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.