Royal Salute C.V. Whitney Cup 2012

Valiente I vs. ERG

02/29/2012, 3:30 pm |

Valiente I - 12, ERG - 11

In the second semifinal of the day, Valiente I fought ERG to a 6-6 halftime tie before going on to capture a berth in the Sunday finals of the Royal Salute C. V. Whitney Cup by beating them in a highly competitive contest, 12-11.
Valiente I jumped out to an early 3-0 start, getting a pair of penalty goals from Miguel Astrada and a goal from the field from his brother, Nacho Astrada. Valiente I held the line on defense and kept ERG from scoring.
Four straight goals had ERG on top of a 4-3 lead in the second period with Agustin Merlos scoring once from the field and once on a penalty conversion. Single goals from Paco de Narvaez and Sebastian Merlos had ERG ahead for the first time all day at 4-3. Valiente I’s Polito Pieres tied it up at 4-4 to end the chukker.
Miguel Astrada scored a goal from the field and added another penalty goal for Valiente I while ERG relied on a penalty goal from Agustin Merlos and a goal from de Narvaez to keep it all even at 6-6 to end the first half.
Valiente I moved out to a delicate one-goal lead in the fourth, getting three penalty goals from Miguel Astrada. ERG answered with goals from Agustin Merlos and Sebastian Merlos, but at the end of four chukkers of play, Valiente I was ahead, 9-8.
Miguel Astrada extended the Valiente I lead to two goals, 10-8 in the fifth, but ERG responded in kind with a goal from the field from Sebastian Merlos. A penalty goal from Agustin Merlos tied it up again at 10-10, and the chukker ended.
Valiente I took early control of the final chukker of play, scoring goals from the field from Miguel Astrada and Nacho Astrada, 12-10. Agustin Merlos converted a 40-yard penalty shot to make it 12-11, but that was as close as they would get. Time ran out and Valiente I celebrated the 12-11 win and a trip into Sunday’s finals of the Royal Salute C. V. Whitney Cup against their sister team, Valiente II.
Miguel Astrada led all scoring with nine goals. Nacho Astrada scored twice and Polito Pieres added a goal in the win.