Matiasw Magrini on the ball for Los Machitos/Heathcote.
(Photo by Alex Pacheco)
Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Santi Torres, Sapo Caset and Tomas Garbarini)opened the day with a rousing 13-7 win over Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nick Morrison) Saturday morning in Ylvisaker Cup competition at the International Polo Club.
Valiente received on goal by handicap from the 20-goal Coca-Cola team and quickly added to it. First chukker goals from Santi Torres and Sapo Caset (two from the field) had them up 4-0 before Coca-Cola finally got on the scoreboard with a penalty goal from Julio Arellano. Valiente looked impressive as they dominated Coca-Cola in the opening period for the 4-1 lead.
A determined Coca-Cola team returned to the field in the second, shutting out the Valiente offense and adding a pair of goals from Jeff Hall (one on a penalty shot). Coca-Cola trailed by a single goal, 4-3, as the chukker ended.
Valiente turned the tables on Coca-Cola in the third, getting a pair of goals from Torres and a single goal from Tomas Garbarini. Coca-Cola was unable to score and trailed 7-3 at the end of the first half.
Caset scored three consecutive goals (two on penalty shots) while holding Coca-Cola scoreless in the fourth. The hole got deeper for Coca-Cola as they trailed, 10-3 at the end of the fourth period.
Julio Arellano scored on a penalty shot in the fifth, but that was all that Coca-Cola could manage. Caset scored on a goal from the field and a 40-yard penalty shot. With one chukker left in regulation play, Valiente was sitting on a 12-4 lead.
Hall opened the sixth chukker with a penalty conversion for a goal, adding two more scores from the field. 12-7, but that was where their rally would stall. Caset wrapped it up with his eighth goal of the game for a 13-7 Valiente victory.
Caset led all scoring with eight goals (three on penalty shots). Torres scored three times; Garbarini added a goal and the team received one goal by handicap. Hall’s five goals led the Coca-Cola attack (two on penalty shots). Arellano added a pair of penalty goals in the loss.
The victory gave Valiente a 2-0 record and qualified them for quarterfinal play. Coca-Cola fell to 0-2.
PALM BEACH ILLUSTRATED 14, EL CABURE 10
El Cabure (Scott Wood, Sugar Erskine, Agustin Merlos and Carlucho Arellano) scored the first four goals of the game as a stagnant Palm Beach Illustrated (Jared Zenni, Tommy Collingwood, Magoo Laprida and Facundo Obregon) offense was stunned by the hard-charging El Cabure attack. Tommy Collingwood finally got Palm Beach Illustrated on the scoreboard with a goal from the field and teammate Facundo Obregon converted a penalty shot for a goal, 4-2, to end the chukker.
Palm Beach Illustrated woke up for the second period and took the reins away from El Cabure. Shutout defense was coupled with three more goals from Obregon (two penalty goals and a goal from the field) that went unanswered. The second period ended with Palm Beach Illustrated in front, 5-4.
Both defenses stood up on the third chukker, allowing only one goal from the field by Palm Beach Illustrated’s Collingwood two minutes into the period and a 40-yard penalty goal from El Cabure’s Agustin Merlos.
Both teams were on the attack as the second half got started. Palm Beach Illustrated registered goals from Jared Zenni, Collingwood and Obregon while El Cabure got goals from Arellano, Merlos and Sugar Erskine. Palm Beach Illustrated remained in the lead, 9-8.
Palm Beach Illustrated took control of the game in the fifth chukker as Obregon converted a penalty goal and Zenni and Collingwood added single goals from the field. El Cabure was unable to break through the Palm Beach Illustrated defense and trailed by four goals, 12-8.
El Cabure made a last ditch effort in the sixth. Goals by Arellano and Erskine cut the Palm Beach Illustrated lead to two goals, 12-10. An El Cabure foul resulted in a 60-yard penalty conversion by Obregon with 2:14 left in the game, and Laprida scored the final goal of the game with 42 seconds on the clock for the 14-10 win.
Obregon scored six of his game-high seven goals on penalty shots. Collingwood was credited with three goals and Zenni and Laprida accounted for two goals apiece. Erskine’s four goals paced the El Cabure attack. Merlos and Arellano scored three goals each in a losing effort.
LOS MACHITOS/HEATHCOTE 9, LAS MONJITAS 8
Los Machitos/Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz, Matias Magrini, Mariano Aguerre and Sterling Giannico) trailed early against Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Geronimo Obregon, Eduardo Astrada and Alejandro Astrada), but rallied to take a 6-5 halftime lead before holding on for a 9-8 win.
In a defensively oriented opening chukker, Eduardo Astrada scored the only goal of the chukker for a 1-1 lead. Penalty goals from 40-yards and 30-yards oput were missed, and would come back to haunt the Las Monjitas team.
Alejandro Astrada made it 2-0 in the second before Matias Magrini finally scored a goal for Los Machitos/Heathcote on a 40-yard penalty conversion, 2-1. A second goal from Eduardo Astrada ended the chukker with Las Monjitas in the lead, 3-1.
Los Machitos/Heathcote coordinated their offense in the third and promptly watched Hilario Ulloa (substituting for Mariano Aguerre) score the only three goals of the chukker. The first half ended with Los Machitos/Heathcote defending a narrow 4-3 advantage.
The two teams traded goals in the fourth period with Magrini adding two more goals to the Los Machitos/Heathcote total while Alejandro Astrada did the same. The Los Machitos/Heathcote lead held at one goal, 6-5.
The Los Machitos/Heathcote offense took it shots in the fifth. Los Machitos/Heathcote registered three goals as Sterling Giannico scored twice and Ulloa added a goal. Las Monjitas answered back with two penalty goals from Alejandro Astrada, 9-7.
Las Monjitas continued to press the attack in the sixth, but Los Machitos/Heathcote was up to the challenge. Alejandro Astrada converted a 60-yard penalty shot that ended the game. Alejandro Astrada scored four of his six goals on penalty shots. Eduardo scored the other two goals in the loss.
Ulloa scored four times for Los Machitos/Heathcote. Teammate Magrini added five goals to the Argentine party. Los Machitos/Heathcote got four goals from Ulloa; three goals from Magrini.
Ylvisaker Cup continues on Sunday with three matches scheduled at 10am, Noon and 3pm.