After Slow Start, El Farolito Routs Stompers
A hat trick by Dembor Benson powered El Farolito to a 5-0 win over the Oakland Stompers on Saturday afternoon. Benson has now scored 10 goals this season, nearly half of his team’s output.
The Stompers played in a cautious, defense-first posture in an effort to shut down the league leaders.
And it seemed to work for a time, limiting Farolito to a single goal in the first half. Benson scored it in the 31st minute, after his near post header deflected off of goalkeeper Juan Villalpando and into the back of the net.
The Stompers’ best chance came late in the half, when Dean Hakim took a shot from distance that nearly caught Farolito goalkeeper Johan Lizarralde out of position.
But in the second half, the visitors took charge. Benson led off the goal barrage with his second three minutes into the second half. His header hit the crossbar and Benson grabbed his own rebound and tapped it in.
Farolito’s third goal came in the 53rd minute. Villalpando made the initial save, but Sergio Martinez was in the perfect position to tap the rebound home.
Benson earned his hat trick in the 61st minute, eluding a Stomper defender and sliding the ball past an onrushing Villalpando.
The visitors wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute, when a poor clearance by Villalpando went straight to Daniel Buitrago for the easy finish.
El Farolito has a chance to clinch the Golden Gate Conference’s regular season championship on Saturday with a win or draw when they play the Stompers at Boxer Stadium in San Francisco.
Davis Earns a Point in Napa Golazo
The wildest match of the week came in Napa, where FC Davis earned a 4-4 tie with Napa Valley 1839 FC.
Davis got on the board first in the 7th minute. A long ball from the back found Aaron Farnan streaking into the penalty area; Farnan held off the defender and blasted the ball into the net.
Napa’s Oscar Ortiz tied the match in the 23rd minute, heading home a cross from Paris Martins.
And Ortiz earned the assist on the goal that gave Napa the lead three minutes later. Ortiz made a run down the left sideline, then sent in a cross that was redirected by a Davis defender into the path of Dario Pavon who headed it in at the near post.
Napa doubled their lead 6 minutes into the second half. Pavon couldn’t hang on to Sal Gomez’s cross, but Victor Cascon grabbed the loose ball and knocked it in at the far post.
But Davis came roaring back in the 58th minute, when Adewumi “Wumi” Aladetimi weaved through four defenders and dished the ball off to Farnan at the top of the box. Farnan took a couple of dribbles, waiting for Napa goalkeeper Carlos Ayala to commit himself, then fired a shot into the empty net.
Napa’s Ryan Kane entered the match in the 67th minute and scored Napa’s fourth goal two minutes later. Gomez’s cross found Kane unmarked in front of goal for the tap-in.
But the visitors came roaring back in the 80th minute. A Davis player chipped the ball to Wumi in the box. Wumi’s shot was heading slowly toward the net, but Nick Hyde slammed it home to make sure.
And Wumi knotted the game up again with his goal in the waning seconds of stoppage time. A desperation cross found him with his back to the goal at the edge of the box; Wumi whirled and slammed the ball home.
With two matches remaining in the regular season, Napa will likely finish in second place in the conference standings. Davis is currently tied for seventh place with the Stompers.
San Ramon Scrambles Back to Earn a Point at Oakland SC
The host side led most of the way, but San Ramon FC came back twice to salvage a point in the first-ever NPSL matchup between the two clubs.
Nigus Kidane opened the scoring in the 15th minute to give Oakland the lead at halftime.
Luis Diaz Mendoza answered for San Ramon three minutes into the second half.
Oakland grabbed the lead again in the 69th minute on a Tyler Markovich goal, but Adrian Guzman answered in the 81st minute to give the visitors a point.
San Ramon is currently in third place in the conference table, 4 points behind Napa and 3 ahead of Sacramento. Oakland SC is in fifth place, 1 point behind Sacramento and 1 ahead of Sonoma.
Late Goal Enables Sacramento to Top Sonoma
Sacramento Gold FC jumped into fourth place in the conference standings with a 1-0 win over the visiting Sonoma County Sol FC. Alhasan Alsakati scored the lone goal of the match in the 79th minute.
Next Week
All of the next week’s matches are repeats from this week, with the home and visiting teams reversed. El Farolito hosts the Stompers, San Ramon FC hosts Oakland SC, FC Davis hosts Napa Valley and Sonoma hosts Sacramento.
