Zacara wins third straight, makes quarterfinals; Les Lions fall to Twelve Oaks

By Alex Webbe

Zacara (Lyndon Lea, Matt Perry, Facundo Pieres and Rodrigo Andrade) entered their

final preliminary game of the 2013 Cartier Queens Cup as one of only four undefeated

teams in competition.  Joining El Remanso (3-0), UAE (2-0) and Cortium (2-0), and

clinched a spot as one of the eight quarterfinalists, with a 12-8 win on Sunday.

Aravali (Karan Thapar, Mark Tomlinson, Javier Novillo Astrada and Jaime Huidobro)

desperately seeking their second win an opportunity to stay in the running with a 1-1

record.

Single goals were registered by each team in the opening chukker, with Brazilian 8-

goaler Rodrigo Andrade highlighting the period with an end-to-end run for a goal for

Zacara.

An even battle continued into the second period of the game.  Once again the two

teams exchanged goals with Jaime Huidobro converting a penalty shot to give Aravali

the 2-1 edge going into the third.

Desperation showed in the play of the Aravali team as Huidobro and Javier Novillo

Astrada added single goals.  Zacara got on the scoreboard but trailed 4-2 at the end of

the first half.

Zacara made adjustments at halftime, and returned to the game in the fourth chukker

with a fresh focus.  They scored the first two chukkers of the period to tie it up at 4-4,

but Aravali rallied for a 6-5 advantage with two chukkers left to play in regulation time.

Zacara dominated the fifth period, scoring five unanswered goals as a stunned Aravali

team found themselves trailing by four goals, 10-6.  The dominant Zacara combination

of Facundo Pieres and Rodrigo Andrade made its presence known, and Aravali wasn’t

able to stem the offensive onslaught.

Aravali staged a last chukker rally, scoring the first two goals of the sixth to cut the

Zacara lead to a manageable 10-8, but Zacara wasn’t having any of it.  Two more

Zacara goals and shutout defense ended the game in a 12-8 Zacara victory.  The win

gives Zacara a perfect 3-0 record, a first place finish in their league and a berth in next

week’s quarterfinals.

LES LIONS13, TWELVE OAKS 11

Les Lions (Henry Fisher, Agustin Merlos, Sebastian Merlos and Joachim Gottschalk)

flexed their offensive muscles once again (Les Lions had pummeled Aravali 17-9 in an

earlier match) as they took an early 3-1 lead, but couldn’t hold off an aggressive Twelve

Oaks team in a 13-11 loss in Sunday’s late game at the Guards Polo Club.

Agustin Merlos carried the brunt of the attack in the opening chukker, scoring three

times.  Twelve Oaks was limited to a single goal and fell behind early, 3-1.

Twelve Oaks (Magoo Laprida, Inaki Laprida, Marcos Di Paola and Jack Hyde playing

for Stefano Marsaglia) turned the tables on Les Lions in the second, scoring three

consecutive goals to take a 4-3 lead.  The Merlos brothers got it back on track with a

tying goal to end the chukker in a 4-4 tie.

Again, it was Twelve Oaks in the third that outscored Les Lions 3-1.  The much vaunted

Les Lions offense found themselves trailing 7-5 at the end of the first half.

The two teams traded goals in the fourth chukker as both defenses tightened.  Twelve

Oaks continued to lead by a pair of goals, 8-6.

Three consecutive Twelve Oaks goals in the fifth had them ahead by five goals, 11-6,

as Les Lions couldn’t find a way to stop the Laprida’s attack.  The lead was cut to three

goals, 12-9 in the sixth chukker.  Les Lions scored two late goals, but it was Twelve

Oaks that rode off with the 13-11 win.

Because of a three way tie between Les Lions, Twelve Oaks and EFG Bank Aravali; the

second quarterfinalists will be decided via a shootout between the three teams.

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