Zacara opened 20-goal Ylvisaker Cup action at the International Polo Club in Wellington with a fast-paced 11-8 win over Crab Orchard in a contest that saw 10-goaler Facundo Pieres score nine goals for the win.
Both teams took the field tenuously in the opening chukker, looking for strengths and weaknesses in their opponents, with Crab Orchard striking first on a goal from Felipe Viana about midway through the period. Facundo Pieres finally got Zacara on the scoreboard with an impressive 120 yard shot with just under two minutes in the chukker to close out the scoring. After one chukker the score was deadlocked at 1-1.
Crab Orchard got a leg up on Zacara in the second period with a pair of penalty goals from Matias Magrini (one on a penalty conversion) and a goal from the field from Mariano Aguerre. Hilario Ulloa answered back with a single goal for Zacara as they trailed 4-2 after two periods of play.
The Zacara attack came alive in the third with Pieres scoring three goals from the field and teammate Ulloa adding another as they tied it up at 6-6. Crab Orchard picked up single goals from Aguerre (penalty conversion) and Magrini as the first half ended.
Defense was the priority in the fourth chukker with scoring at a minimum. Nearly five minutes into the chukker, Pieres scored his fourth goal of the game to put Zacara in the lead for the first time all morning. Magrini responded with a goal for Crab Orchard with a minute left and the period ended with the score all even at 7-7.
Pieres and Magrini exchanged goals in the opening 90 seconds of the fifth chukker, knotting the score at 8-8. With four minutes gone, Pieres carried the length of the field for a goal to put Zacara back in the lead, 9-8. With a minute left in the period, Pieres scored again and the chukker ended with Crab Orchard looking at a two goal deficit, 10-8.
Crab Orchard struggled to get back into the game in the final chukker, but to no avail. Superior defense set the tone for the Zacara team as they kept Crab Orchard from scoring. A push shot into the Crab Orchard gal by Pieres ended the match with Zacara registering their second straight win, 11-8.
Pieres led all scoring with nine goals (one on a penalty shot). Ulloa added two goals for the win. Magrini set the pace for the Crab Orchard attack with five goals. Aguerre scored twice and Viana recorded a single goal in the loss.
Coca-Cola kept their record perfect with a convincing 14-8 win over a shell-shocked Port Mayaca foursome in the second Ylvisaker Cup match of the day at the International Polo Club Sunday afternoon.
Port Mayaca received one goal by handicap from the 20-goal Coca-Cola team, but were unable to score in the opening minutes of play. A Port Mayaca penalty in their own goalmouth came just three minutes into the match, with Coca-Cola being awarded a goal on a rare Penalty 1(for a foul in the vicinity of the goal to prevent the scoring of a goal), 1-1. The following throw-in resulted in another foul against Port Mayaca, and in the course of less than 30 seconds Coca-Cola had taken the lead, 2-1.
Port Mayaca executed a picture perfect play in the opening seconds of the second period, with Robert Orthwein passing to Carlucho Arellano (Julio’s younger brother) who passed it to Marianito Obregon for the score. The score was all even at 2-2, but that would be Port Mayaca’s only reason to celebrate for the duration of the chukker. Julio Arellano scored on a pass from Tommy Collingwood and converted a penalty shot for a goal while a goal from team captain Gillian Johnston had Coca-Cola in the lead, 5-2 as the horn sounded to end the period.
Julio Arellano added two more goals to the Coca-Cola total in the third while teammate Sugar Erskine scored for the first time. Port Mayaca replied with a single goal from Carlucho Arellano, and at the end of the first half Coca-Cola led, 8-3.
Julio Arellano and Gillian Johnston opened the second half with single goals from the field, 10-3, before Port Mayaca could get on the scoreboard. A goal from Robert Orthwein cut the lead to six goals, 10-4. Julio Arellano closed out the scoring with his sixth goal of the day as Coca-Cola was running off with the game, 12-4.
A determined Robert Orthwein got Port Mayaca in the scoring column in the opening minute of the fifth chukker, 12-5, but the day belonged to Coca-Cola. Consecutive goals from Erskine and Tommy Collingwood went unanswered and Coca-Cola left the field with a 14-5 lead and one chukker left to play.
Coca-Cola coasted through the final seven minutes of the game with Port Mayaca registering single goals from Carlucho Arellano, Marianito Obregon and Robert Orthwein. The final horn sounded with Coca-Cola celebrating a 14-8 win.
Julio Arellano was credited with six goals for Coca-Cola (two on penalty conversions). Gillian Johnston scored three times while teammates Sugar Erskine and Tommy Collingwood each scored two times. Robert Orthwein led the Port Mayaca attack with three goals. Carlucho Arellano and Marianito Obregon scored two goals apiece and Port Mayaca received one goal by handicap.
Piaget trailed throughout most of the game, but a last chukker rally led them to a 10-8 win over Goose Creek in Sunday’s feature Ylvisaker Cup match.
Tano Vial and Cote Zegers scored the opening goals of the match for a 2-0 lead. Joaquin Panelo got Piaget on the scoreboard with a single goal and the first chukker ended with Piaget trailing, 2-1.
Vial and Miguel Astrada exchanged goals in the second chukker with Vial opening the chukker with a penalty conversion, 3-1. Astrada delivered a well-placed cut shot through the goal posts in the final minute of play to end the period trailing Goose Creek, 3-2.
Third chukker goals from Luis Escobar and Zegers extended the Goose Creek lead to three goals, 5-2, but a penalty conversion by Astrada cut it back to a two goal lead, 5-3 to end the first half.
Astrada cut the lead so a single goal, 5-4, on a 90 yard shot through the goal posts, but Goose Creek was up to the challenge. Maureen Brennan scored her first goal of the game to give her Goose Creek team a 6-4 advantage with two periods left in regulation time.
Astrada cut the Goose Creek lead back to a single goal on a backhand cut shot through the goal posts in the opening minute of the fifth. He followed it up with a penalty conversion that tied it at 6-6. His third goal of the chukker gave Piaget their first lead of the game, 7-6, when Goose Creek finally responded. Vial’s third goal of the game ended the chukker and tied it up at 7-7.
Piaget had struggled with the Goose Creek defense throughout the game, but seemed to come alive in the second half, and Astrada credited the realignment of the team for their success.
“We moved Bollini (Juan Bollini) forward in the second half and had Panelo playing a bit further back in the lineup, and it worked,” said Astrada. “It allowed me more room to operate in and with Bollini opening holes; we were able to break through the Goose Creek defenders.”
The plan worked and Astrada went on to score three sixth chukker goals while Piaget held Goose Creek to a single goal from Escobar in the 10-8 win.
Astrada led the scoring with nine goals on the day, including three penalty conversions, and was named MVP. Panelo added a single goal. Vial recorded three goals for Goose Creek (one on a penalty shot). Zegers and Escobar added two goals each and team captain Maureen Brennan scored once kin a losing effort.
Astrada’s 8-year-old Bay gelding, Chaleco, was honored as Best Playing Pony.
Photos by Alex Pacheco