The 2025 calendar year has provided many notable moments, from individual player milestones to historic performances and future changes to the IE soccer landscape. Let’s take a look back at each month’s notable event, as well as examine what the followers voted as the most significant event of 2025.
January
- GTHS boys hire Joe Valle as head coach (Jan 4)
- A new UPSL team in Fontana called La Barca FC (Jan 7)
- IER end their SoCal Elite partnership, will now play under the IER name in the SoCal Premier (Jan 14)
- Adelanto Girls dominated Silverwood 12-0 in league play (Jan 16)
- Arroyo Valley boys defeat Notre Dame 6-0 in league play (Jan 17)
- IER defeated La Familia 2-1 in RB Cup play (Jan 20)
- ISHS destroyed Entrepreneur 10-1 in league play (Jan 23)
- Etwianda honors the jersey retirement of Maurice Edu (Jan 23)
- Arroyo Valley Boys destroyed IKE 14-0 in league play (Jan 24)
- SGHS Boys dominate Bloomington 6-0 in league play (Jan 27)
- Arroyo Valley boys defeat Notre Dame 11-0 in league play (Jan 27)
- PVHS girls defeat Rancho Verde 5-0 in league play (Jan 28)
- Ayala HS girls beat Diamond Bar 8-0 in league play (Jan 29)
- SGHS boys destroyed Kaiser 11-0 in league play (Jan 29)
- Mike Dibbini was named head coach of the UC Riverside Women’s Soccer (Jan 30)
- Samuel Allen of Santiago HS passes away (Jan 30)
- Arroyo Valley HS handled ROTWHS 7-0 in league play (Jan 31)
February
- Upland Boys wins the Baseline league title (Feb 4)
- Riverside Poly destroyed Hemet 8-1 in league play (Feb 4)
- Don Logo girls destroy Chaffey 8-1 in league play (Feb 4)
- REV boys win the CBL league (Feb 5)
- Big Bear Boys win the Agape league title (Feb 5)
- AYHS boys win the Skyline league title (Feb 5)
- SGHS boys win Sunlight League (Feb 6)
- Colony HS boys win Haceinda league (Feb 6)
- SJHS boys win Mountain Pass League title (Feb 7)
- GOHS girls win the southwestern league title (Feb 7)
- Ontario Christian HS girls win ambassador league (second time in a row) (Feb 7)
- Upland HS boys win baseline league title (Feb 9)
- IER smashed Artesia Des FC 6-1 in SoCal premier play (Feb 19)
- IEFC announces a women’s team in the UWS (Feb 28)
March
- Coach Garcia moves away from coaching Ramona HS boys after 2 years (Mar 1)
- Coach Drew Rea (Norco College M) accepts job to coach ULA (Mar 3)
- YHS boys defeat Hollywood 5-0 in CIF playoff play (Mar 5)
- AHS boys win Ivy League title (Mar 5)
- Union Amaya announces playing in the UPSL D1 as “IEFC III” (Mar 6)
- UPSL D1 announces SoCal East conference with newcomers La Barca (Fontana), and returners Toros Neza USA and Independent FC (Mar 7)
- Santiago HS girls take CIF title after defeating Santa Margarita (Mar 7)
- Vista Del Lago HS girls take CIF title after defeating Whittier Christian 1-0 (Mar 9)
- Future FC announced as new expansion side for UWS (Mar 9)
- Israel Sesay of Empire Strykers set to retire (Mar 18)
- CBU announced to move to the Big West Conference for the 2026 season (Mar 19)
- Independent FC blanked OC Sporting FC 5-0 in UPSL play (Mar 23)
- Empire clinches MASL playoffs, faces SD Sockers (Mar 29)
- David Parker was announced as CBU W assistant coach (Mar 30)
April
- Carlos Bocanegra announced as new board member of Chattanooga Red Wolves (Apr 4)
- Empire fell in the first round of the playoffs to the SD Sockers 4-2 (Apr 4)
- Brian Miller of Rubidoux Boys HS retired after 20 years (Apr 12)
- Norco W brings on new head coach Francesca Escobedo (Apr 22)
- Prestige FC to field a women’s team in the UPSL W (Apr 24)
May
- Cali Natives and Fontana Legacy field teams for the SoCal Premier spring season (May 16)
- Marco Fabian, now a free agent, is not returning to the Empire (May 28)
- Lo’eau Labonta gets first USWNT cap vs China (May 31)
June
- Independent FC rebrands its logo (Jun 3)
- Temecula FC announced as the second club to participate in the NISA Pro Cup (Jun 6)
- IER won the SoCal Premier D2 title vs Artesia 3-0 (Jun 7)
- WWP fans and players shared what they witnessed about the scrap (Jun 8)
- No IE teams made the UPSL Spring playoffs (Jun 10)
- SWPL made a statement regarding the scrap, condemning violence and flares (Jun 10)
- SBVC announces former CSUSB player Frankie Sierra as assistant coach (Jun 10)
