Piaget USPA Gold Cup® - 26 Goal
Engel & Völkers Tesoro Cup
March 5 - 22, 2015

Audi and Orchard Hill Win; Earn Piaget Gold Cup Semifinal Berths
By Alex Webbe

Audi 16, Las Monjitas 11
10:00 am - Thursday, March 12, 2015

Audi (Marc Ganzi, Rodrigo Andrade, Gonzalito Pieres and Fred Mannix) fell behind Las Monjitas (Camilo Bautista, Facundo Sola, Sebastian Merlos and Eduardo Novillo Astrada) by five goals, 6-1, before an offensive explosion garnered them eight consecutive goals in leading them to a 16-11 win.

Las Monjitas team captain Camilo Bautista scored the first goal of the game three minutes into first chukker play followed by goals from teammates Eduardo Novillo Astrada, Facundo Sola and a goal on a Penalty 1. Audi was held scoreless and trailed 4-1 on the strength of the one goal it was awarded by handicap.

There seemed to be no letup from Las Monjitas with Sola converting a 40-yard penalty shot in the opening seconds of the second chukker. His second goal of the period came less than a minute later and had Las Monjitas in front by five goals, 6-1. A Las Monjitas foul resulted in a Penalty 1, awarding a goal to Audi at the 4:46 mark, 6-2, and that was when the momentum shifted. Five more goals by Audi went unanswered with Gonzalito Pieres scoring Audi’s third goal of the game followed by a pair of goals from Brazilian 9-goaler Rodrigo Andrade, 6-5. Another Penalty 1 gave Audi another goal and another goal from Pieres (60-yard penalty conversion) and two goals from Fred Mannix (one on a penalty shot) ended the second period with Audi in control of a 9-6 game.

Both defenses buckled down in the third with backhanders, ride-offs and hooks ruling the day. A Las Monjitas foul in the waning seconds of the chukker sent Pieres to the penalty lien where he scored from 30-yards out for a 10-6 halftime lead.

Fourth chukker goals from Sebastian Merlos breathed life back into the Las Monjitas offense as he converted a 40-yard penalty shot and added two more goals from the field. Pieres countered with a pair of goals for Audi (one on a 60-yard penalty shot). With two chukkers remaining, Audi remained in the lead, 12-9.

Merlos cut the Audi lead to two goals in the fifth, with the opening goal in the first minute of play, 12-10. Pieres responded by converting a 60-yard penalty shot for a goal, 13-10, and Andrade carried the ball from one end of the field to the other to score and stretch the Audi lead back to four goals, 14-10. Marc Ganzi pushed the Audi lead out to five goals with his first goal of the game. There was less than a minute left on the clock as Audi rode off the field with a 15-10 advantage.

Scoring was scarce in the sixth chukker with the first goal coming from Andrade with 2:26 left in the period, 16-10. Batista scored the final goal of the game with 33 seconds remaining as Audi celebrated the 16-11 victory, a perfect 3-0 record and a berth in one of the Piaget Gold Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

Pieres led the Audi attack with six goals (four on penalty conversions). Andrade added four goals; Mannix scored twice; Ganzi was credited with a goal; the team received two goals on Penalty 1s and Audi received one goal by handicap from the 26-goal Las Monjitas lineup. Merlos set the pace for Las Monjitas on offense with four goals (one on a penalty shot). Sola was credited with three goals, with Bautista scoring twice and Astrada kicking in a goal. Las Monjitas also received a goal through a Penalty 1.

Click here for photos by Alex Pacheco

Orchard Hill 12, Lechuza Caracas 11
12:30 pm - Thursday, March 12, 2015

Orchard Hill (Steve Van Andel, Ezequiel Ferrario, Polito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) came out on the winning end of a 12-11 game with Lechuza Caracas (Victor Vargas, Nico Pieres, Juan Martin Nero and Juan Agustin Garcia Grossi) and found themselves catapulted into Wednesday’s semifinals on the strength of their 3-0 record.

Lechuza Caracas hadn’t been playing up to their potential, but gave clear warning that they were not a team to be trifled with as they led much of the game before losing by a single goal in the final chukker.

Nico Pieres gave the early lead to Lechuza on a 40-yard penalty shot in the opening minutes of the game, 1-0. Facundo Pieres (Nico’s older brother) answered back with a 30-yard penalty goal with 4:38 left in the chukker, 1-1. Lechuza 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero scored on an extreme angle shot from just off the backline tor a 2-1 lead. Facundo Pieres converted a 30-yard penalty shot that tied it at 2-2. Nico Pieres ended the period with a 60-yard penalty goal to give Lechuza a 3-2 edge.

