Leave it to San Francisco’s El Farolito to remind American soccer fans why the US Open Cup is so magical.
El Farolito battled back from a goal deficit for the second cup game in a row to defeat another pro soccer team, the third-division Central Valley Fuego FC, 2-1 at Bobcat Field on the campus of UC Merced.
The San Francisco club started the game on the wrong foot when Farolito defender Jonathan Arley Mosquera Zapata committed a foul in the penalty box in the 17th minute. Fuego’s José Carrera-García converted the penalty for a goal to take the early lead.
Undaunted, El Farolito kept up the pressure throughout the half and was rewarded just before the half-time whistle. Faro’s Erik Arias Villalta header a long pass from the backline right in the path of teammate Dembor Benson. The forward calmly collected the ball and poked his shot past Fuego keeper Andre Zuluaga to tie the game.
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Both clubs had chances in the second half, but El Farolito took the lead with only minutes to spare in the game, thanks to a beautiful moment of team soccer.
In the 87th minute, another long pass into the box found Benson, who touched the ball square to Jhohann Perea. The ball was quickly floated back from Perea to Benson, who, in the interim, snuck past his flat-footed defender and once again found himself unmarked against Zuluaga. Benson slotted his shot into the goal for the dramatic game-winner.
El Farolito has long been one of San Francisco’s most successful soccer clubs since its founding in 1986. Its crowning triumph was winning the US Open Cup, America’s premier soccer tournament open to any amateur and professional club, in 1993. Before the tournament that year, Farolito changed their team name to Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico. That year, they defeated the defending champions, the San Jose Oaks. In the finals, they crushed the United German Hungarians from the Philadelphia area, 5-0, to raise the crown.
When it was announced last month that most MLS clubs would sit out this year’s US Open Cup, many American soccer fans worried the nation’s oldest cup tournament would lose some of its magic. Thanks to Farolito’s Cinderella run, a team composed of local amateurs and former pro soccer players, many from Latin America, who play mostly just for the love of the game, those worries have been put to bed.
El Farolito now advances to the tournament’s third round, where they will likely play a USL Championship side. They may face a rematch against the Oakland Roots, who they played against in the US Open Cup game last year.
