Valiente and Tonkawa win, Advance to Joe Barry Memorial Cup finals
By Alex Webbe
In the highest scoring game of the season, Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Gonzalito Pieres, Rodrigo Andrade and Tomas Alberdi) defeated Los Manchitos/Heathcote (Steve Lefkowitz, Sterling Giannico, Mariano Aguerre and Matias Magrini) 18-16 in Thursday’s opening semifinal of the 2014 Joe Barry Memorial Cup at the International Club in Wellington.
Brazilian 8-goaler Rodrigo Andrade scored the first goal of the game in the first 31 seconds of play to put Tonkawa ahead, 1-0. Matias Magrini responded with a 30-yard penalty shot for Los Manchitos/Heathcote to tie it up, 1-1. Gonzalito Pieres took the ensuing throw-in and raced 150 yards for the go-ahead goal, 2-1, and added another goal from the field with just over a minute left to play in the opening chukker, 3-1.
Magrini cut the lead to a single goal with his second goal of the day, 3-2. Pieres made it 4-2 with his third goal of the game, but the rest of the chukker belonged to Los Manchitos/Heathcote. A goal from team captain Steve Lefkowitz was followed by goals from teammates Mariano Aguerre and Magrini (penalty conversion) as Los Manchitos/Heathcote ended the second chukker with a 5-4 lead.
Tonkawa stormed back in the third. Pieres scored twice (one on a penalty shot) in the opening minute of play to give the lead back to Tonkawa, 6-5. Aguerre tied it up at 6-6 with a goal from the field, but Tonkawa continued to press the attack. A rarely called Penalty 1 awarded a goal to Tonkawa, 7-6, but Magrini rallied to tie it up at 7-7, on a 40-yard penalty conversion less than a minute later. Lefkowitz gave the lead back to Los Manchitos/Heathcote, 8-7 with his second goal of the day, but Tonkawa closed out the chukker with three consecutive goals for the 10-8 advantage. Pieres scored on a brilliant shot from the boards from nearly 90-yards out while Andrade followed up with a goal from the field just a minute later. With 34 seconds on the clock, Pieres converted a difficult neck shot through the goalposts just yards from the end-line for a 10-8 halftime lead.
Andrade opened the second half with an impressive neck-shot that had Tonkawa leading by three goals, 11-8. Pieres converted a penalty shot for a four goal lead, 12-8. Magrini and Andrade traded goals, 13-9, with Magrini getting in the final word on a 40-yard penalty goal. Tonkawa continued to lead, 13-10.
A re-focused Los Manchitos/Heathcote team returned to the field for the fifth chukker. Magrini scored the first two goals of the chukker, cutting the Tonkawa lead to a single goal, 13-12. Pieres converted a 60-ard penalty shot for a goal and a 14-12 Tonkawa lead. Magrini added another goal, Pieres responded, 15-13. Sterling Giannico scored his first goal of the day and the day ended with Tonkawa sitting on top of a 15-14 score.
Sixth chukker goals from Giannico and Magrini were countered by a Tonkawa goal from team captain Jeff Hildebrand and a pair of goals from Pieres (one on a 40-yard penalty conversion) for the 18-16 Tonkawa win and a berth in Sunday’s tournament final.
Pieres led all scoring with a whopping 12 goals on the day (four on penalty shots). Andrade was credited with four goals while Hildebrand added a goal for the win. Tonkawa was also awarded a goal by penalty. Magrini scored ten times (four on penalty shots) for Los Manchitos/Heathcote. Aguerre, Giannico and Lefkowitz each scored twice in a losing effort.
VALIENTE 11, COCA-COLA 10
Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Santi Torres, Sapo Caset and Roberto Zedda) wrapped up the other spot in the Joe Barry Memorial cup final with an exciting 11-10 win over a talented Coca-Cola lineup (Gillian Johnston, Jeff Hall, Julio Arellano and Nick Morrison) in a Thursday afternoon contest.
Jeff Hall scored early for Coca-Cola, with Valiente’s Sapo Caset tying it up at the 4:56 mark of the opening chukker. Caset’s second goal of the game had Valiente up 2-1, but the lead was temporary. Julio Arellano leveled the score at 2-2 and team captain Gillian Johnston’s scored to put Coca-Cola on top, 3-2. Caset’s third goal on the day deadlocked it at 3-3, but Coca-Cola wasn’t through just yet. Johnston’s second goal of the chukker came with just 37 seconds left in the chukker and put Coca-Cola in front, 4-3 to end first chukker play.
Caset scored three goals (two on penalty shots) in the second period to give the lead back to Valiente, 6-5. Coca-Cola managed a single goal on a penalty conversion from Arellano.
Both defenses buckled down in the third with goals hard to come by. Johnston scored the only goal of the chukker on a shot from the field. The first half ended in a 6-6 tie.
Caset’s seventh goal of the game came on a 60-yard penalty conversion, 7-6, followed by a goal from the field from Arellano, 7-7. Roberto Zedda scored on a well-coordinated Valiente attack that put them in the lead, 8-7, at the end of the fourth period.
The Valiente defense stood strong in the fifth, holding Coca-Cola scoreless while padding their lead with a pair of penalty goals from Caset. With ne chukker left in regulation play, Valiente held a 10-7, three goal advantage.
Santi Torres extended the Valiente lead to four goals, 11-7 with his first goal of the game in the sixth chukker, but Arellano rallied the Coca-Cola offense with consecutive penalty goals that cut the lead to 11-9. Hall made a desperate run of nearly 280 yards down the field that cut the Valiente lead to a single goal, 11-10, but the game clock betrayed them as they fell to Valiente by a single goal, 11-10.
Caset scored five of his game-high nine goals on penalty shots. Teammates Torres and Zedda added single goals in the win. Arellano set the pace for Coca-Cola with five goals (four on penalty conversions). Johnston scored three times and Hall added two goals in the loss.
The victory will pit Valiente against Tonkawa on Sunday, January 26th for the 2014 Joe Barry Memorial Cup title.
"Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly" 
Rabii Benadada
