Preview: Consistency, Culture, Character, and El Farolito’s Path to Glory
By Edward Perez/NPSL.com
In the span of 24 hours last weekend, El Farolito won three high-stakes matches across two major national tournaments, split their roster between two competitions, and advanced to their third consecutive 2026 NPSL Championship.
On Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee, they captured their first-ever USASA National Amateur Cup title, defeating Lansdowne Yonkers FC 3-1 in extra time. Hours earlier, back in San Francisco, a second El Farolito squad advanced to the NPSL Championship with a 3-2 victory over Ambassadors FC Ohio.
“It just shows that the talent, and also, the motivation that they have individually and as a group,” head coach Santiago Lopez said of the three-game weekend. “It’s a great accomplishment overall.”
Since joining the NPSL, the San Francisco club has claimed five Golden Gate Conference titles in seven seasons, including five consecutive championships. They’re now making their third consecutive appearance in the national final, seeking their second championship in three years after winning it all in 2024.
The 2024 squad finished the regular season unbeaten at 14-0-3, then defeated FC Motown 2-1 in a lightning-delayed final to claim the club’s first NPSL championship. But consistency doesn’t happen by accident.
“No coach could be a good coach without the players,” Lopez said. “I give all credit to my players because they have experience either in high level amateur, or at some point, they played professionally.”
The El Farolito roster is built on a foundation of experience and hunger. Many players are former professionals who chose to return to the Bay Area and compete at an elite amateur level. Others are homegrown talents who’ve never worn a professional uniform but bring the intensity Lopez is looking for.
“This group has learned how to coexist and really respect the type of intensity of work plan that the coaching staff have implemented,” Lopez explained. “We are very strict in certain things. They’ve adapted to that system, and the way that we want to work, the way we want to respect our work, and that is, by being very humble and disciplined in trainings and games, and whoever you compete against.”
That discipline has become El Farolito’s trademark. Goalkeeper Julian Escobar, who joined in 2024, has watched this culture evolve.
“The culture is just a lot of grit,” he said. “A lot of guys with professional experience. Having a coach that motivates us, that also has the hunger and demands it from us. It’s a well-balanced environment. Training the way we’re going to play is what I think has brought us so far in this competition.”
What sets El Farolito apart is not just success on the field, but who they are as a community. The club is predominantly immigrant-led. This identity runs deep. The club traces its lineage back to 1985, and its most celebrated achievement came in 1993, when under the name CD Mexico, El Farolito won the U.S. Open Cup.
Lopez, who has been with the club longer than anyone, feels the weight of that history.
“In 1992, El Farolito were runners up,” he reflected. “They lost the [National Amateur Cup] final against a team from St. Louis (St. Louis Scott Gallagher). That same group ended up winning the U.S. Open Cup the following year, 1993. For me, being the one that has been in the club the most out of the entire group, to me, it means a lot because we finally were able to bring another national championship to the history of the club.”
By winning the USASA Amateur Cup in July, El Farolito also punched their ticket to the 2027 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. For Lopez, this competition is about more than soccer.
“I grew up with promotion and relegation in my soccer culture and my environment,” he said. “The closest thing that we could get to it in this country is the Open Cup, playing against a professional squad, winning each game, and getting to more complicated rounds. Some new player might get seen by a professional club and get signed. That’s the type of exposure that I want for players that are committed to training and want to develop.”
The Open Cup represents more than just a tournament to El Farolito. It’s a pathway and opportunity for players to prove themselves on a national stage and to get noticed.
Last weekend’s effort involved meticulous planning. Lopez and his staff were evaluating their full roster and managing strategic rest.
“We have in mind of what type of player can come in at certain times, and what they can bring,” Lopez said. “We know some players that perform better as a starter than a sub – a sub that only needs 20 minutes to do their job, and some that need more than 90.”
That knowledge allowed Lopez to rotate aggressively without sacrificing performance.
On Saturday, August 1, El Farolito will face Bristol Rhythm AFC for the 2026 NPSL Championship. The fatigue from last weekend will be real, but Lopez insists his team’s methodology remains constant: preparation, structure, and execution.
“Every game is approached differently,” he said. “A high-performance athlete can only think about the moment. You cannot be thinking about the outside factors or the attention you might get.”
For Escobar and the players, Saturday is simply the next step in a journey that began months ago.
“The whole team is excited; we’re on a good foot having won the NPSL semifinal and then having won the Amateur Cup as well,” Escobar said. “There’s a lot of good vibes and excitement. We still have to continue being focused. It’s not going to be an easy game. You can’t expect that in the national championship. We all know our individual tasks and as long as we keep each other motivated, continue doing what we’ve been doing in the season, in the playoffs, keeping everyone accountable, the job should get done.”
In three years, El Farolito has transformed from an ambitious amateur club to a consistent force competing at the highest levels of American soccer. They’ve done it through culture, discipline, and a coach who understands both the tactical and human elements of building a championship team. Saturday will be the next chapter, but El Farolito has already proven that consistency, culture, and character can compete and win at any level.
Photo Credit: Michael Miller/NPSL.com