- US Soccer establishes a new committee to evaluate the future of NCAA soccer. Changes come as soon as next season. (Jun 10)
- TFC destroyed Lobos 12-0 in NN play (Jun 14)
- FFC fell to SoCal FC 2-0, ending their 32-game undefeated streak (Jun 16)
- Empire Strykers sign Lucas Ramalho from Mesquite Outlaws (Jun 16)
- World Wide Problems announces that the Jun 21st matchup vs TFC will be closed to the public due to the incidents on June 7 (Jun 16)
- LSU W announces GK coach Rudo (Jun 18)
- Empire Strykers sign Dayerson Graterol from the TST (Jun 19)
- City of Ontario opens a Futsal court in James R Bryant Park (Jun 20)
- Assistant coach Oscar Gaytan promoted to head coach of Norco M (Jun 20)
- Empire Strykers sign Ben Suddeth from NIU (Jun 20)
- No clubs are in the USASA amateur cup (Jun 21)
- Various college programs have announced their fall schedule (Jun 24)
- Victor Augirre steps away from the Oak Hills boys’ high school head coach position (Jun 26)
- Leo Juarez resigns from contract with Union Amaya (Jun 27)
July
- Prestige clinch UPSL W playoffs (Jul 2)
- Empire signs Flipe Dutra from the TST (Jul 3)
- SoCal Union clinch WPSL playoffs and host Spokane (Jul 7)
- Aquinas HS boys coach Sixto Gonzalez has passed away (Jul 9)
- SoCal Union advances to next stage of postseason after defeating Spokane 3-2 (Jul 12)
- Redlands FC finishes regular season without qualifying for playoffs (Jul 12)
- SoCal Union falls to California Storm 2-0, which ends their season (Jul 13)
- Sporting Fontana announced as a new UPSL expansion side (Jul 17)
- Etiwanda HS player Frank Azizz signs contract with Estoril Praia in Portugal (Jul 18)
- Marco Fabian resigns with Empire through 2027 (Jul 21)
- Los Osos HS announces DJ Vigil as the new head coach of the boys program (Jul 31)
August
- Union Amaya rebrands as Lions SC (Aug 5)
- Empire signs Anthony Powell from Dallas Sidekicks (Aug 5)
- Coach Kessier of Murrieta Valley HS girls announces departure to Yavapai College (Aug 6)
- LSU W announced Jesse Hardeman as the new assistant head coach. He has experience leading Santiago girls to CIF and Future FC adult amateur. (Aug 14)
- Apple Valley Storm and IEFC are the only IE teams in the UPSL Premier SoCal North, while Southwest SC is in SoCal South (Aug 21)
- Apple Valley Storm is the only IE team in the 2025 US Open Cup qualifiers (Aug 23)
September
- City of San Bernardino opens up a futsal court in Lyttle Creek park (Sep 3)
- SBVC W game vs ECC postponed due to excessive heat (Sep 4)
- CBU W wins the Crosstown rivalry 2-0 against UCR W (Sep 11)
- Empire Styrkers announce home opener for Dec 12
- City of Colton soccer complex delayed further due to a burrowing owl habitat near the Santa Ana River. More studies to be conducted. (Sep 16)
- Fontana Legacy is up for sale by owner (Sep 16)
- Joe Baca Middle School in Bloomington gets a indoor type field (Sep 17)
- Apple Valley pairs versus Irvine FC on Oct 12 in the 2nd round USOC qualifiers (Sep 19)
- City of riverside to hold public meeting on USL Riverside stadium on Oct 18 (Sep 26)
- Cross-town showdown for the men ends in 1-1 tie (Sep 26)
- CSUSB’s undefeated streak ends at 7 games, falling to CPP 3-2 (Sep 27)
October
- Temecula has announced its withdrawal from the NISA Pro Cup and intends to pursue USL 1 ambitions. Still plays in Nisa Nation. (Oct 2)
- CBU W fell massively to Utah Valley 7-1 (Oct 3)
- Ifeoma Onumonu announces retirement from playing (Oct 3)
- Cal South announces men’s tournament with 10k 1st place prize (Oct 6)
- LSU W smashes Benedictine 6-1 (Oct 7)
- Chaffey M destroys Cerro Coso 14-1 in IEAC play (Oct 7)
- Chaffey M smashes VVC 8-0 In IEAC play (Oct 10)
- Apple Valley fell to Irvine FC in penalties 4-3 in the USOC qualifiers (Oct 12)
- Cerro Coso M forfeit season, giving all other teams 3 points and +3 goals for the rest of the group (Oct 17)
- Lo’Eau Labonta gets 2nd call-up to the USWNT (Oct 19)
- LSU W suffer big loss to Master’s University 5-0 (Oct 21)
- LSU W suffers another big loss to Life Pacific 5-0 (Oct 23)
- CSUSB dominate CSUEB 5-0 (Oct 24)
- CBU gets upset by Utah Tech 2-1 by a late header goal (Oct 26)
- LSU M take GSIAC regular season title for the first time (Oct 31)
- Chaffey M pulls massive win over favorites Norco 2-0 at home (Oct 31)
