Ellerstina and Estancia Grande win, set up Sunday’s semifinals

By Alex Webbe 

A realigned Ellerstina polo team seemed to have finally found its new identity as it stomped on Chapaleufu Indios II, 21-14, at Palermo this afternoon in the second round of play of the 2011 Argentine Open.  

By elevating young Nico Pieres to the “varsity” team, Ellerstina lost 10-goalers Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero to La Dolfina, and needed a talented and veteran teammate to compliment the play of Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres if they were going to stand any chance of defending their 2010 Open title.  That’s where Nachi Heguy entered the scene, and if there were ever any doubts about his ability to fit in with the Pieres brothers, they were erased today.

Nachi’s six goals today were complimented by seamless defensive play and offensive passes that set up scoring shots from teammates Nico and Facundo Pieres in the course of the match.

Ellerstina opened with a penalty goal from Facundo Pieres that was countered by a goal from the field from Chapa II 9-goaler Julio Arellano.  Goals from Nachi Heguy and Gonzalito Pieres closed out the first period with Ellerstina holding a 3-1 advantage over Chapa II.

Following another goal from Arellano to open the second period, Nachi Heguy followed up a drive to the goal that had Facundo, Gonzalito and even Nico missing the scoring shot with Nachi making good for the goal.  Two minutes later Nachi Heguy scored his third goal of the game with Nico Pieres scoring on a pass from Facundo Pieres to end the chukker with Ellerstina up, 6-2.

The inter-play of the Ellerstina team continued to unfold as in the third chukker, with Nachi Heguy scoring his fourth goal of the game midway through the chukker for a 7-2 lead.  Eduardo Heguy converted a penalty shot for Chapa II before Facundo Pieres closed out the scoring in the period with a goal from the field.  Ellerstina held a five goal, 8-3 lead, and everyone in the stands was witness to the gelling of the 2011 Ellerstina lineup.

Another penalty conversion from Eduardo Heguy cut into the Ellerstina lead, 8-4, but Nico Pieres found himself on the scoring end of a pass from Facundo just over a minute into the chukker, and tapped it in for a 9-4 edge.  Whistles continued to make for choppy play, with over a half dozen penalties being called in the fourth chukker alone. Eduardo Heguy converted another penalty shot for Chapa II, 9-5.  Facundo Pieres and Arellano exchanged goals before a Nachi Heguy pass found a streaking Nico Pieres who made good on his shot for an 11-6 lead after the first half.

The Ellerstina pace quickened in the fifth, with Facundo Pieres taking a long pass from Nachi Heguy and scoring.  Two minutes later Facundo stole the ball from the Ellerstina end of the field and raced 250 yards down the field for another tally.  His third consecutive goal of the period would come on another pass that led him right past Chapa II’s Alejandro Astrada for a 14-6 lead.  Nachi Heguy then took a long shot on goal, and while Eduardo Heguy attempted to clear the ball from in front of the Chapa II goal, Nico Pieres jabbed his mallet into the ball and sent it through the goal posts.  Gonzalito Pieres ended the scoring on a great individual effort that saw him weave his way through the entire Chapa II lineup with seconds left on the clock.  At the end of five chukkers of play, Ellerstina had total control of the game and sat on top of a commanding 16-6 score.

There was no let-up in the speed or effort exerted in the sixth, with near misses by both Facundo and Nico Pieres.  A blocked penalty shot from Eduardo Heguy was countered by a single goal from Arellano and the chukker ended with Ellerstina on top of a 16-7 score.

Nachi Heguy scored on a pass from Nico Pieres in the opening minute of the seventh.  Eduardo Heguy answered the goal with a penalty conversion before Ellerstina went on a run.  Goals from Nachi Heguy and Nico Pieres were joined by goals from Gonzalito (a beautifully executed backhand shot through the goal posts) and Facundo Pieres for a thirteen goal, 21-8 advantage after seven chukkers of play.

