Ellerstina Leaves No Doubt With 16-5 Win Over Washington
By Darlene Ricker
In a dose of déjà vu, Ellerstina toppled Washington 16-5 Monday in the fourth round of the 2016 Tortugas Open at Tortugas Country Club. The match played out in strikingly similar style to La Dolfina’s 15-5 trouncing of El Paraíso in the previous round.
It may be early in the Argentine 2016 Triple Crown, but one thing is already clear: Ellerstina are determined to avenge last season’s one-goal loss to La Dolfina in the final of the Argentine Open. Although they got off to a slow start Monday at Tortugas, Ellerstina turned things around in the third chukka and never looked back.
The young guns of Washington—8-goalers Diego Cavanaugh and Facundo Sola, Tomas Garcia del Rio (7 goals) and power-hitter Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (9)—made an impressive start. They held Ellerstina scoreless in the first chukka and clung to a 2-goal lead through the second. The third chukka opened 3-1 for Washington, but from that point forward Ellerstina ruled. They steamed ahead into a 4-goal advantage, closing the fourth chukka 7-3. Going into the last chukka Ellerstina led 13-5 and notched three more goals for a convincing 11-goal advantage, eliminating Washington from the tournament.
In a spree of 9 consecutive goals, Ellerstina won nearly all the throw-ins and set Washington off kilter. Facundo Pieres was a wildfire that could not be extinguished. He made 11 of Ellerstina’s 16 goals, all but two from the field. Sola dug in his heels as best he could, making 4 of Washington’s goals from the penalty line. Garcia del Rio contributed Washington’s other goal from the field.
Both teams came into the game with forced adjustments to their lineups, which is never an easy situation. Garcia del Rio subbed for injured Ezequiel Martinez Ferrario on the Washington roster. For Ellerstina, Mariano Aguerre replaced Polito Pieres, who was on suspension because of a previous disagreement with an umpire. Aguerre came off a strong U.S. summer season with White Birch, winning the U.S. East Coast Open in September. He made 1 goal in Monday’s match, with Gonzalito Pieres and Nico Pieres each contributing 2.
The Tortugas Open resumes this weekend with the semifinals. La Dolfina plays La Aguada Las Monjitas on Saturday, and Ellerstina opposes Alegria on Sunday.