Lechuza Caracas vs. Valiente II/Tonkawa

04/12/2012, 11:00 am |

Lechuza Caracas - 12, Valiente II/Tonkawa - 10

The opening match of the day saw the return to the field of Valiente II’s injured 10-goal superstar, Adolfo Cambiaso (fractured bone in the back of his mallet hand), who scored a goal in the first chukker but left after the first two periods of play. The match was an opportunity for Cambiaso to play a couple of chukkers of match play before returning to the lineup for Sunday’s quarterfinal competition.

Pelon Stirling got Valiente II on the scoreboard with a goal from the field in the first thirty seconds of play, 1-0. Sapo Caset retaliated with a pair of goals to put Lechuza Caracas on top, 2-1, but Valiente II wasn’t thru yet. With just over three minutes left in the chukker, Cambiaso scored to tie it up at 2-2, and two minutes later team captain Robert Jornayvaz scored to end the chukker with Valiente in front, 3-2.

The pace was languid, even with four of the world’s eight 10-goal players on the field (Cambiaso, Stirling, Nero and Caset), as Lechuza Caracas shut out the Valiente II offense in the second period. Victor Vargas tied it up at 3-3 with his first goal of the game followed by another goal from the field by Juan Martin Nero. The second period ended with Lechuza Caracas holding a 4-3 advantage as Cambiaso slid out of the saddle for the Duration of the contest.

With 6-goaler Pablo Spinacci joining the Valiente II lineup, the blue-shirted Denver based team went on the attack. Disciplined defense kept Lechuza off of the scoreboard while well-orchestrated teamwork saw Jornayvaz score three unanswered goals to put Valiente II ahead at the end of the first half, 6-4.

Three goals from Lechuza Caracas in the fourth chukker tied it up at 7-7. Facundo Obregon scored the first goal of the period for Lechuza Caracas 6-5, with Alejo Taranco registering a goal for Valiente II, 7-5. Consecutive goals from Vargas ended the chukker with the score knotted up at 7-7.

Caset opened the fifth period with a go-ahead goal, 8-7, for Lechuza Caracas in the opening minute of play, but Valiente II fought back. Taranco tied it up at 8-8 before teammate Spinacci gave them a one goals lead, 9-8 to end the chukker.

Caset tied it up, 9-9, in the opening seconds of the final chukker on a goal from the field, and Vargas put them in front, 10-9 with his fourth goal of the game. Stirling converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a tying goal, 10-10, for Valiente II. With three minutes left in the game, Caset broke through the Valiente II defense to put Lechuza on top, 11-10. With a minute left to play, Caset converted a penalty shot for the final score of the match in a 12-10 Lechuza Caracas victory.

Caset and Vargas led all scoring with five goals apiece. Teammates Obregon and Nero added single goals in the win.

Jornayvaz set the pace for the Valiente II team with four goals. Stirling and Taranco scored two goals apiece and Cambiaso and Spinacci each scored a goal in the loss.

Only two penalty goals were scored in the match, with Caset and Stirling each notching one for their respective teams.