Hawks edge past Zacara in US Open Polo Championship, 10-9: US Polo Recap
Mariano Gonzalez notched the game-winning goal in the extra-time, as the Hawks marked a win over Zacara in the round match of the US Open Polo Championship being contested at the International Polo Club in Wellington, on April 2, 2011.
It was one of the most competitive games of the season which was decided in the sudden-death overtime. The talented players of Zacara could not get the score halfway in the extra time and lost the game by a narrow single point. It was the second defeat
for Zacara, while Hawks scored a second victory in the tournament.
Facundo Pieres marked the first goal of the day and put Zacara ahead on the scoreboard. Mariano Gonzalez in a counter-offence notched a goal and had it all even. In the later time, Mariano Uranga and Freddie Mannix exchanged one goal to close out the
chukka with a two-all tie.
The second set of play was quite low-scoring, but it belonged to the Hawks. Julian Mannix connected on a penalty-shot to obtain a single point, 3-2 lead.
The speed of the game increased in the third round, where both the foursomes scored six goals in the period. Pieres and Sebastian Merlos added two and one goal respectively, for Hawks, while Freddie Mannix and Gonzalez managed two and one goal respectively,
for Hawks. After the first half action, Zacara was trailing by one goal, 6-5.
The two sides swapped one goal in the fourth set of play. Pieres notched a goal for Hawks and tied the knots. But another Hawks' goal was scored from Freddie Mannix to close out the period with Hawks sitting on top, 7-6.
The game was becoming more interesting in the second last set of play. Uranga marked a field goal to level the score, while Pieres established their first lead by connecting another penalty-shot. The resilient defence of Zacara kept Hawks off the scoreboard
and took the lead by a single point, 8-7, for the first time in the game.
In the final frame, Aguerre started most aggressive game and had it all even by scoring off a spot shot. However, Merlos added a goal and regained a single point, 9-8 advantage. With seconds left on the clock, Aguerre converted another penalty-shot
to make another tie at nine-all.
In the later time, Julian Mannix carried out an attack, but his hit went wide and the two teams were forced into the extra-time to make the game decisive.
Generally the extra-time could not continue for a long time, but it was a different story this time. The two teams fought bravely in the period and did not allow each other to mark a go-ahead goal until halfway. But the situation changed, when Uranga
committed a foul and gave Hawks a chance to win the game, which they didn’t miss. Gonzalez was the man who scored off the winning penalty-shot and sealed the triumph for Hawks at 10-9.
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