Different Venue, Same Result for El Farolito & the Stompers
El Farolito clinched the top seed in the upcoming conference playoffs with their second consecutive 5-0 win over the Oakland Stompers, this time at Boxer Stadium in San Francisco.
Once again, Honduran striker Dembor Benson led the way with a hat trick, bringing his scoring total to 13 goals in the club’s nine league matches (including two appearances as a substitute). Benson is now the leading scorer in the entire NPSL, which includes 92 teams in 14 conferences nationwide.
Oakland ceded much of the midfield possession to Farolito, hoping to bolster its defense and score on the counterattack. But the hosts grabbed the lead in the 6th minute, when Benson tapped in a rebound at the far post after a save by Oakland goalkeeper Juan Villalpando.
And El Farolito doubled its lead 8 minutes later on a shot by another Honduran striker, Aly Arriola, as an Oakland defender tried in vain to clear it from the goalmouth. The goal was Arriola’s third of the season.
The visitors had a few chances in the first half, mostly from distance. They included a shot from Ali Radmand from the edge of the box that went wide in the 8th minute and a 39th minute shot from Fernando Ferreyra that sailed over the crossbar.
Farolito nearly scored a third just before halftime, but Herlbert Soto’s shot from close range went straight to Villalpando. Right before the halftime whistle, Radmand responded with a shot that was easily stopped by Farolito’s goalkeeper Johan Lizarralde.
In the second half, Benson erased Oakland’s hopes for a second half comeback with another header at the far post in the 64th minute, set up by a cross from Jhonatan Perez. And Benson completed his hat trick in the 74th minute with another header; this time the cross was provided by Axel Fuentes.
Erik Arias entered the match as a substitute in the 64th minute and scored the final goal of the match 14 minutes later. Arias has recently been playing professionally in Honduras, after scoring 14 goals for Farolito last season.
Nissa Hatifie’s cross to Cesar Rocha gave the Stompers a final chance to break the shutout on a counterattack in the 86th minute, but Rocha’s shot went wide.
This was the final week of intraconference play for the eight teams in the Golden Gate Conference. Next weekend, all of the teams except Sonoma County host teams from the NPSL’s Southwest Conference.
El Farolito’s final regular season match is on Saturday, when they host the Southwest Conference leaders, FC Arizona at Boxer Stadium.
The Stompers are currently the 8th seed and would face El Farolito again in the first round of the playoffs. They close out their regular season at home vs. Lions United FC of Glendale on Sunday.
Napa Valley Clinches the Second Seed at Davis
Napa Valley 1839 FC topped FC Davis by a score of 2-0 win in a matchup of two teams who will likely meet again in the first round of the playoffs.
Paris Martins scored in the 31st minute to give the visitors the lead at halftime.
Dario Pavon put the game out of reach in the 80th minute with his 12th goal of the season in 8 matches. (He missed one match while under suspension for a red card.) Pavon is the second most prolific goal scorer in the entire NPSL this season, trailing only El Farolito’s Dembor Benson.
Napa hosts California Odyssey SC on Saturday in its regular season finale, while Davis hosts Las Vegas Legends SC on Sunday.
San Ramon Locks Down Third Seed with Win Over Oakland SC
A pair of UC Berkeley stars powered San Ramon FC to a 2-0 win over Oakland SC at Tiffany Roberts Field in San Ramon.
Nate Carrasco put the host side ahead in the 70th minute and his Golden Bears teammate Evan Davila scored an insurance goal in stoppage time.
San Ramon wraps up their regular season on Sunday evening when they host FC Arizona.
Oakland SC is currently in fifth place and hosts Lions United FC to close out the regular season on Saturday night.
Sacramento Solidifies Hold on Fourth Seed with Draw at Sonoma County
Sacramento Gold SC earned a 2-2 draw at Sonoma County Sol FC.
The two clubs traded goals in rapid succession in the 23rd minute, with Jvon Cunningham scoring for Sonoma and Christopher Christian for Sacramento.
Sacramento took the lead two minutes into the second half on a goal from Brandon Gutierrez, but Alex Climaco equalized for the home side in the 59th.
Sacramento closes out the regular season by hosting Las Vegas Legends FC on Saturday.
Sonoma has concluded their regular season with 8 points. They are currently in the #6 position, but must wait for the results of next week’s matches to see where they finish.
