2010 Open begins with a pair of routs

The 2010 Arcalux 106^th United States Open Championship got off to an exciting if one-sided start as Orchard Hill and Audi both routed their opponents in the opening round of play Sunday afternoon at the International Polo Club in Wellington.

Steve Van Andel’s Orchard Hill team handed Piaget an embarrassing 17-8 drubbing while the 2009 defending championship Audi polo team galloped over Pony Express 14-7.

It was Orchard Hill who opened the day with a rousing first half that had them in front of Piaget by a lopsided 10-3 score.

Two first chukker goals by Lucas Criado put Orchard Hill in front early before Piaget could respond. A single goal from Piaget’s Nic Roldan was followed by a closing goal from Orchard Hill 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough. Orchard Hill led 3-1.

The second chukker belonged to MacDonough, who scored three unanswered goals. Criado notched his third goal of the game while shutout defense kept Piaget off the scoreboard. Orchard Hill rode off the field with a commanding 7-1 advantage after just two chukkers of play, and had no intentions of slowing down.

Piaget turned up the volume in the third chukker and got two goals from Juan Bollini, but it was Criado’s turn to come through for Orchard Hill. Criado accounted for three more goals from the field, and Orchard Hill took a 10-3 lead to the sidelines with them at the end of the first half.

Criado scored his seventh goal of the game in the opening minute of the fourth chukker before team captain, Steve Van Andel, showed up with a couple of goals of his own. Piaget was unable to score for the second time in four chukkers, and Orchard Hill extended its lead to ten goals, 13-1.

Piaget took the field in the fifth chukker with a renewed resolve. Three goals from Roldan and a penalty conversion from 10-goaler Lolo Castagnola showcased the team’s largest offensive exhibition of the match, but two more goals from MacDonough kept Orchard Hill comfortably ahead at the end of the period, 15-7.

Two last chukker goals from Van Andel and Criado were countered by a single penalty goal from Piaget as the final horn sounded with Orchard Hill the victor in an impressive 17-8 game.

Lucas Criado led the scoring for Orchard Hill with eight goals. Pablo MacDonough scored six times and Steve Van Andel accounted for three goals in the win.

Nic Roldan set the pace for Piaget with four goals. Lolo Castagnola and Juan Bollini scored two goals apiece.

AUDI 14, PONY EXPRESS 7

The feature match of the day had the 2009 defending US Open Audi team facing Pony Express. To say the Audi team was performing under par would be a compliment, as the team struggled to achieve mediocrity in the first two tournaments.

With 10-goalers Gonzalo and brother Facundo Pieres returning, it seemed incomprehensible that they could be struggling, but struggling they were. An early loss to Crab Orchard in the C. V. Whitney Cup kept them from defending their 2009 title, and a lackluster final two chukkers against that same Crab Orchard team in the Piaget Gold Cup (tied at 11-11 after four chukkers and losing by a final of 18-11) all but eliminated from the season’s second 26-goal tournament.

Shrugging off the fog of their past losses, Audi jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back as they built up a comfortable 8-3 halftime advantage.

It might have been the team realignment that moved the offense-minded Facundo Pieres to the Number 2 position while sending Inaki Laprida to the Back or Number 4 spot, but whatever it was, it worked.

Facundo Pieres scored his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the game in the fourth chukker as Audi cruised out to an 11-4 lead while an anemic Pony Express was held to a single penalty conversion by Carlos Gracida.

Two goals from Gonzalito Pieres had Audi up 13-5 after five periods of play, with Gracida managing just one goal from the field for Pony Express.

The prospects of making up eight goals at this level of polo are remote by the most optimistic of fans, and in spite of a couple of goals from Matias Magrini, Pony Express ended up on the short end of a 14-7 score.

Facundo Pieres led all scoring with eight goals on the day. Gonzalito Pieres scored four times while Mark Ganzi and Inaki Laprida scored single goals in the win.

Matias Magrini led Pony Express with three goals. Teammates Carlos Gracida and Bautista Heguy scored two goals apiece.

US Open play resumes on Wednesday afternoon at the International Polo Club when Audi (1-0) meets Crab Orchard (0-0) at 1 pm followed by a 3 pm contest between Pony Express (0-1) and Orchard Hill (1-0).

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TAGS: 2010 IPC, Carlos Gracida, International Polo Club, Lucas Criado, Pablo MacDonough, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Polo, The International Polo Club, US Open Polo Championship, Wellington, Wellington Florida