 8-8. With a minute left in regulation time, Pieres scored his fifth goal of the game, 9-8. A foul was committed on the ensuing throw-in, and Coca-Cola was awarded a 60-yard penalty shot with 37 seconds left to play. The shot by Arellano was caught by the wind drifted to the right as Zacara celebrated the win.
Pieres led the Zacara team with five goals. Ulloa added four goals for the victory. Johnston led the Coca-Cola attack with three goals. Erskine and Collingwood scored two goals apiece and Arellano converted one penalty shot for a goal.