Coca-Cola wins in OT; Villa Del Lago and
Lucchese register Victories

By Alex Webbe

The first round of play in the 2012 Ylvisaker Cup was completed Saturday afternoon at
the International Polo club in Wellington with Coca-Cola, Villa del Lago and Lucchese
ringing up wins in the 20-goal competition.

The day opened with Heathcote taking on Coca-Cola, the winner of the season’s two
opening tournaments, the Herbie Pennell Cup and the Joe Barry Memorial Cup, and
making an early impression by running out to an 8-4 halftime lead before falling 12-11 in
sudden-death overtime.

Tommy Biddle gave Heathcote the early led on a 60-yard penalty conversion. A goal
from teammate Nick Manifold had Coca-Cola trailing 3-0 before they got their attack
organized. Mason Wroe scored Coke’s first goal of the game with Sugar Erskine
tallying the tying goal to end the first chukker, 2-2.

The Heathcote defense smothered Coca-Cola in the second while Biddle put on an
offensive show. After converting another 60-yard penalty shot, the 6-goaler buried a
nearside backhand shot from over 85 yards out. He followed up with a third goal in the
chukker for a 5-3 lead. Coca-Cola was shut out.

Lucas Monteverde put Heathcote up 6-2 with the opening goal of the third period.
Biddle scorched another ball through the goal posts on a 200 yard run before Coke
woke up. Julio Arellano scored Coca-Cola’s first goal since the first chukker on a
penalty shot and then followed it up with a goal from the field to cut the Heathcote lead
to three goals, 7-4. Monteverde closed out the chukker with his second goal of the
game with Heathcote leading by four goals, 8-4.

Arellano opened the second half with a goal from the field. Biddle converted a penalty
shot from 40-yards out, 9-5. Arellano converted a penalty shot as the chukker ended
with Coca-Cola behind, 9-6.

The Coca-Cola offense was transformed in the fifth period with Arellano converting a
penalty goal and Erskine adding two more goals to lock it up at 9-9 with one chukker left
to play. For the first time all day Heathcote was kept off the scoreboard.

Arellano converted a 60-yard penalty shot to open the scoring in the sixth to give Coca-
Cola its first lead of the game, 10-9, but Heathcote’s Monteverde responded with a
tying penalty goal of his own. Arellano fired back with another go-ahead goal as he
rode through two Heathcote players on an impressive scoring effort, 11-10. With time

running out, Monteverde converted a Safety (60-yard penalty shot) to force the game
into sudden-death overtime.

After a brief recess to change mounts, both teams returned to the field for the throw-in
which Erskine took immediate possession of, and with just 18 seconds off of the clock,
scored the winning goal.

Arellano scored seven times for Coca-Cola (1-0). Erskine added four goals and Wroe
accounted for a score in the win.

Biddle led the Heathcote (0-1) attack with six goals. Monteverde added four goals and
Manifold registered a goal.

VILLA DEL LAGO 9, VALIENTE I 7

Jared Zenni’s return to the Villa Del Lago team was a successful one as the team
jumped out to a 6-2 halftime lead before scoring a 9-7 win over a talented Valiente II
team in the second Ylvisaker Cup match of the day.

After a scoreless opening three minutes of play, Argentine 9-goaler Nacho Astrada
scored on a penalty shot to give Valiente II an early 1-0 lead, but Villa del Lago charged
back into action, scoring three straight goals to end the chukker. Augustin Obregon
scored on a difficult nearside neck shot followed by a pair of goals from Magoo Laprida
(one on a penalty shot and one from the field). The period ended with Villa del Lago
leading by two goals, 3-1.

Villa del Lago’s Pelon Escapite and Valiente II’s Julio Gracida exchanged penalty goals
for the only scoring of the second chukker as both defenses stiffened. Villa del Lago
continued to lead by two goals, 4-2.

Escapite scored from the field in the third followed by a penalty goal from Laprida.
Valiente II was held scoreless and Villa del Lago found themselves holding a 6-2
halftime advantage.

Valiente II rallied in the fourth, scoring three unanswered goals to cut the lead to a
single goal, 6-5. Astrada scored on two well-executed backhanders while team captain
Bob Jornayvaz carried the ball through the goal for the final goal of the chukker.

The Valiente II domination continued into the fifth period as Astrada tied it with an
opening goal and then scored the go-ahead on a 100 yard run. With one chukker left to
play in regulation time, Valiente II held a narrow 7-6 edge over Villa del Lago.

Zenni scored on a cut shot to tie it up in the sixth, 7-7, and Escapite added his third goal
of the game for an 8-7 lead. Escapite scored an insurance goal on a 60-yard penalty

conversion and Villa del Lago celebrated the 9-7 victory.

Escapite led the Villa del Lago attack with four goals. Laprida added three goals and
Obregon and Zenni added single goals in the win.

Astrada registered five goals for Valiente II. Teammates Jornayvaz and Gracida scored
single goals.

LUCCHESE 13, ZACARA 5

Lucchese and Zacara closed out the day with a choppy competition that had Pelon
Stirling scoring the only goal of the opening chukker of play.

Stirling added two more unanswered goals in the second period, scoring once from the
field and converting a penalty shot for a goal for a 3-0 lead, and no sign of life from the
Zacara offense.

Stirling converted a 60-yard penalty shot in the third and added a goal from the field
for a 5-0 advantage before Zacara managed to get on the scoreboard. Penalty
conversions from Marcos Llambias and Gonzalo Del Tour got Zacara on the
scoreboard, but it was Lucchese that left the field with a three goal, 5-3 lead.

Lucchese took control of the game in the second half, putting three consecutive goals
on the board before Zacara responded. Stirling added two more goals from the field
while teammate Cote Zegers added his first goal of the afternoon. Del Tour converted a
60-yard penalty shot to keep his team from being shut out. Lucchese had extended its
lead to five goals, 8-5 after the fourth chukker.

Stirling added a penalty goal in the fifth and Santi Torres registered his first goal of the
game while a punchless Zacara offense went scoreless for the third time. Lucchese led
10-7 and showed no sign of letting up.

Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea scored his team’s first goal from the field in the sixth
chukker and Llambias added another, but there was not enough offense to get back
into the game. Two more goals from Torres and a goal from Zegers ended the game as
Lucchese claimed the 13-5 win.

Stirling led the field with eight goals. Torres scored three times and Zegers accounted
for two goals in the victory.

Del tour and Llambias scored two goals apiece for Zacara. Lea added a goal in a losing
effort.