Zacara 10-goaler Facundo Pieres scored five of his game high nine goals in the first half of play, powering his team to a 7-3 halftime lead and an ultimate 12-8 victory over Dubai (Rashid Albwardy, Nico Pieres, Adolfo Cambiaso and Alec White) in the opening semifinal match of the 2013 Cartier Queen’s Cup at the Guards Polo Club Wednesday afternoon.

Facundo scored the first two goals of the game (one on a penalty shot) to put Zacara (Facundo Pieres, Lyndon Lea, Rodrigo Andrade and Matt Perry) up 2-0 midway through the first chukker.  Dubai managed a single goal from Nico Pieres (Facundo’s younger brother) to end the chukker trailing by a goal, 2-1.

Nico Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso scored single goals in the second period, tying Zacara, 2-2, and then taking the lead, 3-2.  An oppressive Dubai defense held Zacara scoreless, and Dubai took the lead, 3-2.

Zacara took total control of the game in the third.  Three goals from Facundo Pieres and a pair of goals from Matt Perry were complimented by shutout defense from the entire Zacara lineup.  Zacara ended the first half with an impressive 7-3 lead.

Dubai’s Nico Pieres scored twice in the fourth chukker, but Facundo Pieres got all the attention.  He took a pass from teammate Rodrigo Andrade and tapped it several times in the air as he carried it through the goal posts for a score.  Dubai continued to trail, 8-5.

For the second consecutive chukker Nico Pieres scored a pair of goals for Dubai while holding Zacara to a single score from Facundo Pieres.  Dubai had cut the Zacara lead to a manageable two goals, 9-7, with one chukker left to play.

With an English rain continuing to hamper the Dubai efforts, Zacara continued to press the attack.  Facundo Pieres scored twice in the final chukker and Perry added a goal for the 12-8 victory and a berth in the 2013 Queen’s Cup finals.  Nico Pieres managed the sole Dubai goal in the chukker.

Facundo Pieres led all scoring with nine goals.  Perry added three for the win.  Nico Pieres scored seven times for Dubai.  Cambiaso was credited with one goal in a losing effort.

EL REMANSO 15, CORTIUM 10

In the second Queen’s Cup semifinal match of the day, El Remanso (Ali Patterson, George Hanbury, Guillermo Terrera and Pelon Stirling) and Cortium (Francisco Elizalde, Chris Mackenzie, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Adrian Kirby) fought through six ties and five lead changes before El Remanso took control of the game in the third chukker and ran away with a 15-10 win.

Francisco Elizalde and Pelon Stirling scored the first goals of the game for a 1-1 tie.  Ali Patterson gave the lead to El Remanso, 2-1, with his first goal of the game.  Consecutive goals from Eduardo Novillo Astrada closed out the chukker with Cortium in the lead, 3-2.

Stirling tied it up at 3-3 with the opening goal of the second period.  Astrada took the lead back for Cortium, 4-3, with his third goal of the day.  Guillermo Terrera tied it at 4-4, and teammate Stirling claimed the lead for El Remanso, 5-4, with his second score of the afternoon.  Elizalde scored the final goal of the chukker to knot it up at 5-5.

Chris Mackenzie opened the third with a go-ahead-goal for Cortium, 6-5.  Consecutive goals from Stirling and Terrera had El Remanso on top, 7-6.  Elizalde tied it up at 7-7, and Terrera’s second goal of the chukker kept El Remanso in the lead by a single goal, 8-7, to end the first half of play.

The El Remanso defense closed down the Cortium attack in the second half as single goals from Patterson and Stirling went unanswered.  El Remanso extended their lead to three goals, 10-7.

Cortium made a desperate run in the fifth.  Consecutive goals from Elizalde cut the El Remanso lead to a single goal, 10-9, but that was where it ended.  Terrera scored the final goal of the chukker for an 11-9 El Remanso advantage.

The sixth chukker belonged to El Remanso.  Terrera added three goals and Stirling added a goal as El Remanso routed a defeated Cortium foursome.  Elizalde managed a single goal as El Remanso celebrated the 15-10 victory and an appointment with Zacara in the finals of the 2013 Cartier Queen’s Cup at the Guards Polo Club.

Terrera set the pace for El Remanso with eight goals.  Stirling scored six times and Patterson added one goal to the El Remanso total.  Elizalde was the high scorer for Cortium with six goals.  Astrada scored twice and Mackenzie was credited with a single goal in the loss.