Wins by Villa Del Lago and Zacara help set Joe Barry memorial Cup semifinals

By Alex Webbe

Polito Pieres scored the first goal of the game in the opening 25 seconds of play to give Villa Del Lago the early lead. Jeff Blake responded with a goal for ERG, but Agustin Obregon closed out the scoring with a goal in the final 32 seconds of the chukker for the 2-1 score.

Three consecutive goals in the second period had Villa Del Lago on top, 5-1. Villa Del Lago got two goals from Pieres and another goal from Obregon. Paco de Narvaez got ERG on the scoreboard, but at the end of the second chukker Villa Del Lago was in front by three goals, 5-2.

The two teams exchanged goals in the third with Magoo Laprida scoring twice from the field while ERG relied on a pair of penalty goals from de Narvaez. The first half ended with Villa Del Lago defending its two goal lead, 6-4.

Two more goals from de Narvaez (one on a penalty shot) were offset by a pair of goals from Laprida, and the fourth chukker ended with Villa Del Lago maintaining its lead, 8-6.

Pieres added two more goals to the Villa Del Lago total in the fifth, but ERG got single goals from Scott Wood and de Narvaez (a 60-yard penalty conversion). ERG continued to trail by two goals, 10-8.

Just one minute into the final chukker, Blake scored to cut the Villa Del Lago lead to a single goal, 10-9, but they would get no closer. Pieres converted a penalty shot for a goal, 11-9. ERG continued to press its attack, but time wasn’t on its side. De Narvaez scored the final goal of the game, but the Villa Del Lago defense kept them off the scoreboard for the final three minutes of the game to ride off with the 11-10 win.

Polito Pieres set the pace for Villa Del Lago with six goals, one on a penalty shot. Magoo Laprida and Agustin Obregon scored two goals apiece and Villa Del Lago was awarded one goal on a Penalty 1 for dangerous riding in the area of the goal. ERG’s Paco de Narvaez led all scoring with seven goals, five on penalty shots. Jeff Blake added a goal from the field and a penalty conversion for a goal and Scott Wood accounted for a goal in the loss.

Magoo Laprida was named MVP for his efforts while Lola, a 6-year-old Bay mare owned by Marcos Bignoli and played by Polito Pieres was honored as Best Playing Pony.

ZACARA 11, VALIENTE 10

Earlier in the day, Zacara overcame a 5-1 second chukker deficit Sunday morning to record a 12-11 win over a powerful Valiente lineup as Facundo Pieres led all scoring with seven goals in the 2013 Joe Barry Memorial Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington.

Following runs by each team up and down the field, Adolfo Cambiaso scored the first goal of the game halfway through the opening chukker to give Valiente the first lead of the game, 1-0. Two minutes later Hilario Ulloa scored for Zacara for a 1-1 tie. Alfredo Capella (Barabucci) put Valiente ahead with a go-ahead goal with just 11 seconds on the clock in the first chukker for the 2-1 lead.

Valiente got into gear in the second period, with Capella scoring consecutive goals within two minutes of one another. Teammate Julio Gracida’s first goal of the game had Valiente on top, 5-1 with four-and-one-half minutes left in the chukker. The period ended with Ulloa scoring a goal from the field and Facundo Pieres converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal. Valiente led by two goals, 5-3.

Goals were a precious commodity in the third chukker. The teams were four minutes into the period before Capella’s third goal of the game had Valiente leading, 6-3. Pieres closed out the scoring with a goal from the field in the last minute of play and Zacara left the field trailing Valiente by two goals, 6-4.

Pieres cut the lead to a single goal in the fourth chukker on a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal and Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea had it all even at 6-6 on his first score of the game. Pieres thrilled hundreds of spectators as he raced down the field with the ball to score and put Zacara in the lead for the first time all day, 7-6. The lead was short-lived, however, with Valiente being awarded a goal on a Penalty 1, for dangerous riding in the goal area. Cambiaso drew oohs and aahs from the crowd just seconds later when he backhanded the ball over a crowd in front of the goal to give the lead back to Valiente, 8-7.

The pace of the game continued to quicken in the fifth. Fourteen-year-old Matias Gonzalez took a pass from Lea and scored his first goal of the match to tie it up at 8-8. Capella moved Valiente ahead once again on a well-placed shot from 80 yards out, 9-8. Midway through the period, Gonzalez knotted it up once again, 9-9, with his second goal of the game. Gracida put Valiente on top once again with a penalty conversion, 10-9, but Pieres converted a 30-yard penalty shot to deadlock it 10-10 to end the chukker.

