11/24/2019
Wins by La Dolfina and La Dolfina Polo Ranch set the stage for a showdown in Zone A competition
By Alex Webbe
Action continued in the 2019 Argentine Open Championship Saturday with La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, David Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) taking their first step toward earning a seventh consecutive Argentine Open Championship by soundly defeating the 28-goal La Irenita lineup of Juan Ruiz Guiñazú, Juan Jauretche, Clemente Zavaleta and Diego Araya.
With Adolfo Cambiaso leading the way with a game-high seven goals (four on penalty conversions), La Dolfina scored early and often. La Irenita had little success in slowing down the La Dolfina attack, falling behind 8-2 after the first three chukkers.
La Dolfina left the field at the end of the first half on top of a 10-4 score as La Irenita attempted to regroup for the final four periods of play.
The 40-goal veteran La Dolfina powerhouse coasted through the final four chukkers, emerging with their debut win in this year’s Open play, 16-7. Adding to Cambiaso’s seven goals were teammates Pelon Stirling with six goals; Pablo MacDonough with four and Juan Martin Nero with two goals.
Diego Araya led the scoring for La Irenita with four goals (three on penalty conversions). Juan Ruiz Guiñazú added two goals and Clemente Zavaleta scored once. The win gave La Dolfina a 1-0 record while it was La Irenita’s second straight loss as they fell to 0-2.
La Dolfina Ranch 16, La Ensenada 7
La Dolfina Polo Ranch (Guillermo Terrera, Juan Britos, Diego Cavanagh and Alejo Taranco) notched their second straight Zone A win as they throttled a game but outgunned La Ensenada (Facundo Fernández Llorente, Juan M. Zavaleta, Juan M. Zubía and Jerónimo del Carril) entry, 16-6.
Diego Scored five of his eight goals on penalty shots as La Dolfina Polo Ranch jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the opening period before running up a 10-4 lead after the first four chukkers. La Ensenada struggled to get back into the game but the coordinated teamplay of the La Dolfina Polo Ranch players continued to roll while holding La Ensenada to just three more goals in the 16-7 loss.
Guillermo Terrera scored four times for La Dolfina Polo Ranch. Juan Britos added three goals and Alejo Taranco scored once for the win. Cavanagh scored eight goals in his second straight game and currently leads the field with a total of 16 goals scored. Juan Martin Zubia led the La Ensenada attack with four goals (three on penalty conversions). Facundo Llorente scored twice and Jerónimo del Carril scored once in a losing effort.
Argentine Open play continues on Sunday, November 24 in Zone B play with 39-goal Ellerstina (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Pablo Pieres and Nicolás Pieres) facing La Natividad (Camilo Castagnola, Matías Torres Zavaleta, Bartolomé Castagnola (h) and Nachi du Plessis at 2PM local time in their first game of the tournament. La Natividad registered an earlier win and will be looking to go to 2-0 with a victory.
At 4:30PM the 38-goal Las Monjitas side (Facundo Sola, Hilario Ulloa, Sapo Caset and Santiago Toccalino) will battle La Albertina Abu Dhabi (Victorino Ruiz Jorba, Francisco Elizalde, Ignacio Toccalino and Alfredo Ca****la Barabucci 8). Las Monjitas will be attempting to improve their record to 2-0 while La Albertina Abu Dhabi will attempt to level their tournament record at 1-1 following an opening loss.
(Photo courtesy of Matas Callejo and teh AAP)
