No Goals on an Occasionally Rainy Night in San Francisco
Four days after knocking off the Portland Timbers’ MLS Next Pro side in the U.S. Open Cup, El Farolito fought to a scoreless draw with Sacramento Gold on an overcast and occasionally rainy night in San Francisco.
The weather forecast had necessitated a venue and time change 24 hours earlier, from the grass fields at Boxer Stadium to the artificial turf at James P. Lang Athletic Fields.
Farolito’s starting lineup featured only three of the players who had started in Portland: forwards Edgard Kreye and Gabriel Arias and defender Johnatan Mosquera. But four of Tuesday’s starters did come on as second half substitutes, including Dembor Benson, who scored the winning goal in Portland.
The match was played at a frenetic pace, with both clubs putting in a stout defensive effort.
Backup goalkeeper Julian Escobar looked sharp in his debut for El Farolito, making a few key saves to keep the visitors off of the score sheet. In the 40th minute, Sacramento’s Kody Duff broke through, while Farolito players pleaded for an offside call. Escobar came off his line and the shot went straight into his arms.
In the 88th minute, Amobi Okugo blasted a shot that beat Escobar, but went just wide.
But Escobar’s finest moment was in stoppage time when he made a diving save on a shot that was on target at the far post.
Sacramento’s lineup included a number of NPSL veterans, including Duff and goalkeeper Gerardo Perez Plata. Perez Plata made several good saves to keep his club in the match, coming off his line to break up a breakaway in the 30th minute.
Perez Plata also got help from his defense in the 75th minute, when a shot by Kreye was cleared off the line by a Sacramento defender.
After last night’s results, El Farolito now has 4 points after its first two NPSL matches, while Sacramento has 5 points after three matches. Sacramento opened the season with a 5-1 win over the Oakland Stompers and a scoreless draw with Oakland SC. Farolito’s first league match of the season was a 3-0 win at Oakland SC.
Last Minute Penalty Enables Napa Valley to Grab Three Points in Oakland
After three weeks of play, Napa Valley 1839 FC is now the only team in the Golden Gate Conference with a perfect record, thanks to its 2-1 win at Oakland SC on Saturday night.
The visitors from the Wine Country took the lead early, thanks to an 11th minute goal by Sebastian Carbajal.
The hosts evened the match in the 83rd minute, earning a penalty kick that was successfully converted by Julio Cervantes.
Napa escaped with the three points by earning a penalty of its own in the 90th minute, taken by their captain, Dario Pavon.
Conference Newcomers California Odyssey Grabs Point in First NPSL Match
The match between San Ramon FC and visiting California Odyssey SC ended in a 1-1 draw.
Braulio Maravilla opened the scoring for San Ramon in the 34th minute and Stephan Morris evened the match by converting a penalty in the 65th minute.
San Ramon now has 4 points from its first three matches of the season, including a 5-1 loss at Napa and a 6-0 road win over the Oakland Stompers, who had a bye this week.
