Liliana Michelena

1 week ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

As El Farolito Soccer Club prepared for the semifinals of the Hank Steinbrecher Cup — the trophy that crowns the best amateur soccer team in the United States — head coach Santiago López paused to consider a blunt question:“We were the best amateur team in this year’s U.S. Open Cup,” López said of the annual tournament featuring lower-level pro clubs — and upstart amateur teams like his own.

1 month ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

You can measure a city by the things it celebrates. On Tuesday, inside the gold-trimmed walls of City Hall, San Francisco tipped its cap to a Mission District taquería, a scrappy soccer team, and the siblings somehow running both. El Farolito SC — the team that has knocked out professional sides with part-time players who also drive Ubers, install drywall, and work double shifts — was officially commended by the Board of Supervisors today.

2 months ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

The dream slipped away on Wednesday night in Sacramento, under floodlights that shone just a little too harshly on El Farolito. A 1-0 loss to ended the amateur side’s underdog run in the U.S. Open Cup. El Farolito was cut short in the third round for the second year in a row. From the opening whistle, it was clear El Farolito wanted this, perhaps too much. The players’ movements betrayed their anxiety — legs just a beat too fast, passes just a touch too long.

2 months ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

When the El Farolito soccer team punched its ticket to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup with a stunning comeback over Monterey Bay, its players didn’t head out for a lavish celebration. They clocked in for work the very next morning, as if nothing extraordinary had happened — because, for them, it’s just another day in the life of the hardest-working team in American soccer.

2 months ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

It’s spring in the Mission, and the days are finally stretching their legs. That golden-hour glow—the one that used to be gone before you even left work—is now hitting at a much more respectable time. On the corner of 21st and Bryant, El Chato eases into the evening, opening its doors at 4 but truly coming to life around 5. Inside, the air is warm, the wine is flowing, and the line between regulars and newcomers dissolves as quickly as the first sip.