Lucchese, Mansour and Audi score opening wins

By Alex Webbe

In the first day of competition for the 2011 bombardier Pacific Coast Open at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, Lucchese opened its defense of its 2010 title by defeating Piaget 11-10 in exciting fashion.

Piaget charged onto the field in the opening chukker with its new alignment that saw Argentine 9-goaler Miguel Astrada leading the team from the Number 3 position in place of Lolo Castagnola (8). Jason Crowder scored the first goal of the game followed by a single goal from teammate Juan Bollini. The Piaget defense held solid in the opening seven minutes of play, shutting out Adolfo Cambiaso and company for a 2-0 first chukker lead.

Lucchese turned the tables on Piaget in the second period, picking up single goals from Cambiaso and Julio Gracida while holding Piaget scoreless. After two chukkers of play, the score was all even at 2-2.

Jeff Blake scored twice in the third, and Gracida added a goal from the field as Lucchese caught Piaget napping, moving ahead, 5-2. Two missed 40-yard penalty shots by Lucchese early on limited the damage to Piaget. Astrada got his team back on track, however, picking up a pair of goals on a 60-yard penalty conversion and a goal from the field. Lucchese continued to lead,
but by a single goal, 5-4, at the end of the first half.

Melissa Ganzi tied it up for Piaget with her first goal of the game in the fourth to make it 5-5, but Cambiaso responded with a go-ahead goal for Lucchese. Astrada evened it up again at 6-6, but Cambiaso managed to wrestle the lead back with a closing goal for Lucchese. Piaget missed a golden opportunity but missed a pair of penalty shots. After four periods of play, Lucchese
continued to lead, but had Piaget breathing down its neck.

Crowder’s second goal on the day tied it again at 7-7 to open the fifth chukker, but Blake made the tie short-lived as he scored twice from the field for Lucchese. Astrada’s single goal ended the period, cutting the Lucchese back to a single goal, 9-8.

Cambiaso tried to wrap it up in the sixth chukker, converting a penalty shot for a goal and adding another from the field, but Piaget still had some fight left in it. Astrada countered with a pair of goals (one on a penalty shot) to bring his team close, but time ran out on the rally and Lucchese rode off with the hard-fought 11-10 victory.

Astrada led all scoring with six goals. Crowder scored twice and Ganzi and Bollini added single goals.

Cambiaso scored five times for Lucchese. Blake added four and Gracida was credited with a pair of goals in the win.

MANSOUR 14, ERG 13

With the super-star player swap (Lolo Castagnola for Miguel Astrada), Mansour lined up with the USPA’s newest 10-goaler, Sapo Caset, at the Number 3 position and got immediate results from it.

In a penalty riddled match that saw thirty fouls called and six red flags pulled (all against ERG), Mansour managed to outlast ERG for a narrow 14-13 win.

Paco de Narvaez scored the first goal of the game but Caset quickly righted the ship by converting a pair of penalty shots for goals. Castagnola scored his first goal of the game to end the first chukker with ERG trailing 3-1.

De Narvaez opened the second chukker with a goal from the field and added another following a goal from Castagnola. Caset scored the final two goals of the frame for a 6-3 Mansour lead.

ERG rallied in the third with de Narvaez scoring on a 60-yard penalty shot followed by a well-placed scoring goal from the field to bring ERG to within a goal, 6-5. Caset gave Mansour a little breathing room just before halftime with his fifth goal of the game. After three chukkers of play, Mansour left the field with a 7-5 halftime advantage.

Caset added two more goals in the fourth and Castagnola scored for the third time to offset single goals from Merlos and de Narvaez. Mansour took a handsome 10-7 lead into the fifth period.

ERG launched an all-out attack in the fifth, with Mansour fouls allowing Merlos to convert three penalty shots for goals. De Narvaez added a goal to the pot, but a pair of goals kept Mansour ahead by a single goal, 12-11.

Merlos tied it up at 12-12 to open the final chukker, but fouls proved to be ERG’s undoing. Caset made good on two penalty shots for a 14-12 lead, and despite a last minute goal from Merlos, it was Mansour that took the game, 14-13.

Caset scorched the posts for eleven goals on the day. Castagnola added three in the win. De Narvaez scored seven times for ERG. Merlos added six in a valiant effort.

AUDI 17, GRANTS FARM 14

Whether it was a case of one-upsmanship (following Caset’s eleven goal performance earlier) or just the fact that Audi operated like a well-oiled machine Thursday afternoon, 10-goaler  Gonzalito Pieres scored thirteen goals as Audi drove over Grants Farm 17-14 for a first round win in the 2011 bombardier Pacific Coast Open.

Nothing came easy for Audi despite Carlitos Gracida scoring the opening goal as the teams battled to a 3-3 first half tie. Audi added a pair of 60-yard penalty shots from Pieres while Grants Farm got two penalty goals from Nic Roldan and a goal from the field from Jeff hall.

Roldan added two more goals in the second (penalty conversions) and got another goal from Hall while holding Audi to a pair of goals from Pieres. Grants Farm had fought its way back into the game and taken a 6-5 lead after the opening two chukkers of play.

Three more Grants Farm goals (two from Hall, one from Roldan) had Audi trailing by four goals, 9-5 before they started to peck away at the lead. Attack after attack was turned aside by Grants Farm, but defensive efforts resulted in penalties, and Pieres made good on all three of them. The first half ended with Grants Farm guarding a narrow 9-8, one goal lead.

Carlos Gracida tied it up in the fourth with his first goal of the game, 9-9, but Roldan converted a 60-uard penalty shot to give the lead back to Grants Farm, 10-9. Nick Morrison put the ball between the goals post to extend the Grants Farm lead to two goals, 11-9, but Pieres cut it back to a one goal lead, 11-10, with his eighth goal of the day.

Hall gave Grants Farm two more goals in the fifth, but Pieres answered with a pair of penalty goals and a goal from the field. After five chukkers of play the score stood all even at 13-13.

Audi wasted little time in demonstrating its superiority in the final chukker. Three straight goals (two from Pieres, one from Carlos Gracida) had Audi carrying a three goal lead, 16-13 before Grants Farm could respond. Roldan’s seventh goal of the game was all the offense Grants Farm could muster in the final chukker as young Carlitos Gracida ended the scoring in the 17-14 Audi
victory.

Pieres set the scoring record for the day with thirteen goals. Carlos Gracida and son Carlitos Gracida scored two goals apiece in the win.

Roldan accounted for seven goals for Grants Farm. Hall added six and Morrison added a single goal.

Bombardier Pacific Coast Open action continues on Sunday with Lucchese (1-0) facing ERG in the 10AM opener. Grants Farm (0-1) will face Piaget (0-1) at 1PM with Audi (1-0) and Mansour doing battle at 3PM.