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 wasted an excellent start by letting the Sonoma Sol off the hook near halftime as another penalty call goes to the opponent. Gio Troini was called for a handball as a penalty box scramble off a corner kick ended with a shot smacking his outstretched left arm. Just last week in against the Stompers in Hayward, it was Troini getting penalized, only this time, the call was hard to argue. To make matters worse for RSJ’s big defender he went off injured with a bad foot injury sustained on the play.

Fernando Lares opened the scoring in the 3rd minute by curling the ball over the keeper and just under the bar. It was the 18 year-old striker’s third goal in just two games with RSJ. The match was wide open but it was the Sol that created the most dangerous scoring opportunities. Twice Sol players found themselves one-v-one with Jonathan Arellano and were stopped. Just when it looked like RSJ would go into halftime with the lead, Troini luck turned bad. Omar Nuno scored the penalty kick.

The second was saw plenty of end-to-end action. Then in the 75th minute, Sonoma’s Marco Barragan pounced on a softly cleared ball from a corner kick and place a perfect shot into the upper right corner of the San Jose goal. RSJ pushed everything forward but nothing came of it.

RSJ returns to PAL Stadium this Sunday to host Seattle. Kickoff is at 1:00 pm at PAL Stadium.

An 86th-minute penalty kick kept Real San Jose from taking three points out of a Mother’s Day trip to Hayward as East Bay FC Stompers forced a 2-2 draw. This match was just another frustration for RSJ, who are looking to get into the thick of the playoff race.

The first half saw RSJ gradually take control only to miss three golden chances until newly signed Fernando Lares put San Jose on the scoreboard for the first time in four games.

The Stompers came out strong in the second half and scored on a 62nd-minute goalmouth scramble that ended with Victor Parra equalizing.

In the 70th minute, a long punt from RSJ goalkeeper Jonathan Arellano sent Eddie Guerro free only to be fouled just outside the Stomper’s penalty area. Surprisingly the referee only gave the offending last man a yellow card. Those concerns were quickly forgotten when Lares curved the resulting direct kick inside the back post for his second goal of the match.

Once again the Stompers pushed forward until a seemingly harmless header went straight to the arm of RSJ defender Gio Troini and the referee pointed to the spot. Diego Garcia shot true, and the match was even with just four minutes remaining.

“It felt great to get on the scoresheet in the first half and then follow up with another goal in the second half. A bit disappointed we were robbed of a win, but that’s the game of football, and I look forward to the rest of the season,” said Lares, an 18-year-old striker from Gilroy.

Real San Jose returns to PAL Stadium next Saturday to host the Sonoma Sol. Kickoff is at 7:00 pm. Advance tickets are on sale at the Real San Jose online store.

A pair of early goals, one scored and another created, by CD Aguiluchos USA star striker Simon Rawnsley, was enough to doom Real San Jose to a fourth straight loss. This time 2-0.

RSJ best chance was the first as Juan Carlos Leal ripped a shot off the post in the second minute. Then Rawnsley opened the scoring in the 14th minute as the 2015 NPSL Golden Boot winner expertly slotted the ball in with only the goalkeeper to beat. Rawnsley saw luck continue when just, ten minutes later, his cross into the box was scored by RSJ defender Cesar Rodriguez. The own goal summed up the shaky start to the match for San Jose.

“Frustrating for us, but Simon just has that magic touch right now, and we just need to get better,” said RSJ manager Nick Arellano.

RSJ has now suffered four straight losses after starting the season with a win in Sacramento and a draw in Oakland.

RSJ travels to Hayward on Sunday to play the East Bay FC Stompers. Kickoff is at 3:00 pm. The Stompers announced a special Mother’s Day promotion as all Mothers will be allowed in free if they bring a son or daughter, any age, to the game.