Napa Valley 1839 FC Defeats Oakland Stompers 5-3

By Napa Valley 1839 FC

Napa Valley 1839 FC kicked off their second home game of the 2023 season on Saturday, May 20 when they hosted the Oakland Stompers at Justin Siena Dodd Stadium.

Entering the game, Napa Valley sat in second place in the Golden Gate Conference behind leaders El Farolito.

Over 750 fans were in attendance for the second game of the day.  Earlier in the day Napa Valley 1839 FC Ladies hosted Fresno Freeze in their first home game of the WPSL season.  The game kicked off a few minutes after 7:00 pm with Napa wearing a special cause kit.  They raised money with a local company to support farmworker health initiatives.

Napa Valley struck first in the 10th minute with a goal from Manny Maravilla from distance.  Napa struck again ten minutes later with an assist from team-leading goalscorer Dario Pavon when he headed down a set piece, and it was tapped in by Ivan Sakou.

Yellow cards were issued to Oakland’s Luke Andrews followed by a yellow for dissent to Napa Valley head coach Mark Corbett.

With eight minutes to go in the half Napa captain Gerry Mendoza played Pavon for his first goal of the game.  Only seconds before halftime, Pavon knocked in another to make it 4-0, and two goals and an assist were his own.

Napa Valley 1839 had many more chances to go ahead at the end of the first half but came up short.  Oakland Stompers and Napa Valley 1839 FC entered the locker rooms at halftime with the same 4-0 scoreline.

The wind picked up, and jackets, sweatshirts, and beanies were in full use as the game continued with the kickoff of the second half.  

Oakland struck back with a goal from Fernando Araujo in the 52nd minute.  A penalty was given to Oakland in the 70th minute, and the kick was taken by Brian Marin who finished the goal to take the score to 4-2.

The ball hit the hand of Napa’s Oscar Ortiz, and another penalty was issued.  Marin stepped up again and slotted it home.  Napa held a 4-3 lead with just eight minutes to play.

With two minutes to play, Pavon made a run and put a through ball to Victor Cascon who played a beautiful ball across the box to be finished by Arjan Dosanjh.  

The game finished 5-3 in favor of Napa Valley 1839 FC.

Napa’s next game is home to FC Davis on June 3.  Gates open at 3:00 pm.  The women play at 4 pm, while the men play at 7:00 pm.  

Please visit napavalley1839.com for more information on Napa Valley 1839 FC.

Photo Credit: Mario Cendejas