Lucchese edge out ERG 16-15 in 2011 Bombardier Pacific Coast Open semi-finals – Polo Update
Adolfo Cambiaso and Julio Gracida scored six goals apiece as Lucchese succeeded to earn a berth in the finals of the 2011 Bombardier Pacific Coast Open by beating ERG 16-15 on September 1 at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, California.
After losing a game in the hands of Audi, it was final opportunity for Adolfo Cambiaso’s Lucchese to make a comeback into the match.
Both Lucchese and ERG made extensive efforts to establish their dominance from the start of the match. Without wasting any time, Sebastian Merlos scored off two penalty shots and put ERG ahead onto the scoreboard. This was enough to ignite the game for Lucchese’s
players and they started demonstrating a fast paced style of play.
Jeff Blake and Adolfo Cambiaso accounted for one goal apiece and made the game equal at two-all. In the later time, Julio Gracida and Merlos exchanged one goal and closed out the chukka at three-each.
In the second round, Cambiaso and Gracida notched one goal each from field attempts and earned a two-goal edge. Merlos tried to counterattack but could only score a single goal. At the end of the second period, the team of Adolfo was sitting ahead at a 5-4
advantage.
The third round of action was started in the hands of Paco de Narvaez who levelled the score with a goal from the field effort. In the latter time, Jeff Blake scored off a pair of penalty shots and once again put Lucchese ahead on the score-chart. Cambiaso
and Gracida further tightened the ropes by adding one score each and took the score to nine. Narvaez accounted for the second goal and finished the first half with ERG trailing by three goals.
The two teams further closed their grip over the game and obtained three and four goals respectively in seven and a half minutes. Cambiaso and Narvaez swapped one goal and made the game more exciting. In reply of the single goal from Gracida, the ERG strikers
cranked up their offence and obtained three unanswered goals to reduce the lead to a single goal. However, Blake added another goal and moved into the next round by leading the game with two goals, 12-10.
At the start of the fifth set of play, Miguelito Torres nailed in a couple of goals for ERG and tied the score. However, the stalemate was for a short time and a couple of goals from Gracida and single effort from Cambiaso extended the score up to fifteen
with one chukka left to contest.
Merlos and Narvaez added two and one goal respectively in the concluding moments but to no avail. Cambiaso scored the only goal of the chukka and rode off the field with a 16-15 win over ERG. They will face Piaget in the final-game of the tournament.
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