Orchard Hill vs. Valiente I

02/05/2012, 12:00 pm |

Valiente I - 12, Orchard Hill - 11

Second round play in the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club in Wellington got underway Sunday afternoon with Valiente I running its record to 2-0 with overtime win at the expense of Orchard Hill (1-1) while MetalTek (1-1) finally got into the winning column with a 16-8 victory over Pony Express (0-2).

In an opening chukker that saw six penalties whistled, Valiente I fought Orchard Hill to a 2-2 tie with Santiago Toccalino converting a pair of 60-yard penalty shots for goals in the opening chukker. Orchard Hill responded with a goal from the field from Pablo Spinacci and Facundo Obregon (penalty conversion).

Orchard Hill shutout the Valiente I attack in the second period while picking up two goals from Lucas Criado for a 4-2 advantage after two chukkers of play.

Jeff Hall and Toccalino scored single goals in the third for Valiente I, but Orchard Hill was up to the challenge. Criado responded with two goals as orchard Hill maintained a two goal lead after the first half of play, 6-4.

The umpire’s whistles continued to sound throughout the fourth chukker with five more fouls being called. Toccalino scored a penalty goal for Valiente I in the opening twenty seconds of play, followed by a goal from the field from Hall two minutes later, and it was all even at 6-6. Spinacci scored on a penalty shot and added a goal from the field on a perfectly executed tail shot to end the chukker. Orchard Hill continued to lead, 8-6.

Ten more penalties were whistled in the fifth with Toccalino converting two of them and having two of them blocked. A third goal from Toccalino cut the Orchard Hill led to a single goal, 10-9, as Spinacci and Obregon managed single goals.

Toccalino tied it again at 10-10 in the first fifty seconds of the sixth period, but Obregon gave the lead back to Orchard Hill, 11-10 just a minute later on a penalty goal. Toccalino converted a 40-yard penalty shot midway through the period resulting in an 11-11 tie that would force the game into sudden-death overtime.

Hall took the opening throw-in in overtime down the field to the Orchard Hill goal where a foul on the goal line gave Valiente I a penalty shot from less than a yard away. Toccalino stroked the ball through the goal posts for the Valiente I win.

Toccalino led all scoring with ten goals (seven on penalty shots). Hall scored twice.

Spinacci and Criado scored four goals apiece for Orchard Hill. Obregon added three goals in the loss.