Redlands FC earned their first win in their first home game of the 2026 season Saturday night, defeating City SC 3-1. Dodge Stadium was packed to witness the action, and the Redlands squad certainly lived up to the hype.
It all got started in the 17th minute when Redlands midfielder Jose de la Torre struck first. The Cal State Fullerton man got his head to an excellent cross to give Redlands their first lead of the season. It also got the crowd engaged early, including Redlands FC’s support group the I-10 Ultras.
Redlands fed off that energy and continued to dominate into the 25th minute where Jose de la Torre this time put in a cross of his own into the box that found striker Efren Nunez to make it 2-0 to the home side. Redlands, after scoring just one goal in their first two games, had already surpassed that total in less than a half hour.
City SC finally found some momentum towards the end of the first half, but goalkeeper Tony Flores and co. kept them scoreless, as Redlands went into halftime up 2-0 and in the driver's seat.
The majority of the second half featured a much more balanced theme, with both teams squandering an open net chance and failing to convert on multiple set pieces. That finally changed when City SC scored about midway through the second half, making it a one goal game.
A bit of a nervous energy took over Dodge Stadium following the goal, but it would soon be flipped. In the opening moments of stoppage time, substitute Clement Badger found the back of the net for the goal that would be the dagger. Redlands went up 3-1, and that wound up being the final result.
Post-game, Jose de la Torre was named Man of the Match for his goal and assist performance. Redlands now improves to 1-1-1 at what it is already the quarter mark of the 12 game 2026 campaign.
Redlands will go back on the road to Capo FC on Wednesday, before returning to Dodge Stadium on Friday, June 5th at 7 p.m. More details and tickets for the match can be found at redlandsfootballclub.com.
Caden Henderson has been a journalist since he was five. He has interviewed athletes like Mike Trout. Caden is pursuing a degree at the University of Redlands. He is also the voice of Redlands FC.