Four minutes into the final period of regulation time, Pieres broke loose and raced down the field over 200 yards to put Zacara back in the lead, 11-10. A minute later, Cambiaso converted a penalty shot and tied it up once again, 11-11. With under a minute left in regulation time, Pieres scored the final goal of the game, giving the 12-11 win to Zacara.

The victory boosts Zacara into Wednesday’s semifinals where it will play Crab Orchard at 3pm.

Facundo Pieres was credited with seven goals, four on penalty shots. Hilario Ulloa and Matias Gonzalez scored two goals apiece and Lyndon Lea added a goal in the win. Alfredo Capella (Barabucci) scored five times for Valiente. Adolfo Cambiaso registered four goals, two on penalty shots and Julio Gracida scored a pair of goals (one on a penalty shot).

LECHUZA CARACAS 9, FARAWAY 8

In a noon contest, Hutton Goodman’s Faraway polo team jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after the opening chukker but fell to Lechuza Caracas, 9-8, in Joe Barry Memorial Cup competition Sunday afternoon.

Pelon Escapite scored three first chukker goals from the field and Faraway added a penalty conversion from Argentine 9-goaler Santiago Chavanne for a lopsided 4-0 start.

Defenses tightened in the second chukker with Escapite adding another Faraway goal on a penalty conversion. Lechuza Caracas responded with a pair of penalty goals from Goti and the chukker ended with Faraway guarding a 5-2 lead.

Lechuza Caracas finally got into sync in the third period. A single goal from Faraway’s Chavanne was answered by four Lechuza Caracas goals (two from Goti on penalty shots and single goals from Agustin Nero and Adam Snow) as the first half ended in a 6-6 tie.

Lechuza Caracas took control of the game in the fourth chukker, shutting out the Faraway offense and tallying a pair of goals from Goti (one from the field and one on a penalty shot). With two chukkers left to play, Lechuza Caracas had taken a two goal, 8-6 lead.

Goti’s seventh goal of the game had Lechuza leading by three goals, 9-6 in the fifth. Escapite kept Faraway from getting shut out for the second consecutive chukker by scoring a goal in the final 38 seconds of the period. The Lechuza lead stood at two goals, 9-7, with one chukker left to play.

Faraway continued to press their attack, but Lechuza Caracas wasn’t having any of it. Defensive backhanders and well-timed interceptions kept their attack at bay. With just under four minutes left in the game, Escapite registered his sixth goal of the game, but that was where it ended. Lechuza rode out the balance of the game for the 9-8 victory.

Tomas Goti led all scoring with seven goals (five on penalty shots). Agustin Nero and Adam Snow added single goals in the win. Pelon Escapite set the pace for Faraway with six goals (one on a penalty shot). Santiago Chavanne scored twice (once on a penalty conversion).

PIAGET 11, LUCCHESE 10

It was a reshuffled lineup for both Piaget and Lucchese as they faced one another in the final round of play in the 2013 Joe Barry memorial Cup competition Sunday morning, with Piaget coming out on the winning end of an 11-10 score.

Juan Bollini remained as the only original member of the 2013 20-goal Piaget lineup as he was joined by Juan Badiola, Brandon Phillips and Lucas Lalor. Lucchese had Marianito Gracida filling in for Jason Crowder, later replaced by former 10-goaler Carlos Gracida.

A pair of goals from Lucas Lalor and a goal from Juan Bollini went unanswered in the opening chukker for a 3-0 Piaget lead.

Brandon Phillips scored a single goal for Piaget in the second chukker, but a pair of goals from Carlos Gracida and a single goal from Sebastian Merlos saw Lucchese cut the lead to a single goal, 4-3.

Lalor’s third goal of the game extended the Piaget lead to two goals, 5-3, but Carlos Gracida fired back with his third goal of the game as well. At the end of the first half Piaget guarded a one goal lead, 5-4.

Piaget controlled the fourth chukker, scoring four times (three from Phillips and a goal from Bollini) while limiting the Lucchese attack to a single goal from Merlos. With two chukkers left to play, the Piaget lead had grown to four goals, 9-5.

Two more penalty conversions from Phillips were countered by penalty goals from Merlos and Carlos Gracida. At the end of the fifth chukker Piaget held the four goal lead, 11-7.

Carlos Gracida added three more goals to the Lucchese total in the final chukker while Piaget failed to score. Time expired with Piaget celebrating the 11-10 win.

Carlos Gracida’s seven goals led all scoring, with three of them coming on penalty shots. Sebastian Merlos accounted for the remaining three Lucchese goals (one on a penalty shot). Brandon Phillips recorded six goals for Piaget (four on penalty goals). Lucas Lalor scored three times and Juan Bollini was credited with two goals for the win.