El Farolito’s season abruptly came to an end with a 3-2 loss to Crossfire Red after extra time in the NPSL West Region final on Saturday afternoon at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
The stakes were clear going in. The winner would go on to the national semifinals; the loser would go home.
The two teams are opposites, with Crossfire’s roster largely made up of college and pre-college players while Farolito has a core of players with professional experience all over Latin America.
Since joining the NPSL in 2018, El Farolito has qualified for the league’s national playoffs three times. But each time, they’ve been knocked out by a team from the Pacific Northwest. Crossfire Red (then known as Crossfire Redmond) also did the deed last year.
But hopes were high because this season’s club was perhaps the best in Farolito’s entire NPSL run. They went undefeated in the regular season, with 9 wins and a draw, and won three consecutive conference playoff games to earn another chance against the visitors from Redmond, Washington.
Benson Stakes Farolito to a First Half Lead
As the match began, Farolito appeared to be the stronger side.
Dembor Benson scored the lone goal of the first half on a breakaway in the 24th minute. Farolito goalkeeper Johan Lizarralde sent a direct ball to Benson as he started his run near midfield. Benson tried a couple of fakes, then blasted his right footed shot over Crossfire goalkeeper Jackson Ozburn’s left shoulder.
Two minutes later, Crossfire’s center back Mansour Diop received a yellow card for pulling down Erick Arias from behind.
Crossfire nearly scored just before the halftime whistle. A cross made its way through a crowd of players and found Richard Aman unmarked at the far post. Aman put the ball in the net, but was ruled to be offside.
Benson nearly set up a second goal for Farolito in the 57th minute as he made his run down the right side. He sent the ball across the goal mouth as Erik Arias rushed toward the far post for the tap-in, but the ball went over the end line.
Johnatan Mosquera doubled Farolito’s lead on a set piece in the 59th minute. Mosquera took a few steps to his left to head home Cesar Quintero’s corner kick from the edge of the six-yard box. Ozburn got a hand on it, but it bounced off the inside of the post and went into the net.
Crossfire Takes Over
After the goal, Farolito appeared confident, on the verge of getting a third. But Crossfire was able to prevent them from creating clear chances.
And then the goals came for Crossfire. First it was Kalani Kossa-Rienzi in the 88th minute, on a soft header from the edge of the six-yard box that settled in at the far post. Kossa-Rienzi is a Berkeley High graduate who earned Pac-12 All-Conference First Team honors with the University of Washington last season.
And then came the equalizer in the dying moments of injury time, scored by Hamza Haddadi. Crossfire’s Jude Zamora sent in a cross, and a crowd of players from both teams rushed into the penalty area. Lizzaralde came out to try and grab it, but Haddadi got there first, and his soft header redirected the ball into the now empty net.
Searching For A Game Winner in Extra Time
At first, Farolito looked likeliest to score in the first extra session, with Erik Arias shooting wide from a difficult angle and Sergio Martinez forcing a Crossfire to make a sliding tackle to prevent from scoring after a header.
But Kossa-Rienzi delivered the final blow near the end of the first extra session. A long free kick from found Haddadi at the edge of the box. He headed the ball into the path of Kossa-Rienzi, who trapped the ball, took one step, and delivered a low, hard that slipped past Lizzarlde and trickled into the net.
El Farolito threw more players forward, leaving their goalkeeper exposed. But Lizzaralde made a series of tough saves to keep his team in the match.
In the 117th minute. Haddadi took a shot from close range, but Lizzaralde dove to his left to deflect the ball wide.
Moments later, Munier Hussen was alone on the breakaway, but Lizzaralde rushed out to the edge of the penalty area to keep him from getting a good angle.
Haddadi had the third chance, but this time Lizzaralde dove to his right and snagged the ball as Haddadi showed his frustration by putting his hands on his head.
The final few minutes of the match were chaotic. In the 120th minute, Diop received his second yellow for dangerous play, as he lifted his legs to try and prevent Benson from getting a loose ball just outside the penalty area. Three other players were cautioned for unsportsmanlike conduct, including Crossfire’s Aman and Farolito’s Perez and Herlbert Soto.
In all, eight Farolito players received cautions in the match, five of them in extra time.
Daniel Buitrago took the free kick from inside the penalty arc; his kick sailed around Crossfire’s eight-man wall, hit the post and went over the end line for a goal kick.
Farolito’s Judas Higuera also had a good look, but his shot went straight to Ozburn.
Moments later, the match ended, Crossfire players celebrated near their team’s bench while the Farolito gathered their things to begin their trip home.