Nico Pieres converted back-to-back 60-yard penalty shots to open the second period with Lechuza enjoying a 5-2 lead. Facundo Pieres countered with a goal from the field with under two minutes of play left in the chukker, and added a goal on a 30-yard penalty goal to end the chukker trailing, 5-4.

In a low-scoring third chukker, Nico Pieres and Facundo Pieres traded 30-yard penalty goals. The first half ended with Lechuza holding on to a fragile 6-5 lead.

Nico Pieres extended the Lechuza lead to two goals with 6:19 left in the fourth, 7-5, but Orchard Hill answered back in force. Polito Pieres (Nico’s cousin) scored three consecutive goals in the space of a minute, giving Orchard their first lead of the game, 8-7. A late Orchard Hill foul sent Nico Pieres to the penalty line where he converted a 60-yard penalty shot with seconds on the clock, 8-8.

Facundo Pieres and Nico Pieres exchanged goals in the fifth with the score remaining deadlocked at 9-9.

Sixth chukker play had Nero giving the lead back to Lechuza with a goal from the field from over 70-yards out, 10-9. Facundo Pieres tie it on a 60-yard penalty shot a minute later, 10-10. With less than three minutes left in the game, Juan Agustin Garcia Grossi scored a go-ahead goal for Lechuza, 11-10. Polito Pieres tied it again, 11-11 at the 1:57 mark, and Facundo Pieres scored the winning goal from the field, 12-11, with 41 seconds on the clock.

Facundo Pieres led all scoring with nine goals on the day (five on penalty conversions). Polito Pieres scored the other three for the Orchard Hill win. Nico Pieres scored eight goals for Lechuza (seven on penalty shots). Nero added two goals and Grossi added a gal in the loss.

Click here for photos by Alex Pacheco

Valiente 12, Coca-Cola 8
3:00 pm - Thursday, March 12, 2015

In the final match of the day, a winless Valiente team (Bob Jornayvaz, Guillermo Terrera, Alejo Taranco and Adolfo Cambiaso) struggled with Coca-Cola (Gillian Johnston, Sugar Erskine, Pelon Stirling and Julio Arellano) through five chukkers of play before running off with the game behind four straight goals in the final chukker of play for the 12-8 victory.

First chukker goals from Alejo Taranco and Adolfo Cambiaso (40-yard penalty conversion) offset the opening goal from Coca-Cola’s Sugar Erskine as Valiente took the early 2-1 lead.

Second period action had Erskine scoring on a difficult nearside neck shot, 2-2. Cambiaso scored out the chukker with another 40-yard penalty goal that kept Valiente in front, 3-2.

Guillermo Terrera scored his first goal for Valiente a minute into the third chukker, 4-4, but Coca-Cola raced right back into the game. Erskine found himself on the scoring end of a pass from Pelon Stirling, 4-3, and a goal from the field from over 75-yards out from Stirling ended the first half with the core all even at 4-4.

Second half play began with Coca-Cola being the recipient of a goal on a foul by Valiente and the assessment of a Penalty 1. Goals from Cambiaso (30-yard penalty conversion) and Taranco ended the fourth chukker with Valiente on top, 6-5.

Consecutive goals from Gillian Johnston, Erskine and Stirling had Coca-Cola taking an 8-6 lead. Taranco scored on a 30-yard penalty shot and Terrera scored from the field to end the fifth period in an 8-8 deadlock.

Cambiaso scored the first goal of the sixth chukker on a 30-yard penalty shot that broke the tie and gave the lead to Valiente, 9-8. Cambiaso followed it up with a goal from the field, 10-8. Taranco scored with two minutes left in the game, 11-8, and Valiente team captain Bob Jornayvaz drove in the final goal of the game in the 12-8 win.

Taranco scored five goals on the day (two on penalty shots). Three of Cambiaso’s four goals came on penalty conversions. Terrera scored twice and Jornayvaz scored once for the win. Erskine set the pace for the Coca-Cola attack with four goals. Stirling scored twice and team captain Gillian Johnston scored once in the loss. Coca-Cola also received one goal on a penalty one in the fourth chukker.

Click here for photos by Alex Pacheco