November
- CBU M claims WAC regular season title (Nov 2)
- U of R M head coach Ralph Perez honored in last regular season game (Nov 2)
- Norco M claim IEAC title (Nov 5)
- David Trevino (LSU M) honored as GSAC coach of the year (Nov 5)
- Lo’Eau Labonta re-signs contract with KC (Nov 6)
- Chaffey W claim IEAC title (Nov 8)
- CBU W claim WAC tournament title in dramatic fashion: gk converts winning penalty in the shootout (Nov 8)
- U of R M falls to Occidental 1-0 in the SCIAC championship final (Nov 8)
- CSUSB M falls in penalties to CSUSM in the CCAA playoffs. A fight breaks out among players and fans that results in police interference. (Nov 9)
- CSUSB W fell in penalties to Cal Poly Humboldt in the CCAA playoffs. (Nov 10)
- CBU W are drawn with #3 Kansas in the NCAA tournament (Nov 10)
- LSU M handled Benedictine Mesa 2-0 to claim the GSAC tournament title at home. B Mesa had 3 red cards (Nov 11)
- CBU M fall 3-2 in OT vs SJST and are eliminated from the postseason (Nov 12)
- CBU W fall on the road against #3 Kansas 3-1 and are eliminated from the NCAA tournament (Nov 14)
- High schools have started preseason play (Nov 15)
- The SoCal premier RB cup drawing has been announced: Temecula FC and Fontana Legacy are placed in the same group (Nov 18)
- LSU fell 4-0 to Olivet Nazarene University and were eliminated from the NAIA tournament (Nov 20)
- CSUSB M falls to Point Loma in penalties and is eliminated from the postseason (Nov 22)
- All 2-year college programs lost and are officially done with the 2025 season (Nov 22)
- SBVC M 0-1 vs Mt Sac
- Norco M 0-1 vs LACC
- Chaffey W 0-1 vs Orange Coast
- SBVC W 0-3 vs Saddleback
- MASL announces playoff structure with 6 teams out of 8 advancing to the playoffs (Nov 25)
- UPSL announces a new tournament called the UPSL California Cup, with Apple Valley Storm and Independent FC joining (Nov 26)
- Empire Styrkers get an OT win over SD strikers 5-4 in the first match of the 25/26 season after a long losing drought against them (Nov 28)
December
- Independent FC matched up with Sporting Fontana in UPSL promotional playoffs, and demolished them 6-0 (Dec 7)
- Hesperia G conquers Ramona 10-1 (Dec 13)
- TFC dominated Zapa Fc 7-0 in the RB cup play (Dec 13)
- Sultana B whipped Canyon Springs 6-0 (Dec 15)
- Adelanto G dominate SB 9-0 (Dec 16)
- Indian Springs B takes care of IKE 5-0 (Dec 16)
- Adelanto G conquers Burroughs 8-1 (Dec 18)
- Don Lugo G destroys Colony 6-0 (Dec 19)
- Colony B defeats Don Lugo 5-0 (Dec 19)
- Rialto B conquers IKE in the rivalry match 8-0 (Dec 22)
The growing stardom of Jorge Ruvalcaba
There’s no doubt that most of the IE Soccer followers chose Jorge’s January debut for the Mexican national team as the 2025 IE soccer moment of the year. In a rare national vs club friendly, Jorge was called up as a starter following his rise from the bottom ranks of the UNAM squad. The “El Tri” national team visited Brazilian powerhouse SC Internacional, where the Rialto/Colton boy finished a 1v1 shot against the goalkeeper in the 55’, tallying his first international goal on his debut.
His rise started from the humble blue collar communities of Rialto/Colton, where he played for the Yellow Jackets high school team as well as the FC golden state academy. In his college career, he attended CSUSB, but during the COVID-19 situation, his college career was practically non-existent. However, his development in the amateur ranks caught the attention of UNAM recruiters for him to trial/tryout for the Mexican club’s reserve/development side.
He appeared for Pumas de Tabasco, the 2nd division reserve team in 21/22, and had a first team debut afterwards. Since then, he achieved 40 appearances and 5 goals in three seasons, leading to a promising opportunity to play in Belgium for Royal Standard de Liege II in the country’s first division B.
With a disappointing 13 appearances and 1 goal, Jorge returned to UNAM in 2024 seemly stronger before his European stint. He since then got his big break in being a starter for the Mexican club, netting 5 goals and 2 assists in the 24/25 before his big national team debut.
Surely the 24-year-old left winger is at the prime of his career, and IE fans know his trajectory is only up from here.