El Farolito Grinds Out Win Over Sonoma
Top seeded El Farolito’s balanced attack powered them to a 3-1 victory over Sonoma County FC on Saturday afternoon at Boxer Stadium.
Sonoma Creates Chances in the First Half
El Farolito had the first chance of the match in the first minute. Honduran striker Aly Arriola made a run down the left side, but Sonoma goalkeeper Aly Alvarado made a diving stop to deflect the ball over the endline.
Sonoma had a few chances early in the match, including a shot that sailed over the bar from Alan Sanchez in the 6th minute, a shot from Victor Vargas in the 7th minute that went wide, and a shot from Omar Nuno in the 10th minute that also went wide.
The hosts also had a great chance to score in the 22nd minute when they earned a penalty kick after Herlbert Soto was taken down by Sonoma defender Antony Gonzalez Cruz. But Alvarado made a diving save on Dembor Benson’s penalty kick.
Benson had another chance in a one-on-one situation with a Sonoma defender in the 34th minute, but his shot sailed wide.
El Farolito broke through in the 35th minute, when Soto passed the ball to Cesar Quintero who found Benson at the right post to give them a 1-0 lead. The goal was Benson’s 13th of the season; he is currently in fourth place in the NPSL’s nationwide goal table.
El Farolito Continues Its Relentless Attack in the Second Half
The host side nearly scored in the first minute of the second half. Erik Arias took a shot from distance in that sailed over the crossbar.
Farolito doubled their lead in the 50th minute, when Soto was taken down at the edge of the box. Quintero’s free kick tucked inside the far post.
Two minutes later, Farolito nearly got a third when Jemimy Arias’s shot from distance took Alvarado by surprise. Alvarado was able to redirect the ball off the crossbar.
The visitors got back into the match in the 55th minute when Oliver Ziemer’s through ball found Sergio Valenzuela as he made his run toward the goal. Valenzuela followed the ball over the goal line and got tangled up in the netting in the process.
But El Farolito regained their two-goal cushion four minutes later, when Jhonatan Perez headed Soto’s cross for the all-important third goal.
The host side continued looking for goals with an eye for creativity, including an attempted bicycle kick by Erik Arias in the 65th minute and an attempted side volley by Quintero in the 68th.
Sonoma had a chance in the 87th minute, but Sanchez’s strike went over the bar.
Farolito’s final chance came the 88th minute, when Alvarado redirected Axel Fuentes’s blast over the bar for a corner.
Sonoma had one final chance in stoppage time when they beat an offside trap, but a pair of El Farolito defenders prevented them from getting a shot on goal.
FC Davis Takes Down San Ramon
Seventh-seeded FC Davis scored a goal in each half to knock off the third seed, San Ramon FC on Sunday night.
It was San Ramon’s first home playoff match as a member of NPSL.
Aaron Farnan scored in the 29th minute and Soruosh Salari-Namin added an insurance goal in the 83rd.
Davis will host El Farolito in the semifinals this weekend.
Napa Valley Survives Intense Showdown with Sacramento
It took awhile for them to get going, but Napa Valley 1839 FC moved on to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over Sacramento Gold FC at Justin Siena Dodd Stadium in Napa on Saturday night.
The match was played in hot and muggy conditions, with temperatures of more than 100 degrees earlier in the day.
Sacramento’s Press Gives Napa Trouble in the First Half
Sacramento controlled most of the possession early in the match, but there were only a few decent chances on either side. Sacramento’s best early chance came in the 12th minute, when Anthony Herrera stole the ball in the Napa half and blasted a shot from the edge of the penalty area that sailed over the bar.
Napa’s first good chance came in the 15th minute, Dario Pavon’s free kick from just outside the box was saved by Sacramento goalkeeper Hector Grajeda and hit the upper left part of the crossbar and bounced over the endline for a corner.
Napa nearly scored on a counterattack in the 37th minute. Pavon tapped the ball over to a wide open Luis Venegas who made his run to the edge of the penalty area. His low shot was on target, but Grajeda went to the turf to make the kick save.
The Pace Picks Up in the Second Half and Napa Takes Charge
Sacramento had the first good chance of the second session in the 47th minute. Napa’s Paris Martins intercepted a pass by Anthony Herrera, but Kody Duff took it away from him and blasted a shot that required an acrobatic save from Napa goalkeeper Carlos Ayala.
Napa’s Dario Pavon broke the scoreless deadlock in the 49th minute with his 14th goal of the season, the second highest total in the entire NPSL. Pavon grabbed a loose ball in the penalty area, took several steps to his left, and fired a low shot that skidded along the turf and tucked inside the far post.
In the 64th minute, Miguel Galvan made a run down the endline and fired a shot at close range, but Grajeda stood his ground and the shot bounced off his foot and into safety.
Ivan Sakou gave Napa some breathing room by scoring on the counterattack in the 67th minute. Luis Hernandez Velasco made a run down the right side and slid the ball over to Sakou who fell to the turf as he blasted the ball into the roof of the net.
