By Alex Webbe
The last round of preliminary matches took place for the 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington, setting the stage for upcoming quarterfinals in the prestigious tournament.
Victories by Valiente II, Piaget and Coca-Cola solidified the pairings with a definitive schedule for Sunday and Monday:
Valiente I (2-1) will face Lechuza Caracas (2-1) at noon on Sunday; while Valiente II (3-0) will do battle with Alegria (1-2) in the day’s 4pm contest.
Zacara (3-0) will meet Piaget (2-1) at 10am on Monday, April 19; followed by ERG (3-0) playing Coca-Cola (2-1) at noon.
VALIENTE II 11, LECHUZA CARACAS 10
In a game that looked more like an intense practice than a tournament match, Valiente II (3-0) rode to an 11-10 win over Lechuza Caracas in 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup play at the International Polo Club in Wellington, securing it the top seed in its section. In spite of the loss, Lechuza Caracas (2-1) will also be participating in the quarterfinals.
In the Friday morning action, Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler, Sapo Caset, scored the first goal of the game just 90 seconds into the chukker for a 1-0 lead. Two more penalty goals from Caset extended the Lechuza Caracas advantage to 3-0. Juan Martin Nero, Lechuza’s other 10-goaler, scored to make it 4-0 before Valiente II finally responded. With 1:27 on the clock, Cambiaso scored Valiente II’s first goal of the game. Less than a minute later, Cambiaso converted a penalty shot for a goal, ending the chukker with Lechuza ahead, 4-2.
Caset and Cambiaso exchanged penalty goals in the early minutes of the second chukker as Lechuza continued to lead, 5-3. Halfway through the period, Pelon Stirling scored from the field to cut the Lechuza lead to a single goal, 5-4. With time running out, Nero rifled a shot through the Valiente II goalposts from over 100 yards out. The chukker ended with Lechuza leading by two, 6-4.
Valiente II pressed its attack in the third, picking up an early goal from Stirling to cut the lead to a single goal, 6-5. Three minutes later, it was Stirling who tied it up at 6-6 with his second goal of the period. With just :52 left in the chukker, Cambiaso gave Valiente II its first lead of the game on a penalty conversion. The first half ended with Valiente II ahead, 7-6.
Valiente II held Lechuza Caracas scoreless for the second consecutive chukker in the fourth chukker. A goal from the field from Robert Jornayvaz was complimented by a penalty goal from Cambiaso and Valiente II extended its lead to three goals, 9-6.
Lechuza fought back in the fifth chukker, as Nero took the ball from the opening throw-in and drove it down the field for a goal, 9-7. Cambiaso responded with a 60-yard penalty conversion about a minute later, 10-7, and Alejo Taranco’s first goal of the game put Valiente II on top by four goals, 11-7. With a minute left in the period, Caset cut the lead back to three goals to end the chukker trailing Valiente II, 11-8.
With both teams already assured of appearing in the quarterfinals, they both seemed to be conserving their horses in the final period of play. Two goals from Caset were all of the offense that the sixth chukker with Valiente II cruising to an 11-10 victory.
Caset led the field with seven goals (three on penalties). Nero added three goals in a losing effort.
Cambiaso scored five of his team high six goals on penalty shots. Stirling added three goals and teammates Taranco and Jornayvaz scored one goal apiece for the win.
PIAGET 14, ORCHARD HILL 10
The second Piaget Gold Cup match of the day had Piaget (2-1) securing a quarterfinal berth at the expense of Orchard Hill (0-3).
Piaget charged onto the field and scored the first three goals of the match. Gonzalito scored the first goal of the game in the first two minutes of play. Jeff Hall followed up with a goal from the field just thirty seconds later and capped it off with a penalty conversion late in the chukker. Pablo Macdonough jumped on a miss-hit by Gonzalito Pieres and carried the ball 200 yards down the field for a goal with seven seconds left in the period. Piaget held on to a 3-1 lead after the opening chukker.
A penalty goal from Hall and a goal from the field from Marc Ganzi were countered by a pair of goals from Orchard Hill’s Mariano Gonzalez. Piaget continued to lead by two goals, 5-3, as the second chukker ended.
Penalty goals from Gonzalez and MacDonough in the third chukker were offset by a pair of goals from the field by Gonzalito Pieres and teams rode off the field at halftime with Piaget stubbornly holding on to the 7-5 lead.
Penalty goals from Mariano Gonzalez and Gonzalito Pieres had Piaget in front, 8-6. A goal from the field from MacDonough cut the lead to a single goal, 8-7, but Hall put Piaget back on top by two to end the period, 9-7.
Piaget went on a run in the fifth, beginning with a penalty goal from Hall in the opening minute of the chukker. Gonzalito Pieres scored at the five minute mark and Nico Pieres added another goal shortly thereafter. Gonzalez converted another penalty shot for a goal to end the chukker, but Orchard Hill continued to trail, 12-8.
Piaget continued the attack into the sixth chukker with Gonzalito Pieres converting a penalty shot for a goal and Nico Pieres executing a beautiful nearside neck shot for a score and a 14-8, six goal lead. With just under two minutes in regulation time, Pablo MacDonough scored a goal from the field and then came right back to add another with under a minute on the clock. Time expired, with Orchard Hill trying to extend their rally, falling to Piaget, 14-10.
MacDonough led Orchard Hill with seven goals (three on penalties). Gonzalez scored three penalty goals.
Gonzalito Pieres was credited with seven goals (three on penalty shots) for the Piaget team. Hall added four goals (three on penalties). Nico Pieres scored twice and Ganzi added a goal in the win.
COCA-COLA 9, LAS MONJITAS 8
In the final battle for a playoff spot in the 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup, Coca-Cola scored a hard-fought 9-8 win over a surging Las Monjitas team Friday afternoon.
Coca-Cola team captain Gillian Johnston scored the first goal of the game, but was countered by a pair of goals from Las Monjitas 10-goaler, Eduardo Astrada. Las Monjitas took the early lead, 2-1.
Both defenses tightened up in the second period with Julio Arellano’s penalty goal the only offense in the chukker. After two periods of play, the score was all even at 2-2.
Arellano added three more goals in the third, scoring once from the field and converting two penalty goals. Javier Astrada scored one from the field as Coca-Cola move in front at the end of the first half, 5-3.
Stubborn defenses and missed scoring opportunities in the fourth chukker left Eduardo Astrada’s penalty goal as the only offense, cutting the Coca-Cola lead to a single goal, 5-4.
A determined Coca-Cola team took control of the game in the fifth and taking an 8-5 lead. A pair of penalty goals from Arellano and Hilario Ulloa’s first goal from the field had Coca-Cola leading Las Monjitas by three goals, 8-5. Javier Astrada was credited with Las Monjitas’ only goal of the chukker.
Ulloa scored again in the sixth, 9-5, before Las Monjitas put three straight goals on the scoreboard. Inaki Laprida and Javier Astrada scored single goals from the field while Eduardo Astrada converted a penalty shot for a goal. The Coca-Cola lead had been cut to a single goal and Las Monjitas had the momentum, but it wasn’t enough as Coca-Cola shut down the rally and rode off the field with a 9-8 victory and a berth in the quarterfinals.
Coca-Cola’s Julio Arellano scored five of his six goals on penalty shots and led the team in scoring. Ulloa registered two goals and Johnston scored once in the win.
Eduardo Astrada scored four times for Las Monjitas. Javier Astrada added three goals and Laprida notched a single goal in a losing effort.