By Alejandra Ocampo
Ellerstina Piaget and Alegria scored wins in the second day of the 122th. Hurlingham Open, that took place on the Argentine Polo Association fields, in Pilar. Following two very narrow matches, Ellerstina beat Magual, and Alegria edged Chapaleufu.
Ellerstina Piaget 15 vs. Magual 13
The day’s opener could have been a huge suprise – in fact, it was. A very talented Magual foursome made things quite difficult to the always powerful Ellerstina Piaget.
Following a 2-all in the first chukker, Magual took Ellerstina by storm: with Alejandro Muzzio leading the attack, A determined Magual foursome took a 5-3 lead by the end of the second chukker. Marcos Di Paola’s team reached half time with a 9-8 advantage.
Things seemed to fall into place in the fifth chukker, when Ellerstina took their first lead in the game, 11-12. However, the score remained very tight, as Magual’s attack upset a somewhat flat Ellerstina defense. By the start of the last chukker, Ellerstina managed to handle a narrow 14-13 lead.
Ellerstina’s hard fought win came in those last seven minutes of play, when they outscored Magual 2-0, and take the final 15-13 win home.
Score Ellerstina Piaget: 2-2, 3-5, 6-7, 8-9, 11-10, 13-12, 14-13, 15-13
Alegria 19 vs. Chapaleufu 18
Alegria and Chapaleufu met in the following match, that was quite similar to the first one – very close and in the end, a hard fought win for Alegria.
The match had a very even start – two ties, and a slight advantage for Alegria in the third period. It was in the fourth chukker when Alegria took off and extended their lead to 11-8. Meanwhile, Chapaleufu had to replace the injured Bautista Heguy with 6-goaler Julián de Lusarreta.
Alegria seemed to have reached their path. Led by a superb performance by Hilario Ulloa, who scored 13 goals, they remained in the lead thoroghout the rest of the match, that was very rough and with many fouls.
Anyway, Chapaleufu was far from giving up. They tightened their attack in the last chukker, and with only one minute remaining, the all-Heguy foursome scored to cut the margin to one goal 18-19. With the time running down on the game clock, Chapaleufu attempted to score to tie the game, but Alegria hold them back to secure a tough 19-18 win.
Score Alegría: 1-1, 4-3, 6-6, 11-8, 12-10, 15-12, 17-15, 19-18
Ellerstina vs. Magual
Alegria vs. Chapaleufu
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