Lechuza Caracas beats Faraway 8-4
By Alex Webbe
A lackluster offensive performance found Lechuza Caracas (Victor Vargas, Mariano Gracida, Juan Martin Nero and Martin Espain) scoring an 8-4 win over Faraway (Hutton Goodman, Martin Pepa, Santiago Chavanne and Mariano Gonzalez) in 20-goal Ylvisaker Cup action at the International Polo Club in Wellington Sunday afternoon.
Lechuza Caracas team captain Victor Vargas scored the first goal of the day in the opening minute of play as both teams struggled to find any kind of firepower. Mariano Gonzalez tied it up, 1-1, on a 60-yard penalty conversion for the only other goal in the period.
Both defenses did their jobs and both offenses failed to produce as the two teams battled through seven-and-a-half minutes of scoreless play. The score remained all even at 1-1 at the end of the second period.
Ten-goaler Juan Martin Nero scored the only goal in the third chukker, leaving a 60-yard penalty shot wide of its mark, and Lechuza Caracas had to settle for an embarrassing 2-1 halftime edge.
The offenses didn’t pick up much steam for the second half. Santiago Chavanne and Mariano Gracida exchanged goals for the only scoring as the second half got underway. Lechuza Caracas continued to defend their fragile one goal, 3-2, lead.
Fifth chukker action started to pay off for the struggling attacks as both Lechuza Caracas and Faraway managed to put a couple of goals on the scoreboard. Nero converted a 60-yard penalty shot and added another goal from the field. Gonzalez scored both of his goals on penalty shots. Going into the final chukker of regulation play, Lechuza remained in the lead, 5-4.
As if to put an exclamation mark at the end of a tedious match, Lechuza Caracas came up with three unanswered goals to end the match. Nero scored twice and Gracida added a goal for the 8-4 win.
Nero scored five goals for Lechuza Caracas. Gracida was credited with two goals and Vargas added a goal for the victory. Gonzalez was the “high scorer” for Faraway with three goals. Chavanne added a goal in the loss.
VILLA DEL LAGO/CASABLANCA 16, FLIGHT OPTIONS 10
Polito Pieres lit it up in Sunday’s noon match by scoring 11 goals for a 16-10 Villa Del Lago/Casablanca (Jim Zenni, Agustin Obregon, Polito Pieres and Inaki Laprida) win as they grounded Flight Options (Melissa Ganzi, Fred Mannix, Miguel Astrada and Juan Bollini) in Ylvisaker Cup competition.
The two teams fought to an early 3-3 tie in the opening chukker of the match with Polito Pieres scoring twice for Villa Del Lago/Casablanca and teammate Inaki Laprida adding a goal in the mix. Flight Options were awarded a goal on a rarely called Penalty 1 and picked up single goals from Miguel Astrada and Fred Mannix.
Pieres scored three more times in the second period with Agustin Obregon adding a goal to the Villa Del Lago/Casablanca total. Mannix scored on a penalty goal for flight Options who trailed by three goals, 7-4.
Astrada converted a penalty shot tor a goal to open the scoring in the third, but that was as far as it went for Flight Options. Villa Del Lago/Casablanca responded with four consecutive goals for an impressive 11-5 halftime lead. Pieres scored on a penalty shot and a goal from the field while Obregon and Laprida managed single goals.
Flight Options and Villa Del Lago/Casablanca traded goals in the fourth. Astrada converted two penalty shots for goals while Villa Del Lago/Casablanca got a penalty goal from Pieres and another goal from the field from Obregon.
Consecutive penalty conversions from Pieres had Villa Del Lago/Casablanca in front by eight goals, 15-7. Flight Options saved face with Astrada scoring the final goal of the chukker from the field for the 15-8 score.
With Villa Del Lago/Casablanca coasting to the finish line, flight Options managed to add two more goals to their total. Mannix and Astrada each scored a goal from the field while Pieres converted a 60-yard penalty shot in the 16-10 Villa Del Lago/Casablanca win.
Pieres led all scoring on the day with 11 goals (six n penalty shots). Obregon added three goals and Laprida was credited with two goals on the day. Astrada led the flight Options attack with six goals. Mannix scored the remaining four goals in the loss.
ORCHARD HILL 9, TONKAWA 6
Earlier in the day Steve Van Andel’s Orchard Hill quarter (Steve Van Andel, Lucas Criado, Facundo Pieres and Marcos Alberdi) took apart Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalito Pieres, Rodrigo Andrade and Tomas Alberdi) 9-6, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.
After a stop and go start, Orchard Hill jumped all over a talented Tonkawa lineup with an opening goal from Marcos Alberdi followed by a great individual effort that had Facundo Pieres taking control of the ensuing throw-in and racing the 150 yards down the field for a 2-0 lead. Gonzalito Pieres got Tonkawa on the scoreboard with 3:50 left in the chukker, 2-1. Facundo Pieres closed out the period with a penalty shot for a goal, 3-1.
Orchard Hill continued to dominate in the second. Facundo Pieres creased the ball through the Tonkawa goal posts from 70-yards out and followed it up with another goal from the field, 5-1. Marcos Alberdi followed Steve Van Andel down the field before taking a pass from him in front of the goal to score Orchard Hill’s third unanswered goal of the chukker, 6-1.
Facundo Pieres and Rodrigo Andrade traded goals in the third, but Orchard Hill’s Facundo Pieres continued to control the pace of the game. At the end of the first half of play, Orchard Hill rode off the field with a commanding 7-2 advantage.
Gonzalito Pieres tried to jump-start the Tonkawa offense with an early goal in the fourth, 7-3, and added to it with a penalty conversion for a goal, 7-4, with 1:27 on the clock. Facundo Pieres took control of the following throw-in and galloped 150 yards down the field for a goal that ended the chukker. Orchard Hill remained in the lead, 8-4.
Gonzalito converted a penalty shot for a goal in the fifth followed by a goal from the field from Facundo Pieres for the only scoring of the period. Orchard Hill continued to control the game and sat on top of a 9-5 lead.
Rodrigo Andrade and Gonzalito managed single goals in the final chukker, but it had been evident from the onset that Orchard Hill would be riding off with the 9-7 victory.
Facundo Pieres scored seven times. Teammate Marcos Alberdi added two goals for the win. Gonzalito Pieres led the Tonkawa attack with five goals. Andrade accounted for two more in a losing effort.
"Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly" 
Rabii Benadada