Sakou earned the brace with his second goal of the match in the 72nd minute. Ayala’s goal kick went to Sal Gomez at midfield. Gomez sent the ball to Sakou as he made his run along the left sideline. Sakou dribbled to the edge of the penalty area and blasted a shot that sailed over Grajeda’s head as it headed toward the far post.
Amobi Okugo gave the visitors a sliver of hope with his goal in the 75th minute, after being denied a goal a minute earlier on a leaping save by Ayala. Sacramento’s Robert Viera sent a through ball into the box and Okugo headed it in at the far post, just out of Ayala’s reach.
A Brawl Erupts Just Before the Final Whistle
In the 88th minute, Napa’s Sal Gomez collided with Sacramento’s Fernando Venegas. The Sol’s Christopher Christian rushed over to his teammate’s defense and shoved Gomez to the ground. Both teams gathered near midfield and there were angry words exchanged on both sides. The players lined up for a free kick, but the angry words continued.
Sacramento’s Anthony Herrera had already been substituted out, but he was red carded for his angry words directed towards the officials from the bench. His teammates Christopher Christian and Brian Herrera both received yellow cards, along with Napa’s Salvador Gomez-Avila.
Stompers Pull Upset in Oaktown Derby
The Oakland Stompers pulled off the biggest upset in the playoffs so far with their 2-1 win over Oakland SC at Oakland Technical High School on Saturday night.
While the Stompers earned only 1 victory and 2 draws in 10 regular season matches, they match up well against their neighbors. The Stompers earned a 2-2 draw in their regular season match at Oakland Tech, and lost the return leg at Raimondi Park by a score of 3-2.
This was an intense match featuring local rivals whose home stadiums are only a little over three miles apart, with plenty of chances at both ends of the field.
Oakland SC Scores Early in the First Half, But the Stompers Respond
At first, all was well with the home side. Julio Cervantes scored the first goal of the match in the 8th minute on a powerful strike that tucked inside the far post.
Cervantes had another chance two minutes later, with a header that went just wide.
Oakland SC had another opportunity in the 16th minute, when a shot by Francisco Mendoza required a tough save from Stomper goalkeeper Juan Villalpando.
The Stompers’ first chance came on a corner kick in the 11th minute. Luke Andrews got off a header at the far post, forcing Oakland SC goalkeeper Romello Fulcher to make a diving save.
In the 16th minute, the Stompers’ Dean Hakim took a shot from the left side that deflected off of an Oakland SC defender and nearly went in the net.
The Stompers broke through in the 25th minute, when Prince Bere dished the ball off to Fernando Ferreyra, then made his run to the far post. Bere headed in the return pass from close range.
Oakland SC responded in the 27th minute when Mahmoud Shimila challenged Villalpando and a group of Stomper defenders in front of goal. Shimila’s header went in, but he was charged with a foul and the goal was disallowed.
The Stompers’ long throw-ins bothered the Oakland SC defense throughout the match and led to the second goal in the 32nd minute. Cole Falco’s deep throw-in made its way to Andrews at the far post on one bounce and he redirected it into the net.
Oakland SC had two more chances to equalize before halftime, but Julio Cervantes’ free kick went just over the crossbar and a header from Robin Gutierrez went wide.
No Goals in the Second Half
Both teams had plenty of opportunities in the second half, including numerous shots from long distance.
In the 50th minute, a perfectly timed through ball found the Stompers’ Andrews open, but Fulcher got there first.
The Stompers appeared to have scored in the 54th minute. Falco’s long throw-in sailed untouched toward the far post and was tapped in by Andrews. The referee waved it off because a goal can’t be scored directly from a free kick, ruling that Andrews hadn’t touched it until after it had already gone over the goal line.
As the half wore on, Oakland SC desperately searched for the equalizer. They nearly found it in the 75th minute, when a perfectly placed cross found Gutierrez for a one-timer, but Villalpando made an acrobatic save to deflect the ball over the endline.
On the subsequent corner kick, Julio Cervantes’s header was on target, but was headed off the line by a Stomper defender.
Less than a minute later, a loose ball in the box resulted in a collision between Villalpando and Shimila as the ball rolled over the endline. Oakland SC players pleaded for a penalty, but all they got was a corner kick.
Oakland SC’s season came to an end with the sound of car alarms in the distance. They had one final chance in stoppage time. Julio Cervantes dribbled around several defenders and laid the ball off for Yamato Kasahara, whose shot from 25 yards out sailed over the bar.
Venue Change for the Semifinals
The Stompers were also scheduled to host the semifinal match at Raimondi Park in West Oakland, as determined in the blind draw that took place in an English coffee pub in Napa. However, the league issued the following statement on July 4th:
“The Stompers, in collaboration with Napa Valley 1839 FC, have elected to defer the hosting rights to Napa Valley. This was done to ensure the highest quality gameday environment and media coverage to best represent the NPSL and Golden Gate Conference. The contest will now be set for 7:00 PM on July 8 at Justin Siena Dodd Stadium in Napa, California.”
