FC Davis earned a crucial three points on the road in their 2-0 victory over Contra Costa FC. Davis had abundant chances in the first half, forcing Contra Costa goalkeeper Jeremy Zielinski to make two key saves in the 31st minute, on attempts from Ty Shikashio and Nick Gosal. Caua Soares’ 38th minute freekick went wide, and Shikashio and Soares both threatened again two minutes later. Davis finally broke through in the 41st minute, when Soares passed the ball to Gosal who sent it to Max Howland for the finish.
Zielinski made another key save two minutes in the second half, on a shot by Howland, but Davis was able to double their lead in the 62nd minute, when Gosal scored after several quick passes by his teammates set him up in scoring position. Davis’s Justin Wight nearly scored another in the 68th minute, but his shot went wide. Zielinski made two more key saves in the 83rd minute to keep Contra Costa within shouting distance, stopping shots from Wight and Soares.
El Farolito’s tough, physical battle with Academica SC ended in a scoreless draw. Academica was left short-handed when Jorge Lara was red carded for a hard tackle just outside the box in the 30th minute after receiving a yellow card for a similar tackle four minutes earlier. But the match reverted to 10 on 10 when Farolito’s Anwar Hernandez joined him on the sidelines in the 55th minute. Hernandez was penalized for a hard tackle from behind as an Academica striker was about to enter the penalty area.; he had received his first yellow card 10 minutes into the match, shoving an Academica striker away from the ball. Seven other Farolito players received yellow cards throughout the match, from the 10th minute to the 90th.
Academica’s best scoring chance came in the 40th minute, when Andres Velasquez took a short cross, trapped the ball and sent a low, hard shot that Farolito goalkeeper Jonathan Barona tipped wide for a corner kick.
Davis faces off with Academica this weekend in the final regular season match for both clubs, who are battling for the #1 seed in the division playoffs. El Farolito travels north to face Napa. Farolito is even with Academica on points for the season, but is 7 goals behind on goal difference.
Sonoma County Sol FC earned their first points of the season, shocking Sacramento Gold FC by a score of 6-1. Sacramento was missing several key players from their regular lineup, including Matt Wiesenfarth, David Villegas, Alejandro Reyes, Michael Mazzoni, and Justin Bethke. Each of Sacramento’s starting 11 played the full 90 minutes.
For most of the first half, Sonoma led by a slim margin, thanks to Brian Diaz’s 9th minute goal. But Sonoma poured it on in the second half, thanks to goals by Sebastian Santos (65th minute), Antonio Zumaya (70th minute), Marco Silveira (78th minute), and Erick Garcia (87th minute).
Napa Valley 1839 FC beat the Oakland Stompers 6-2 at Burrell Field in San Leandro. Napa opened the scoring in the 22st minute, on a tap-in by Francisco Mendoza from a feed by Dario Pavon. The Stompers tied the match just before halftime on a goal by Arnulfo Garcia, Jr. Napa broke the match open in the second half on goals by Gerardo Mendoza (56th minute), Marco Manzo (penalty kick, 64th minute), Paul Ramsey (81st minute), and Luis Mendoza (84th minute). Oakland’s Mikai Jacobs scored a consolation goal in the 85th minute, but Billy Biondini finished off the match with a final strike four minutes later.
The Stompers host Sonoma on Sunday in the final match of the regular season for both clubs.