There was no give-up in mind for Chapa II, as Eduardo Heguy opened the final chukker with a run for goal.  Alejandro Astrada scored his first two goals of the day and Eduardo Heguy added three more (two on penalty shots and one from the field) goals as time expired.  Ellerstina seemed content to ride with the play but be aware of saving the horses for another day when the final horn sounded in their 21-14 victory and a spot in next Sunday’s semifinals.

ESTANCIA GRANDE 19, ALEGRIA 17

In earlier action on Palermo’s Number 2 field, Estancia Grande gave up an early lead to bounce back and capture a hard-fought 19-17 win over Alegria.  The victory was Estancia Grande’s second, and sets up a showdown with the 2010 defending championship Ellerstina (2-0) in next Sunday’s semifinals.

With Estancia Grande’s 9-goaler Sebastian Merlos sidelined for disciplinary reasons (he received four yellow cards in the course of the Tortugas Open, the Hurlingham Open and the Argentine Open) for the game, older brother Pite Merlos (8) would fill in for him.

After building up an early 3-1 lead on a pair of goals from Agustin Merlos and a single goal from Lolo Castagnola (Mariano Aguerre scored the lone Alegria goal), Estancia Grande found themselves with a real battle on their hands.

Agustin Merlos ran the score to 4-1 with his third goal of the game and Castagnola made it 5-1 with his second scoring effort of the game, but the action just seemed to provoke Mariano Aguerre and company.  Two goals from Fred Mannix, Jr. and a pair of goals from Paco de Narvaez had it all even at 5-5 after two.

Goals from de Narvaez and Aguerre were answered by a pair of penalty goals from Agustin Merlos, and the third period ended in a 7-7 deadlock.

Pite Merlos scored a goal from the field in the opening minute of play before Mannix converted a penalty shot to tie it up at 8-8 just two minutes later.  An Alegria foul put Agustin Merlos back at the penalty line with just over a minute left in the chukker.  The shot was converted and the first half ended with Estancia Grande having a narrow 9-8 advantage.

An explosive Alegria team flooded onto the field in the fifth chukker scoring five unanswered goals to first tie and then lead Estancia Grande by the score of 13-9 after five chukkers.  Two goals from Francisco Bensadon opened the rush followed by back to back goals from Mannix.  A final goal in the period was credited to Bensadon as Alegria left the field with a four goal, 13-9 lead.

Alegria extended its lead over Estancia Grande to five goals in the sixth as Bensadon added two more goals and de Narvaez converted a penalty goal.  Agustin Merlos kept Estancia Grande in it with a penalty conversion and a goal from the field.  With just two chukkers left to play, Alegria was five goals ahead, 16-11.

Fouls got Alegria in trouble in the seventh period, with Agustin Merlos converting two of them to open play.  A final goal from Agustin Merlos and shutout defense from the entire Estancia Grande team cut the Alegria lead to just two goals.

Bensadon scored the opening goal of the final chukker, but that would be the last we would see of the Alegria offense.  Two penalty goals from Agustin Merlos were followed by a great scoring effort from Pite Merlos in which he carried the ball over 200 yards down the field, four-and-a-half minutes into the period.  The score was tied at 17-17, and the momentum had definitely swung in favor of Estancia Grande.  Agustin Merlos scored to give Estancia Grande an 18017 lead with less than three minutes left to play as Alegria fought to clear the ball from its end off the field.  With less than a minute in regulation time, Castagnola jumped on a miscue by an Alegria player and scored the insurance goal as Estancia Grande rallied for the 19-17 come-from-behind win.

Agustin Merlos led all scoring with thirteen goals.  Castagnola and Pite Merlos added three goals apiece.

Bensadon led the Alegria attack with six goals.  Mannix added five; de Narvaez scored four times and Aguerre added two.

The victory gives Estancia Grande a perfect 2-0 record and will pit them against Ellerstina (2-0) next Sunday with the winner qualifying for the 2011 Argentine Open finals.