El Farolito’s dream of a championship at home is deferred as ‘Burrito Boys’ fall 3-2 at Kezar

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For a few seconds after Jhonatan Pérez’s late goal in stoppage time, the crowd at Kezar Stadium leaned forward. El Farolito — San Francisco’s team of comebacks — had made 3–2 feel like a signal, not a swan song. Why not one more miracle?

But the whistle came too soon.

In a gritty, chaotic, often brilliant final, El Farolito fell just short against Hickory FC out of North Carolina in the 2025 National Premier Soccer League championship. The hard-fought defeat left players stunned, fans agitated, and Kezar momentarily silent — before applause slowly returned to honor a season that meant more than a trophy.

“It was the little details,” said El Farolito coach Santiago López. “We had chances, but they took theirs. Set pieces, counterattacks … they were sharper.”

The match had started with familiar dominance from the home side. For the first 30 minutes, Farolito controlled the ball and set the pace, particularly through the fluid left-side trio of Gabriel Arias, Herlbert Soto and Dembor Bengtson. Every time Hickory even approached midfield, they stole it right back.

But in the 30th minute, a no-call on a foul against Kipre Sacré turned the tide. Hickory burst into transition, and Antonio Pineda, the league’s Golden Ball winner, headed in the opener.

Hickory’s bench roared. So did their 150-plus traveling fans. It was a stark contrast to El Farolito’s regular traveling support, often just the anonymous Burrito Brava and his pro-immigrant flags.

El Farolito came back quickly. In the 37th minute, a penalty was calmly converted by Bengtson, a Honduran national. A fan playing a trumpet serenaded the moment with “Nunca es Suficiente” by Los Ángeles Azules, from the north side of the stands.

At halftime, Frankie Ruiz, Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe blasted from the speakers. El Farolito didn’t head to the locker room. Players like Bengtson, Mosquera and Sebastián Yabur mingled in the upper concourse bathrooms, signing autographs, saying “hi, thank you for coming.”

The second half was messier. Sacré, nicknamed Masacre, was wisely subbed out by coach López due a yellow card he’d picked up in the first half. Pérez came in to reinforce the midfield. But Hickory came out sharper.

At minute 53, Hickory’s Geoffroy Letienne finished off a dazzling team sequence with a header to make it 2–1. Just a few minutes later, El Farolito players screamed for a handball in the box — “¡CLARO PENAL!” shouted Omar Quiroga from the sideline — but the referee waved play on.

The assistant ref was hounded by the Farolito subs for the rest of the game.

Tensions boiled. El Farolito fans began counting “Mississippis” every time the Hickory goalkeeper delayed a goal kick. Injured player Hadier Borja shouted lineup suggestions from the stands.

Hickory’s No. 10, Robert Deighan, drew the crowd’s ire for spending more and more time on the grass: “¡Si no quiere jugar, que no juegue! ¡Que acá tenemos cerveza, hombre!” a voice screamed in Spanish. (“If you don’t want to play, you shouldn’t! We have beer here, man.”)

In the 80th minute, Bengtson nearly flicked in an equalizer with a headed ball that drifted wide. Shortly after, Gabriel Arias and captain Mosquera were booked after reacting to Hickory’s persistent time-wasting and verbal baiting. Pineda, Hickory’s opening goal scorer, was eventually shown the red card and ejected for arguing a bit too hard.

In the 90th minute, Edgard Kreye, ever the spark, couldn’t quite get a final touch past the keeper. With Farolito now entirely pushed forward, Hickory punished them again on the break. Tomy Pollacchi finished a counter in the 92nd minute to make it 3–1.

And yet, just a minute later: Hope. Pérez curled in a low strike from the right edge of the box: 3–2. The stands stood up. Hickory begged for full time.

It came too soon for El Farolito.

Storm and stillness

Immediately after the final whistle, a scuffle broke out. Hickory’s provocations had accumulated all game, and El Farolito’s frustration erupted, most visibly in a flying kick from defender Zuluaga toward a Hickory player. El Farolito coach Santiago López rushed in to separate the teams.

“The frustration was real,” López admitted. “But I’m responsible for the image and behavior of this team. And we have to know how to lose, too.”

Mosquera echoed that sense of perspective. “It hurts — at home, with so many families here. But we take the lesson,” he said. “These guys have suffered tough losses before. They’ll grow from this.”

It wasn’t the U.S. Open Cup, where El Farolito had beaten professional teams. But this was a final — at Kezar — in front of their people.

That mattered, too.

After things calmed down, striker Dembor Bengtson was enveloped by his children, nieces, and nephews. In the Hickory end, the flags told a story of a different kind of international squad: France, Argentina, Portugal, Hungary, Ireland, Colombia, Spain, Belgium. A team of recent college grads. A different immigrant tale, but an immigrant tale nonetheless.

“They were better today,” said López. “They play fast. European style. And it worked.”

But even he couldn’t dwell too long.

“I know how they [Hickory] are feeling because we already lived it last year,” he added. “We will have to be stronger in the future.”