Piaget vs. Lechuza Caracas

03/11/2012, 4:00 pm |

Lechuza Caracas - 15, Piaget - 14

Wet fields forced the postponement of two more Monday matches in the 2012 USPA Piaget Gold Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington, with only two of the four scheduled games taking place. Both games, however, provided plenty of excitement with each of the games being decided in the final seconds of the final chukker.

At noon, it was a last second goal from Sapo Caset that powered Lechuza Caracas to a 15-14 win over Piaget while Nic Roldan’s tying goal attempt just missed scoring as time expired, giving Zacara the 16-15 victory.

Lechuza Caracas 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero scored the opening goal of the game after the first two minutes of play, but it was all Piaget after that. Marc Ganzi tied it up with Piaget’s first goal of the game followed by four more unanswered goals. Nico Pieres scored consecutive goals and Jeff Hall and 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres added single goals. After the opening chukker of play, Piaget led, 5-1.

Lechuza 10-goaler Sapo Caset scored Lechuza’s second goal of the day on a penalty shot less than a minute into the second chukker, 5-2. Hall responded by converting a pair of penalty goals for Piaget for a commanding 7-2 advantage. Caset answered back with a goal from the field, 7-3. Facundo Obregon racked up his first goal of the game, and Caset cut the Piaget lead to just two goals with a goal in the final seconds of the chukker, 7-5.

Both defenses tightened in the third with neither team giving up uncontested ground. With 41 seconds left in the period, Hall converted a penalty shot for a goal and first half closing score of 8-5, Piaget.
It was nearly three minutes into the second half of play when Caset scored for Lechuza, 8-6. A goal from teammate Obregon a minute later cut the lead to a single goal, 8-7. Fielding a pass from Nero on the ensuing throw-in, Lechuza Caracas team captain, Victor Vargas, carried the ball through the Piaget goalposts for the tying goal, 8-8. Lechuza continued to press the Piaget defense, resulting in a pair of penalties that Caset converted into goals and a 10-8 Lechuza lead at the end of the chukker.

Both teams battled for control of the ball in the fifth chukker, with Piaget attempting to stop the bleeding and Lechuza trying to keep the momentum going. Two minutes into the period Hall converted a 40-yard penalty shot, cutting the Lechuza lead down to a single goal, 10-9. Obregon responded with a goal from the field followed by a spectacular neckshot for a goal from Nero. The Lechuza lead hung at 12-9 with over five minutes left in the chukker. Nico Pieres fired back for Piaget followed by a goal from brother and teammate, Gonzalito Pieres, cutting the lead down to a single goal, 12-11 halfway through the period.
Matt Coppola (substituting for Ganzi at the end of the fourth chukker-no injury, business meeting in New York) tied it up at 12-12 with 2:22 left in the chukker, and a gal from Hall with less than two minutes in the period gave the led back to Piaget, 13-12.

Two minutes into the final chukker, Caset converted a penalty shot to even it up at 13-13. Hall responded with a penalty conversion for Piaget for a 14-13 edge with just over four minutes left in the game. Caset had it all even once more, 14-14, with less than two minutes on the clock. A final drive down the field was launched by Lechuza. The 30 second horn sounded with Caset driving it through the goalposts just six seconds later for the 15-14 winning goal.

“It was a tough game,” offered Vargas following the match. “They’re a very good team,” he said.
Caset led all scoring with ten goals (eight on penalty shots). Vargas, Nero and Obregon added two goals apiece for the win.

Hall was credited with seven goals for Piaget (six on penalty shots). Nico Pieres scored three times. Gonzalito Pieres registered two goals and Ganzi and Coppola scored single goals in the loss.