San Francisco — There are days in soccer when everything clicks… and then there are days when you run into El Farolito.

Real San Jose made the trip north to face the reigning National Amateur Club of the Year and, for one long evening in Boxer Stadium, found themselves on the wrong end of a 12–0 scoreline. Yes, twelve. As in, by the time you finish reading this sentence, they might have scored again.

But here’s the thing — this wasn’t a team that packed it in.

From the opening whistle, RSJ showed up ready to fight. For stretches, they battled, defended, and tried to impose themselves against a side that has made a habit of turning good teams into cautionary tales. And while the scoreboard kept ticking in a direction nobody in red, white, and black wanted to see, the effort never dipped.

No heads dropped. No walking. No “let’s just get out of here.” Just a group that kept lining up, taking the next kickoff, and going again.

Because that’s the part you don’t always see in a scoreline like this.

You see “12–0” and think collapse. But inside it, there’s something else — guys who kept running, kept competing, and kept showing up for each other even when the result was long gone.

Against a powerhouse like El Farolito, that matters.

Real San Jose will take the lesson, take the hit, and keep moving. That’s how this club has lasted 20 seasons. Not by avoiding results like this — but by surviving them.

And if you’ve been around RSJ long enough, you already know how this story goes next.

They’ll be back. Starting this friday when the Oakland Stompers come to PAL Stadium for a 7:45PM kickoff.

Real San Jose’s three game wining streak came to end in Filer, Idaho, on May 13 and now RSJ has a string of home games starting this weekend vs Boise FC.

In Filer, RSJ jumped out to an early lead, fell behind, then tied the match all before halftime. Both defenses covered from the 2-2 halftime score until the referee made a controversial call in awarding Magic Valley FC a penalty kick with just seven minutes to go. The pk was converted and a fourth goal came as RSJ threw everyone forward in a last ditch effort to salvage a point. RSJ coach Markus Kothner made no excuses after the match by simply stating that his players did not play to their best on the day.

The loss hurts but RSJ is still in the middle of the playoff race. There are eight games remaining and six of those are at PAL Stadium. The next is this Saturday against Boise FC. Kickoff is at 7:00pm at PAL Stadium.

Real San Jose is on a win streak. RSJ defeated Western Nevada FC 2-0 as Angel Heredia and Lorenzo Vasquez each scored in front of a solid defensive unit that held the visitors scoreless. The win is the third in a row and puts RSJ with a solid place in the race of a UPSL playoff spot.

RSJ started the match in fine fashion creating a number good scoring chances that narrowly missed the mark. It took 25 minutes to sneak through the organized WNFC defense. Jay Caines went on a run down the right sideline and was desperately brought down resulting in a caution for the defender and a free-kick for RSJ. Heredia spun the ball between the defenders and goalkeeper and into the net despite a last gasp touch from a WNFC player.

The match became more even in the second half as the teams shared possession and chances to score. Early in the second RSJ goalkeeper Jonathan Arellano was forced to make one diving save stopping a goal-bound blast. The back four of Victor Orosco, Kyle Belcher, Tommie Hession-Harris, and Andres Martinez worked well to earn the first shutout of the 2017 season.

The match seemed on edge until the 82nd minute when Vasquez sealed the deal for RSJ with his 8th goal in three games.

Notes:
1: Angel Heredia, about the goal: We received a free kick right side of the box but not too far out. I recognized their defensive shape on the free kick and noticed a big gap between the goalie and their holding line. I just tried to attack the ball in that area towards goal, and with a little luck came a deflection off the wall and the ball went in.

2: Lorenzo Vasquez came one goal short of tying one RSJ scoring record and two goals short of tying a second and setting third. With one more goal, Vasquez would have tied Johnny Gonzalez’s three-game scoring record of nine goals. Wth two more goals, Vasquez would have tied Gonzalez’s three straight hat trick record and broke his three-game scoring record. Gonzalez set these records in the first three matches of the 2010 season. But Vasquez is not without an RSJ scoring record, as he holds the single game scoring record with four.

It was worth the wait. After two rainouts to start the 2017 Real San Jose finally got their UPSL home schedule started on April 29 with a thrilling 5-4 victory against Oakland’s CD Pamperos. The biggest star of the night was Lorenzo Vasquez who scored four goals, the third of which is a goal to be remembered.

RSJ started fast and was up 2-0 after 15 minutes as Vasquez and Fernando Lares each scored. All thoughts of a one-sided San Jose victory were dashed just two minutes later when CDP answered back through Darlin Flores. At the 39th minute, the match was tied. This time Angel Jimenez scored. Flores scored his second goal of the night in the 65th minute to give CDP the lead that once looked impossible after 15 minutes.

Then it was time for the RSJ attack to kick in gear and score three unanswered goals, all scored by Vasquez. But to say it was all Vasquez would be wrong because he received expert service from his teammates as RSJ were determined to get a home victory. In fact, check out the assist on Vasquez’s Goalazo. Some would argue that it was as good as the finish. Alberto Garcia-Escamilla keenly intercepted the pass and chest-volleyed perfectly for Vasquez to hammer home.

RSJ will host Western Nevada on May 6 at 7:00 pm.

Notes:
1. Vasquez’s third goal of the night was something special. Click on Goalazo below to see it.

Goalazo! is a link to a page on this website.

2. Vasquez post game comments:
About the goals: I believe they were all great goals because they were all team goals.
About the game: It was an amazing game. The fact that both teams came back from a deficit means a lot from both teams. We had a little downfall at the end of the half and early second half but Real San Jose has heart. Coach Nick talked and motivated us at half. We had a goal and that goal was to win and we weren’t going to let anyone come to our home and show us up.

3. Vasquez named UPSL Player of the Week: Honors role in for terrific four-goal performance here is the link UPSL National Player Of The Week: Real San Jose’s Lorenzo Vasquez.