The last regional champion has qualified for the 2026 National Amateur Cup. El Farolito SC of California, the team known for US Open Cup upsets of professional sides, won the USASA Region IV (West) Amateur Cup on Sunday afternoon after playing five games in three days. The final challenge saw El Faro beat defending regional champion Sin City FC, 3-0.
The Burrito Boys will head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin next month, July 24-25. Should they win that, they would qualify for a fifth straight US Open Cup tournament. The team would have also qualified in three different manners; using the National League path through the National Premier Soccer League, as John P. Motto Trophy winners, and then as National Amateur Cup champions.
The team has previously reached the national portion of the Amateur Cup, playing in the 1991 final under the name CD Mexico in a losing effort to St. Louis Scott Gallagher. Two years later in 1993, CD Mexico would win the US Open Cup, meaning a national title later this month could put El Farolito in rare company of teams that have won both national tournaments.
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The Region IV men’s regional amateur cup tournament at the Western Sports Park in Farmington, Utah saw twelve, yes twelve, teams compete. These teams were broken up into groups of three and were as follows;
Group A:
- El Farolito SC – California North, National Premier Soccer League
- Bowaze FC – Idaho, United Premier Soccer League
- Vacaville Elite – California North, National Premier Soccer League
Group B:
- Sun City FC – Texas, National Premier Soccer League
- Olympique Montreux – Utah, Greater Salt Lake Soccer League
- Peak XI FC – Colorado, Mountain Premier League
Group C:
- Sin City FC – Nevada, Southwest Premier League
- Temecula FC – California South, Southwest Premier League
- Rebels United FC – Nevada, Southwest Premier League
Group D:
- Vikings SC – Utah, Greater Salt Lake Soccer League
- Kita FC – Utah, Greater Salt Lake Soccer League
- Cal South Saturdays – California South, California State Soccer Association – South
A few things to note here. Firstly, tournament officials claimed Bowaze, which competes in the non-USASA affiliated UPSL, also competes in the Southern Idaho Soccer League. However, no publicly available information supports that. Next, despite being from the state of Texas, which is part of USASA Region III (South), Sun City competes in Region IV (West) due to their home city of El Paso, Texas being closer to the western states versus the rest of Texas. Finally, Cal South Saturdays was a team created by various players from Cal South, meaning they might not have an official league. Their legal status was up for debate to be honest.
The group stage would take place over Friday and Saturday, with the teams from Groups A and B facing each other, and the teams from Group C and D doing the same. The top teams at the conclusion of the group stage would advance to Sunday morning’s semifinals, with a final between the eventual winners taking place later in the morning with only a few hours of rest. The points system in the group stage was also unique, with the following parameters.
- WIN = 6 points
- TIE = 3 points
- LOSS = 0 points
- GOALS SCORED (Up to 3) = 1 point each
- CLEAN SHEET = 1 point
Meaning a team could end a game with a maximum of 10 points if it ended 3-0, along with other combinations of points for both teams in a game.
El Farolito came into the final match undefeated after beginning the weekend with a scoreless draw. After the slow start, they worked their way into the semifinals, narrowly escaping the group by two points. There they faced Cal South Saturdays and had to scrape back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to win 3-2, despite being down to 10-men. This earned them a date with the defending champions.
Sin City FC had a slightly easier route to the finals. Their second match was abandoned after 25 minutes and they lost their third, but they still made it out of the group. Their semifinals opponent only had eight players to begin the match — despite being a local team — and Sin City took advantage, going up 3-1 early and cruising to a 7-1 victory.
El Farolito dominated almost every aspect of the final match. They were physical and controlled the meaningful possession, not allowing Sin City to play their game the way they are used to. Neither team was able to score a goal, nor were they able to get too close, until the 29th minute when Erik Arias opened the scoring. El Farolito held the shutout through the rest of the half and took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The second half started about the same as most of the first half. Sin City had a few chances spread out in the second half, but all of their best attempts went over the crossbar. El Farolito put the match away within 15 minutes of the second half. Edgard Kreye doubled the lead in the 54th minute and Dembor Benson put it out of reach in the 59th minute.
El Farolito held onto the lead and won the Region IV title, booking their spot in the National Amateur Cup.
After the match, El Farolito SC’s head coach, Santiago Perez, spoke on how much the US Open Cup means to the club.
“Yeah, the US Open Cup is a huge thing for us — and then finding there’s another way of qualifying. It’s the first time that we’ve done this, I believe, it is actually in my generation, or at least it’s the first time, I think in the 90s, the club was runner-up in the US amateur cup. So hopefully, we could advance in the semifinal, and then try to win the cup. That’ll be the first time we ever win this national amateur. So to me, it’s a huge opportunity.”
On his team’s performance, Perez said, “I’m very proud of the boys, they came out in very, very tough conditions with very large pitches, very, very difficult to play, very slow play. And we were very fortunate to get out of the semifinal, with 10 men, down one, losing 2-1 and were able to turn it around, went 3-2 with 10 men. It was an unbelievable effort, and yeah, just closing off right now was an excellent performance — more of a tactical strategy.”
Below is a complete recap of the entire Region IV tournament, with scores from each of the group stage games, the semifinals, and the final.
