Napa Valley 1839 FC Defeats Sacramento Gold FC 3-1

By Napa Valley 1839 FC

Napa Valley 1839 FC kicked off their first home playoff game on Saturday, July 1 when they hosted Sacramento Gold FC at Justin Siena Dodd Stadium.

Entering the game, Napa Valley finished second place in the Golden Gate Conference behind leaders El Farolito.  Napa’s record was 7-2-1.

The game kicked off a few minutes after 7:00 pm with over 875 in attendance.  Attendance was severely affected by weather as it was hot with the game kicking off at over 95 degrees.  Yet the fans came out, and they were loud.

The first half was extremely evenly matched.  Napa Valley 1839 earned a few more strong chances, yet the Sacramento goalkeeper made at least one outstanding save to keep the game level through the first half.

The first half ended with a 0-0 score, and luckily the temperature was dropping to make the game a bit more comfortable for both players and fans.

Dario Pavon, the league’s leading goal scorer, scored in the 49th minute to give Napa a 1-0 lead.  Pavon now sits at 15 goals and didn’t even play as a striker for the first three games of the season.

Both teams made substitutions in the 65th minute.  In the 67th minute, Luis Velasco created a chance and played the ball across the front of goal to Ivan Sakou who put the ball in the back of the net.  This gave Napa Valley 1839 a 2-0 lead.

In the 70th minute, Sakou did all the work on his own and buried a beautiful goal that curled around the goalkeeper and into the side net.  Napa now had a commanding 3-0 lead.

Sacramento’s Amobi Okugo scored in the 85th minute to cut the lead to 3-1.  

The game ended 3-1 in favor of Napa Valley 1839 FC, and they now advance to the conference semifinals.  Please visit napavalley1839.com for more information on Napa Valley 1839 FC. 

Photo Credit: Napa Valley 1839 FC