Bay Area Soccer News, Pictures, and Information
From June 5. The NPSL returned to play with a match between perennial contenders El Farolito and debutantes Contra Costa FC. The established upstarts from San Francisco came away with a 3-1 win over the Walnut Creek club.
Our photo album is here, including those from our IG page @3pointsport:
Our match for the week was at Crocker Amazon Park for El Farolito (NPSL) v Mezcala (SFSFL) in a preseason warmup for both teams. There was no score at the half but Farolito responded with 2 goals in the second half to seal the win and held Mezcala to a shutout.
We cannot announce anything just yet except the NPSL will play soon starting the first weekend in June with Farolito playing at the eastern recreational fields with Beach Chalet to the west.
Our photo album is enclosed, with both the sets and instagram pics in this series. We will be back Monday for the “This Week” blurb.
In a game that was supposed to determine the final playoff spot, El Farolito needed a win while Sacramento only needed a win or a draw. The home team got off to a 1-0 lead and looked to be cruising to victory but Sacramento go the equalizer late in the second half to get the 1-1 draw, possibly clinching a playoff spot
However…
Academica SC needed a win by a score of 9-0 to steal the berth from Sacramento, which in turn ended any hopes for Farolito. In their game against the Stompers at Turlock, they ended up scoring 10 unanswered goals to steal the playoff spot from the Gold and joining San Ramon FC, and conference winners Davis in the postseason tournament.
Photos including the Instagram posts.
Academica will end up playing on the road at Davis, while San Ramon will travel to play the second ranked Southwest Division team, FC Arizona.
El Farolito scored 4 goals and allowed none in their blowout win over the Stompers. Edson Carona led al the scoring with a hat trick.
Photo set including the Instagram posts.
El Farolito has the weekend off before finishing the season back at Boxer on June 29 against the Sacramento Gold noon start time. The Stompers finish the season hosting San Ramon FC on June 22 7:30pm and on the road at Turlock against Academica SC on June 29 6pm.
We were there for the second half of the match. The match was scoreless at the half but El Farolito took the lead with a scramble in the box that was lobbed in for the goal in the early part of the second half. The end result was a 1-1 draw.
Flickr set including the pics from the Instagram feeds.
Farolito will travel across the Bay Bridge to play the East Bay Stompers in Oakland next Saturday May 11 7:30 start. Sonoma County will take a week off before resuming play on May 18 hosting San Ramon.
In their 2019 Boxer debut (and second home game of the NPSL season) El Farolito continued their dominance with a 3-1 win over Academica SC of Turlock.
Scoring summary:
Ronaldo Herrera (Faro) 19th minute
Cody Golbad (Academica) 50th minute
Franco Calero (Faro) 52nd minute
Carlos Montes (Faro) 90th minute
Flickr set – including Instagram posts
https://www.flickr.com/photos/theprojectfc/albums/72157706520642301
Both teams have a break for the Easter holiday and will resume the following weekend. Faro hits the road to play FC Davis on April 27 7pm start time, while Academica returns home to host San Ramon FC on April 28 with a 4pm kickoff. Both teams will return to meet in the US Open Cup at Turlock on Tuesday May 7 at 7:30pm. The return leg will be again at Academica Fields – Turlock on Saturday June 8 at 6pm.
With Stockton FC pulling out of the conference the schedule has been revised. The season already got underway last weekend with Napa Valley defeating Academica SC 2-0, and some further changes to the slate have been made.
The Stompers/Napa Valley game that was scheduled for March 16 will now be played June 8 (in which Stockton was to play at Oakland)–the UPSL Stompers will play instead. Napa instead will have 2 more weeks to resume league play with their opener against El Farolito on March 30. All teams that were scheduled to play Stockton on the given night will now have a bye.
The schedule can be found at npsl.com – search: Golden Gate Conference.
Note: UPSL Stompers will play against Nevada on March 16 at 7:30pm.
In a friendly match between the Peninsula UPSL outfit and the elte of the NPSL in Northern California, JASA and El Farolito played even with both teams tied at 1-1 into the second half. However, the home team pulled away with 2 more goals and never looked back. JASA gets the win over El Farolito 3-1.
The photo album (note: only for the second half/including Instagram):
The match served as a warmup for both teams’ upcoming seasons. JASA was on a break from the league schedule having lost to San Leandro in league play on March 2. El Farolito begins their second year NPSL campaign on the road at Sacramento Gold on March 16 at 7pm. JASA Redwood City returns to UPSL league play on March 30 at 7pm with a home against the Oakland Stompers.
The 2019 NPSL Golden Gate Conference has been announced. The major omission is the absence of CD Aguiluchos USA, which was a perennial contender in the region. Stockton and San Ramon have been added to the conference, while the Stompers will now return to Raimondi Park in Oakland.
The season kicks off March 9 with Academica SC hosting Napa Valley on the road at the Central Valley. They hit the road again to Oakland to play the Stompers a week later before their home opener March 30 against El Farolito. The second year outfit will host newcomer Stockton FC at Kezar with a noontime start on March 23.
Farolito will split their schedule between Kezar with 2 games and Boxer for the rest. Their Boxer opener will be on April 13 against Academica.
San Ramon will make their debut with a home match against the Stompers on March 23 at 7pm.
The teams will be on break on May 25 before resuming on June 1.
The schedule can be found at npsl.com – search: Golden Gate Conference.
Update 3/10: Stockton FC has pulled out of the 2019 season. Revised schedule coming.
Update 3/11: revised schedule
El Farolito’s debut season came to an end with a 2-0 loss to FCM Portland in the NPSL playoffs. Reed McKenna and Luis Galeano accounted for the tally from the visitors and the home team was unable to come up with a single goal, but not without a valiant effort.
Flickr set – photos include the instagram posts- Photos by Nap Badillo/Nap Ba.
Farolito finished first in their debut season with no losses, running the table with 9 wins and 5 draws and a playoff victory against the Sonoma County Sol. Expect El Farolito to be a contender next season.