Friday, June 26 (Group Stage 1)
El Farolito SC (CA, NPSL)
0:0
Sun City FC (TX, NPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
Vacaville Elite (CA, NPSL)
2:4
Peak XI FC (CO, MPL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
VE:
- Bradley Ramos (assisted by Julian Perez)
- Larry Agayo (assisted by Bradley Ramos)
XI:
- Taylor Smyser 30′, 50′
- Elliot McCormick 65′
- Abdullah Noman 80′
MATCH BROADCAST (DT Sports TV)
Sin City FC (NV, SWPL)
6:3
Viking SC (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 3 – Farmington, UT
SCFC:
- Danny Rangel (x4)
- David Villanueva
- Caleb Castaño
VSC:
- Charles Sanchez
- Henry Morales
- Zach Moore
Temecula FC (CA, SWPL)
5:0
Kita FC (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
TFC:
- Ricardo Acosta
- Noah Mabra
- Elliot Hill (x2)
- Alberto Renteria
Rebels United FC (NV, SWPL)
0:1
Cal South Saturdays (CA, CSSAS)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
CSS:
- Gabriel Oropeza
Bowaze FC (ID, UPSL)
0:3
Olympique Montreux (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 3 – Farmington, UT
OM:
- Luis Avila
- Ryan Carter
- Jake Feiner
Saturday, June 27 – Morning (Group Stage 2)
Olympique Montreux (UT, GSLSL)
1:4
El Farolito SC (CA, NPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
OM:
- Ryan Carter
Faro:
- Aly Arriola (x2)
- Jonatan Valdivia
- Luiz Da Silva
Peak XI FC (CO, MPL)
2:2
Bowaze FC (ID, UPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
Peak:
- Elijah Smith
- Brady Draskowski
BFC:
- Matthew Siwatwa (x2)
MATCH BROADCAST (DT Sports TV)
Sun City FC (TX, NPSL)
0:3
Vacaville Elite (CA, NPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 3 – Farmington, UT
Forfeit by Sun City FC
Kickoff for the match between Sun City and Vacaville Elite was scheduled for 8 AM local time in Utah. Sun City arrived to the venue at 12 Noon, claiming they had been given the wrong start time by the National Premier Soccer League. As such, Vacaville was awarded a 3-0 win and 10 points via forfeit, and Sun City was kicked out of the tournament.
Kita FC (UT, GSLSL)
0:3
Sin City FC (NV, SWPL)
Western Sports Park Field 4 – Farmington, UT
Game abandoned after Kita was shown between 4-5 red cards during the first half
Following a hard challenge against a Kita player, multiple members of the team began arguing with the referee. The official began showing red cards to both Kita staff and members of the roster for alleged dissent before the game was officially abandoned. Specifics of what was allegedly said or what caused the red cards to be handed out was not disclosed.
Cal South Saturdays (CA, CSSAS)
3:1
Temecula FC (CA, SWPL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
CSS:
- Gaby Ochoa
- Bryan Ortega
- Jose Montez d’ocha
TFC:
- Elias Quintero
Viking SC (UT, GSLSL)
3:1
Rebels United FC (NV, SWPL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
VSC:
- Marriott Weekes
- Zach Moore
- Clark Teeples
RUFC:
- Christian Valencia
Saturday, June 27 – Afternoon (Group Stage 3)
El Farolito SC (CA, NPSL)
7:0
Peak XI FC (CO, MPL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
Faro:
- Erik Arias (x5)
- Omar Lamus
- Omar Quiroga
MATCH BROADCAST (DT Sports TV)
Bowaze FC (ID, UPSL)
3:0
Sun City FC (TX, NPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
Forfeit by Sun City FC
Bowaze was granted a forfeit win, 3-0 and 10 points, after Sun City was removed from the tournament for missing its second match.
Vacaville Elite (CA, NPSL)
8:4
Olympique Montreux (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 3 – Farmington, UT
VE:
- Suyesh Niraula
- Bradley Ramos (x2)
- Griffin Brophy (x3)
- Miguel Bustos
- Pedro Garcia
OM:
- Manny Montenegro (x2)
- Ryan Crowther
- Innocent Twishime
Temecula FC (CA, SWPL)
5:5
Viking SC (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
TFC:
- Beto Renteria (x3)
- Diego Valle
- Chris Remily
VFC:
- Mason Farnsworth (2)
- Dillon Hernandez
- Abdi (no full name given)
- Merritt Weekes
Rebels United FC (NV, SWPL)
3:0
Kita FC (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
Forfeit by Kita FC
Kita was unable to compete in the match after being unable to field a full team following the multiple red cards in its second match. Rebels was awarded a 3-0 win and 10 points.
Sin City FC (NV, SWPL)
1:2
Cal South Saturdays (CA, CSSAS)
Western Sports Park Field 4 – Farmington, UT
SCFC:
- Haiko Hovac
CSS:
- Gabriel Oropeza
- Robert Odenez
Final Group Standings
Sunday, June 28 (Semifinals)
Cal South Saturdays (CA, CSSAS)
2:3
El Farolito SC (CA, NPSL)
Western Sports Park Field 1 – Farmington, UT
CSS:
- Gabriel Oropeza
- Robert Odenez
Faro:
- Dembor Benson (x2)
- Gabriel Arias
Sin City FC (NV, SWPL)
7:1
Olympique Montreux (UT, GSLSL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
SCFC:
- Roberto Soto (x2)
- Fede Dias (x2)
- Miguel Higareda (x2)
- Daniel Rango
OM:
- Manny Montenegro
Sunday, June 28 (USASA Region IV Final)
El Farolito SC (CA, NPSL)
3:0
Sin City FC (NV, SWPL)
Western Sports Park Field 2 – Farmington, UT
El Faro:
- Erik Arias 29′
- Edgard Kreye 54′
- Dembor Benson 58′
