Current Buzz Spot

Redlands East Valley boys soccer team knocks off Beaumont as birthday present to coach

By Dennis Pope

Redlands East Valley boys soccer team knocks off Beaumont as birthday present to coach

REDLANDS -- Under a full moon, Redlands East Valley boys soccer coach Mario Urbano got his birthday wish.

Tossed into the night air by his players and assistants after a 4-1 win over Beaumont in a Citrus Belt League match Tuesday evening, Urbano now is within one victory of a career milestone.

"I just told them at the beginning that I would like a victory for my birthday and end the day off on good note," said Urbano, now in his eighth season in charge of the program.

Eddie Torres, Isaiah Harper, Justin Hernandez and Omario Gonzalez had goals for Redlands East Valley (8-3-4 overall, 3-1-0 in league), which bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Cajon on Monday.

"The boys felt that loss (on Monday), but the good thing we played right away and get that loss out of our minds," Urbano said.

It's the 99th career victory for Urbano at REV. The Wildcats coach is 99-37-26 since the 2017-18 season.

"Today was a little bit special for me," Urbano said. "It came on birthday, and being so close to my 100th win, so I told the boys to go out and give it their all and get the 'W' for us."

Sophomore defender Caleb Carver scored in the loss as Beaumont (6-3-3, 3-1-0) allowed four goals for the first time this season. Before the match, the Cougars had surrendered just eight goals all season.

"Kudos to REV because if we had won this game, their season was all but over," Beaumont coach Barry Steele said. "I think they knew that and they responded like their season was on the line."

Carver opened the scoring with a 13th-minute header for Beaumont, which won 1-0 on the road at REV last season.

But without starting goalkeeper Oscar Martinez, Beaumont allowed four unanswered goals -- including two penalties in the second half -- to lose for the first time in 2025.

"We were missing (Martinez) and I knew that was going to be a killer," Steele said. "Things kind of snowballed and we just didn't play well tonight."

Torres got REV on the scoreboard in the 20th minute and Harper added another 10 minutes later as the Wildcats took the lead.

"(Harper) promised me that we was going to score and he ends up scoring so I thought that was a pretty cool moment," Urbano said.

Hernandez netted the first penalty in the 55th minute for REV, which had lost two of first three matches of the calendar year.

Gonzalez added a penalty in the 72nd minute as the Wildcats finished off their biggest win in the series since a 4-0 win in 2015.

Talented sophomore Luis Murrillo got the last touch of the match in the penalty area for Beaumont.

Both teams play reigning CBL champion Cajon next week.

Previous articleNext article

POPULAR CATEGORY

business

3823

general

5044

health

3824

sports

5164