Valiente II stays unbeaten with 13-9 win over Piaget

By Alex Webbe

Piaget jumped out to an early 4-1 start but Valiente II took control by the end of the first half and rode off with a 13-9 win in Joe Barry Memorial Cup play Saturday afternoon at the International Polo Club. The win keeps Valiente II undefeated in bracket play and will set up a showdown between Valiente II (3-0) and Lucchese (2-0) to decide a tournament finalist if Lucchese can win Sunday’s meeting with Valiente I (1-2).

Piaget team captain Melissa Ganzi scored the first goal of the game, picking up a long pass from teammate Miguel Astrada and carrying it through the goal for a 1-0 lead. Nacho Astrada answered for Valiente II, converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a 1-1 tie when Piaget took control of the game. Jason Crowder scored with four minutes left in the chukker, followed by a goal from Miguel Astrada a minute-and-a-half later. Crowder closed out the scoring with his second goal of the period, and Piaget rode off the field with a 4-1 lead.

Just a minute into the second period, Nacho Astrada scored on a penalty shot for Valiente II, cutting the Piaget led to two goals, 4-2. A penalty conversion from teammate Toto Collardin had Valiente trailing by a single goal, 4-3 when Piaget fired back. Ganzi scored her second goal of the game and Collardin tallied the last goal of the chukker with 53 seconds to play. The period ended with Piaget guarding a precarious 5-4 advantage over a surging Valiente II team.

Three unanswered goals from Valiente II silenced any notion of a Piaget attack in the third chukker. Nacho Astrada opened the period with a goal followed by a penalty goal from Collardin. A beautifully executed belly shot by Nacho ended the first half with Valiente II leading 7-5.

Valiente II team captain Bob Jornayvaz extended the lead to three goals, 8-5, with a goal in the fourth chukker, but Piaget fought right back with a pair of goals from the field from Miguel Astrada. With two chukkers left to play, Valiente II held a narrow 8-7 edge over Piaget.

Both teams battled for control of the ball in the fifth chukker, with Collardin scoring first for Valiente II, 9-7. Nacho Astrada put Valiente II up 10-7 but Miguel Astrada converted a penalty shot for Piaget for the last goal of the period. With just one chukker left to play, Valiente II led 10-8.

Crowder opened the final chukker with a goal for Piaget, cutting the Valiente II lead to a single goal, 10-9, but that would be their last gasp. Nacho Astrada added two more penalty goals and Julio Gracida closed out the game with a final goal from the field in a 13-9 win.

Nacho Astrada led all scoring with seven goals. Collardin added four goals and Jornayvaz and Gracida added single goals.

Miguel Astrada scored four times for Piaget. Crowder added three goals and Ganzi scored twice.