NPSL Week 10: Sacramento Wins Causeway Clásico; El Farolito & Napa Keep Pace

Sacramento Tops Davis to Hold On To First Place

Sacramento completed a sweep of this year’s Causeway Clásico on Saturday night with a 2-0 win over host FC Davis. Sacramento won the first leg on April 30, winning 4-2 at home.

This year’s Clásico has taken on added significance, with Sacramento Gold FC holding a slim lead in the Golden Gate Conference standings.

Close contact between two players in a previous installment of the Causeway Clásico. Courtesy of FC Davis.

Sacramento’s Manolo Pina broke the scoreless tie in the 75th minute and scored a brace with another in the 90th minute. Pina now has 11 goals in 7 matches for the Gold this season.

Farolito Routs Stompers

Second place El Farolito kept pace with the leaders with a 6-1 win over the host Oakland Stompers.

The outcome was never in doubt, with the visitors from San Francisco scoring 5 times in the first 24 minutes.

Daniel Gonzalez kicked off the party in the 3rd minute and Erik Arias scored in 6th and 18th minutes. Judas Higuera added another in the 20th minute, before Arias completed his hat trick 4 minutes later.

Arias has scored 7 goals in the 2 matches that Farolito played in the City of Oakland this season.

Herlbert Soto got on the scoring ledger in the 49th minute and Oakland’s Arnaud Mantuidi brought joy to the home fans with his goal in the 66th.

Napa Overwhelms Contra Costa

Third place Napa Valley 1839 FC earned a decisive result in a road match against a tough opponent, conquering Contra Costa FC by a score of 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.

As usual, team captain Dario Pavon was heavily involved, kicking off the scoring in the 27th minute. Marco “Sherriff” Manzo converted a penalty kick in the 35th to give the visitors a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

Pavon earned a brace by scoring again 2 minutes into the second half.

A ray of hope emerged for Contra Costa on a Napa Valley own goal in the 62nd minute, but Victor Llorens Luna finished off the scoring in the 73rd.

Academica Comes Back to Knock Off Oakland SC

Academica overcame an early goal to post a 2-1 win over visiting Oakland SC.

Oakland SC poses for a team photo before their match vs. Academica SC. (Courtesy of Oakland SC)

Oakland got on the board first in the 15th minute. Julio Cervantes stole the ball from Jorge Lara, leaving him in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper David Hernandez. Cervantes’ left-footed shot scooted under the diving Hernandez and tucked inside the far post. The goal was Cervantes’ 9th of the season.

But Academica equalized on an excellent individual effort from Bryan Manriquez in the 20th minute. Manriquez grabbed the ball just over midfield and dribbled the ball into the penalty area, surviving a collision with one defender and avoiding several others. His shot from the left side of the box got past Oakland goalkeeper Kevin Esquivel.

Academica scored the game winner in the 57th minute, after Adrian Yepez stole the ball from Francisco Mendoza. Yepez passed the ball to David Mejia making a run down the right side. He hit a hard, low shot that trickled under Esquivel and inside the far post.

Next Week

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, all three matchups next Saturday have playoff implications. Academica wraps up its regular season hosting first place Sacramento, third place Napa Valley hosts Davis, and Sonoma County hosts Contra Costa FC.