Late Goal Powers El Farolito to Win Over Oakland SC
Dembor Benson’s 85th minute goal propelled El Farolito to a 1-0 win over Oakland SC at Boxer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Honduran striker’s soft header from close range grazed off of the crossbar and the far post. Benson, Oakland goalkeeper Kevin Esquivel, and Oakland defenders converged on the rebound and Benson was to direct it over the goal line.
As the match began, El Farolito had the better chances, including a curving shot from Herlbert Soto in the 36th minute that sailed just over the crossbar and a free kick in first half stoppage time from Gabriel Arias that went wide. But the home side also lost one of its best attacking players when Jhon Quinones had to leave the match in the 20th minute with an apparent injury.
Oakland revved up its counterattack early in the second half as the El Farolito backline struggled to adjust. In the 51st minute, Gabriel Borges had a shot from close range that goalkeeper Johan Lizarralde was able to deflect over the endline. One minute later, Borges had another chance, but his shot from close range went straight into Lizarralde’s arms.
Oakland’s best chance in the match came in the 57th minute, on a shot from Nigus Kidane that forced a diving save from Lizarralde.
As the second half went on, El Farolito tested Esquivel again and he made a pair of excellent saves on a shot from Gabriel Arias from close range in 66th minute and another shot from Soto one minute later.
But there were no goals until Benson’s game winner enabled the home side to grab the three points and maintain its perfect record in league play. El Farolito opened the season with a pair of 2-0 victories, at home vs. Sacramento Gold FC on April 1 and on the road to San Ramon FC two weeks later.
Oakland SC is still looking for its first win of the season after opening with a pair of home matches: losing to Napa Valley 1839 FC on April 1 by a score of 3-1 and tying the Oakland Stompers 2-2 two weeks later.
No Goals for San Ramon and the Stompers in Oakland
The match between the Oakland Stompers and San Ramon FC at Raimondi Park on Sunday afternoon ended in a scoreless draw.
The host side had the better chances early in the match, including an open header in the 18th minute that sailed over the bar and a shot from Dean Hakim that took several bounces on the turf and went a few feet wide.
But the San Ramon attackers asserted themselves as halftime approached, including a pair of chances from Christian Carranza, whose shot in the 41st minute went wide, while his shot one minute later hit the post.
The Oakland defense seemed to be faltering, with a shot from San Ramon’s Andre Hoglin in the 43rd minute that was easily saved by goalkeeper Juan Villalpando and another by Marco Jacques that required Villalpando to dive in order to deflect the ball over the endline.
In the second half, Oakland began showing signs of recovery. They had a nice buildup in the 49th minute, but the attempted finish by Martin Sierra sailed high over the bar.
Oakland’s best chance came in the 71st minute, when Prince Bere’s pass was perfectly timed as Dzenet Heljo made his run into the box, but goalkeeper Roberto Llamas smothered the ball before Heljo could get his shot off.
With the tie, the Stompers remain undefeated this season, after opening with a 2-1 home win over Sonoma County Sol FC and a 2-2 draw at Oakland SC.
San Ramon celebrated its return to the NPSL after a three-year absence with a 2-0 win over FC Davis on April 1st, but lost to El Farolito by an identical score two weeks later.
Early Goals Enable Napa Valley to Win in Sacramento
Napa Valley 1839 FC moved into second place in the conference standings with a 3-1 win over Sacramento Gold FC.
The visitors grabbed the lead in the second minute on a goal by Guilherme Martins and never looked back. Martins added a second in the 37th minute to give Napa a comfortable halftime lead.
Dario Pavon squelched any hopes for a Sacramento comeback with a 64th minute goal. But the home side denied Napa goalkeeper Alex Clewis a clean sheet, thanks to Manolo Pina’s goal in the 66th minute. The goal was Pina’s first of the season, after scoring 12 last season.
Napa earned its second win of the season, following a season-opening victory at Oakland SC. Sacramento suffered its second loss, after losing only once in the entire 2022 regular season.
Sonoma County Survives Early Barrage to Top FC Davis
Sonoma County Sol FC knocked off the visitors from FC Davis by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night.
Davis threatened in the first 20 minutes of the match, but Sonoma goalkeeper Aly Alvarado was able to keep them off the scoreboard. Sonoma’s Omar Nuno responded with a pair of goals in the 21st and 41st minute to give Sonoma a comfortable lead at halftime.
The visitors halved the deficit with a goal from Ty Shikashio in the 63rd minute, but Sonoma held on for its second consecutive victory following last week’s 3-1 win over Napa in first leg of the Wine Country Soccer Derby. They began the season with a pair of losses, including a 4-0 drubbing in an inter-conference matchup with California Odyssey SC of the NPSL’s Southwest Conference, as well as a 2-1 loss to the Stompers.
FC Davis suffered its third consecutive road loss to open the season. On April 1, they lost to San Ramon 2-0 and two weeks later were beaten by Sacramento by a score of 4-1 in the first round of the Causeway Clasico.
