By Jeffrey McClure/Duluth FC
Following their North Conference Championship win, the Duluth FC Bluegreens travelled to San Fransico to face the winners of the Golden Gate Conference, El Farolito. This was a rematch of the 2024 National Semifinals, and El Farolito won 3-0 in this year’s NPSL National Quarterfinals.
El Farolito opened up the match with possession and put the pressure on Duluth FC early on.
The next possession for El Farolito turned into an overlapping run on the left side led by Jesus Martinez, whose centering pass was headed by Dembor Benson to Herlbert Soto. Then Soto used multiple touches to get in position in front of the net before firing a shot past Duluth FC goalkeeper Augustin Warnod to give them the early 1-0 lead in the sixth minute.
El Farolito continued to dominate possession until the 15th minute, as the Bluegreens used a free kick about 20 yards from midfield. It was taken by Jake Cervantes, who sent it into the box to be headed by Joe Wilson, but it went just a few feet over the crossbar.
Duluth FC’s Roy Nazawa forced a turnover by Jhohann Yabur in the 16th minute, giving Yabur possession right on top of the box, but as he waited for his teammates to catch up, Yabur got into his space, deflecting the ball back to midfield.
The next seven minutes were a back-and-forth affair as both teams were called for multiple fouls, providing plenty of free-kick opportunities for both teams that didn’t amount to many scoring chances. El Farolito would run up the left side with Kipre Sacre to Soto, but his cross was deflected out of the box by Duluth’s Nathan Porter.
In the 26th minute, El Farolito found space on the right side of the box again, with Soto creeping towards the baseline before attempting a pass to Martinez that was stopped just in time by Joe Wilson’s slide tackle to keep it a one-goal game.
In the 30th minute, Duluth FC gained possession near midfield, leading to a Jacob Wyles through ball that found Nazawa near the right sideline, as he sent a cross into the box for Akim Soulemana that was snatched up by El Farolito goalkeeper Julian Escobar.
El Farolito quickly answered back, switched the field from right to left to find Martinez again near the top of the box. Martinez found Soto, whose touch pass connected with Sacre before Wyles stepped into the play, leaving the ball loose for Warnod to pick up.
After a foul on Cervantes during an El Farolito throw-in, Gabriel Arias lined up for a free kick before it was passed to Soto again on the left side. Soto crossed it over to the opposite side, but Duluth’s Nazawa and Joao Magalhaes eventually sent it away near the 35th minute.
Duluth controlled possession for much of the remainder of the first half, but the El Farolito defense held strong, not allowing many scoring chances for the Bluegreens. El Farolito held possession for the remainder of extra time, leaving the score 1-0 at the break.
“I was very proud of the group that there were no surprises,” said El Farolito head coach Santiago Lopez. “They were able to handle all of those situations against their (Duluth FC) long ball and their second ball and the very good technical players in the midfield.”
In the 49th minute, Nazawa forced a turnover near midfield as he dribbled upfield before sending a through ball to Magalhaes at the top of the box, surrounded by two El Farolito defenders. El Farolito was able to take possession right in front of Escobar, who picked up the ball.
El Farolito quickly reversed the ball with Soto gaining possession on top of the box as the ball moved from him to Valdivia before Omar Lemus gave it back to Soto, who had space to center on the net but shot it over the top.
In the 54th minute, Duluth created a run in their third as Cervantes received the ball on the right side of the box, ultimately centering it into the box for a header attempt by Seth Davidson that went through and resulted in a goal kick.
Warnod then made two back-to-back incredible saves. The first came after an over-the-top pass by Lemus to Dembor Benson, who had a one-on-one with Warnod. Then Warnod came off his line to make the point-blank save. The ensuing possession, Sacre forced a Duluth turnover in the El Farolito third, setting up another one-on-one that Warnod stopped with a diving save.
El Farolito continued to bring heavy pressure with a run up the left side by Valdevez that he crossed to Soto for a shot, which he finished into the right of the net, giving him his second goal and El Farolito a two-goal lead.
Duluth tried answering back with a great opportunity in the 62nd minute as Davidson dribbled up the left side all the way to the box before hesitating and passing to Magalhaes, whose shot went over the net.
In the 65th minute, Pol Saiz received a pass on the right side of the box that was deflected away, resulting in a corner kick for Duluth. Soulemana lined up for the corner that came in towards the top of the box, but it was deflected away before Magalhaes could get his foot on it.
Following a free kick in the 70th minute, the Bluegreens were able to set up Nazawa on the left side with space that he used, sending a shot towards the net that was saved by Escobar.
On the next El Farolito possession, they were able to get deep into the Bluegreens’ third with Sergio Villareal sending a pass over the top to Benson for a header that was saved by Warnod.
In the 75th minute, Magalhaes took a corner kick that was put right into the box, which Duluth’s Joe Wilson went up for, colliding with Escobar as he wrapped the ball up, stopping the chance for the Bluegreens.
Following an El Farolito goal kick sent deep into Bluegreens territory, Johnathan Perez attempted a pass across to Benson that was stopped by Wyles, but there was a mistouch on the pass to Warnod, leaving a loose ball to be picked back up by Benson and sent into the net, giving El Farolito a 3-0 lead in the 80th minute.
“At halftime, it was just tweaking the little things,” Lopez added. “Reminding them where we should be looking and what side of the field we should be attacking, and thankfully the second half was much better for us than the first half.”
On a Duluth FC run up the right side, Manu Lorenzo drew a foul, setting up a free kick taken by Soulemana that was just over the head of Davidson, eventually being cleared away by the El Farolito defense.
Following a Duluth throw-in towards the net that was deflected away in the 89th minute, El Farolito controlled possession, giving the Bluegreens few chances in the final minutes of the match. El Farolito would earn their berth into the NPSL National Semifinals with the 3-0 win.
El Farolito will move into the NPSL National Semifinals for the third year in a row on Saturday, July 25, facing off against Ambassadors FC Ohio in Milwaukee.
Photo Credit: Henry Gates/Duluth FC
