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By William Engels/NPSL.com
With a 2-0 victory on Saturday at Midwest Region champions Michigan Rangers FC in the NPSL National Semifinals, defending NPSL National Champions El Farolito could become the second team in league history to repeat as title winners, following the Miami FC organization’s consecutive titles in 2018 as Miami FC 2 and 2019 as Miami FC.
“The players are extremely inspired and motivated and very happy that all the hard work has been paying off. The ball has been rolling so far for us, and we hope that this game will continue,” head coach Santiago Lopez said of the opportunity.
“We have a great group, that throughout the season since January, started training because of the [Lamar Hunt U.S.] Open Cup. We have a large roster that everybody has been so involved and motivated to be part of the group. Seeing the team continue until August – that’s almost eight months of work – I think this is a great gift for the entire group and it demonstrates the high quality that they individually have, and it’s paid off collectively.”
After winning the 2024 NPSL National Championship and making an extended run in the season’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Lopez saw the team’s successes as a chance for improvement going into the 2025 season.
“We tried to adapt to games as fast as possible, and not [just] sticking to one formation,” Lopez said of the team’s changes. “Last season, every single minute of the year, we worked with one formation, a 3-5-2. Coming into this season, we, as a coaching staff, decided to work on a second formation. That’s really helped out the team. We can start out with one gameplan and then we adjust to it.”
“If a team is being more defensive or offensive, the team knows how to work those two formations. We just gave more tools and more information to the players just going forward into starting the season because we knew we were up against more tough competition for the Open Cup and the national championship. We knew teams were going to come at us at different and more high intensity, tactically or physically. It’s been more demanding.”
The changes have proven to be highly successful for El Farolito, who enters the 2025 NPSL National Championship undefeated in NPSL play, claiming a Golden Gate Conference title and West Region crown along the path after outscoring its opponents 43-3. Additionally, El Farolito were the furthest advancing Open Division club in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and won the 2025 Hank Steinbrecher Cup as the men’s national adult amateur champion. Lopez described the team’s successes as being part of its long-standing history.
“It’s the 40th anniversary of the club this year. Us, as [one of] the main roles of the club, we know the history of it. Just introducing and exposing the players and sharing the story behind the creation of the club and the history of winning competitions has made them want to be part of that history as well.”
“We all know that this is the second-best generation for years. The first one was winning the 1993 [U.S.] Open Cup and playing [in the] CONCACAF [Cup Winners Cup] in 1994. We know that we want to be a part of that history, and we’re extremely motivated and want to keep working hard at trying to be a protagonist in the US soccer amateur landscape.”
While goalkeeper Kevin Gonzalez was awarded the NPSL Golden Glove recipient and forward Dembor Benson was named the Capelli Sport 2025 NPSL Conference MVP for the Golden Gate Conference, Lopez gave credit to the entire team for the individual successes of the roster.
“Overall, it’s a good way to recognize at least two of the players that have worked so hard this year, that have been super committed and extremely professional and taking care of each other to try and be options every single game.”
“No goalkeeper is good without their defense. The way defensively that our defenders have worked this season – keeping three goals against the entire regular season play – shows that we have quality in every line. The defense needs the midfielders, and the midfielders need the attackers to defend as well. It’s an overall team effort, and it’s great to see at least two of those are getting recognized.”
Saturday’s NPSL National Championship will see El Farolito face the South Region champions Hickory FC, led by the NPSL Coach of the Season Carlos Rubio, and an attack headlined by the NPSL Golden Ball winner Antonio Pineda. While Lopez hasn’t seen much of the side, he knows the match will present a challenge.
“I can tell that they have great speed and agility up front. They have height at the back. They have a good goalkeeper. The midfielders are very dynamic at going forward, and they know how to defend as well. Their fullbacks are very forward thinking, are very quick, and know how to come back as well.”
“Overall, it’s a great team. You can’t find any weakness in that team compared to others that we’ve played. It’s going to be a very even match.”
Most importantly for El Farolito, the national championship match gives the team a chance to compete for a title in front of its home fans at historic Kezar Stadium, something that the club has not yet had the opportunity for throughout its successes.
“It’s great,” Lopez said of the hosting opportunity. “Last season, when we went to New Jersey, we kept on talking about how we tied two games in the regular season, and we were thinking if we could have gotten one victory, we would have been able to host the national championship against [FC] Motown. We just kept on thinking, after winning that championship, that we could do this again. Let’s set that goal, step-by-step.”
“First, let’s think about the [U.S. Open] Cup, then the Hank Steinbrecher Cup that we went to in June and won as well. It’s been little by little, just focusing on each game and just thinking that we really want to keep that perfect record so we can be eligible, by sporting merit, to host at Kezar [Stadium]. It was just a goal in mind, and it’s reality now. We have an opportunity to showcase our football, our idea, our group, our franchise – everything – in front of old and new fans at home.”
Photo Credit: Kevin W. Fowler/NPSL.com
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