Orchard Hill reloads for the 2015 season From year to year there are going to be some roster changes among the high-goal teams competing at the International Polo Club, and one of the most aggressive changes have to belong to Orchard Hill’s Steve Van Andel. For the past few years Orchard Hill has relied upon the skills of Argentine 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough to no avail. Combinations that have included Lucas Criado, Hector Galindo, Jeff Hall, and Matias MacDonough have all come up short so Van Andel decided to go for the gold. With the Number 1 rated player in the game, Adolfo Cambiaso, locked in to the Valiente family he went after and got the Number 2 ranked player in the world, Facundo Pieres. Van Andel and Orchard Hill aren’t strangers to tournament finals having played in the final of the US Open in 2001, 2002 and 2006. Throw in a C. V. Whitney final and that will be a list of finals Orchard Hill has appeared in without sinning. This year, however, Van Andel is taking the field with a new cast of characters. Facundo Pieres will be joining Orchard Hill for both the 20-goal and the 26-goal campaigns. In 20-goal play he and Van Andel will be joined by California’s Remy Muller, winner of the 2014 Pacific Coast Open and longtime teammate, Lucas Criado. At the 26-goal level Orchard Hill will ride onto the field with Van Andel, Facundo Pieres, Polito Pieres (cousin of Facundo) and Ezequiel Ferrario. Polito Pieres garnered some notoriety for himself when he and his Alegria teammates upset Ellerstina and earned their way into the 2013 Argentine Open final. A loss to La Dolfina overshadowed the fact that Polito Pieres scored nine goals in the final and was named MVP. Both Pieres boys are prolific scorers giving Orchard Hill plenty of firepower that should make the 2015 season an exciting one.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 04:04:47 +0000
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