El Farolito Downs West Chester United SC 3-0 to Advance to Steinbrecher Cup Final
By Seth Macomber/NPSL.com
A weather delay did little to slow down El Farolito, who defeated West Chester United SC 3-0 to advance to the championship game of the Hank Steinbrecher Cup.
Originally scheduled for Friday at 5:00 pm, the game between Farolito and West Chester United was pushed back to Saturday at 9:00 am due to lightning.
It took a bit of time to adjust to the early kickoff, though both teams had chances in the opening minutes. Herlbert Soto had a back-post volley go wide before Ayoub Mouhou’s close-range shot was saved.
“We’re still on West Coast time,” Farolito head coach Santiago Lopez explained. “It was very difficult to wake up. They had breakfast an hour before playing a match, so we started pretty heavy. We were very fortunate that we got to get into the rhythm of the game.”
Dembor Benson broke the deadlock when he found himself in on goal in the eighth minute, putting the ball past goalkeeper Alex Geczy.
Farolito doubled their lead in the 18th minute as Jhohann Yabur nodded in Soto’s free kick.
Despite being down, West Chester looked good while maintaining possession as they searched for an opening. El Farolito often played in transition through Soto, Benson, and Edgard Kreye.
West Chester had a pair of good chances off corner kicks just before the break, one of which hit the crossbar via a clearance attempt by a Farolito defender.
Jack Jasinski almost cut the deficit in half in the 51st minute, but the midfielder couldn’t get to the cross offered by Jack McDaid.
Farolito had two opportunities to extend their lead through Yabur. The first came in the 56th minute, but Geczy was up to the task.
Moments later, the two faced off again, this time from the penalty spot after Guiliano Winchurch was deemed to have fouled Benson in the box. Yabur’s attempt went wide.
El Farolito got their third of the morning in the 67th minute. Kreye played a centering pass to Sacré Kipré, who hit a one-time volley from the top of the box.
“It was a very intense game,” Farolito midfielder Gabriel Arias explained. “Both teams were very talented, which is why we’re both here. We were able to get the first goal, then the second one. A lot of space opened up in the first half, and in the second half, we finished them off. That’s soccer. Whoever gets the chances and finishes them, wins the game.”
West Chester didn’t give up with Dylan Lacy sparking two good looks.
In the 80th minute, Lacy beat his defender and put in a low cross that no one got to. Moments later, he uncorked a left-footed shot that narrowly sailed over the crossbar.
Lopez called it an “even match” despite the final scoreline, complimenting West Chester for being “very talented, super intense, and pacy.”
“In the past decade, they have had a lot of great teams in different categories,” Lopez said. “I know the owner is very professional, very passionate. It’s great to see such great talent in these young players. You could tell they’re very well organized and very well run.”
Farolito will now turn their attention to Sunday’s championship match, which will take place at Memorial High School in Manchester, NH at 1:00 pm. The California club will either face Seacoast United or Houston Regals for the Hank Steinbrecher Cup.
“It’s another great opportunity to put the Farolito name out there on the national stage,” Lopez said. “This would be, hopefully, our third national title that we’re looking for in our club history.”
Photo Credit: Luke Stergiou/NPSL.com
