Brentwood boys soccer wins 10th Long Island championship
Brentwood midfielder Diego Argueta reacts after scoring a goal against East Meadow in the Long Island Class AAA soccer championship on Sunday at Patchogue-Medford. Credit: George A Faella
The Brentwood boys soccer behemoth has returned.
Long Island’s most decorated public school program is back in the spotlight and has its sights set on another state championship. Brentwood took another step in that direction on Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Nassau’s East Meadow to claim the Long Island Class AAA championship before a raucous and partisan Brentwood crowd at Patchogue-Medford High.
After consecutive seasons of finishing the regular season unbeaten only to stumble in the county playoffs, Brentwood (20-0) claimed its 10th Island title and first since 2019. It advances to a state semifinal against Section I’s Arlington (17-2-2) at Middletown High on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Brentwood next weekend will seek its fifth state crown and first since 2019.
“We haven’t won in a long time and it’s time to bring it back,” sophomore Diego Argueta said.
Added senior midfielder Stalyn Acosta: “Those last two seasons were [disappointing]. This team stays together through everything. We’ve even come back from [two goals down] three times.”
Brentwood was a little bit of everything in ending the spectacular postseason run of the Jets (10-6-2), who rose up from a No. 8 seeding to win its first county championship. It was equal parts strength and speed, every bit as formidable on offense as it was on defense.
“There’s a lot there,” East Meadow coach Bryan Horrmann said. "They are technically sound, relentless with effort, quick to the ball and well-coached. I’m super-proud of what our team accomplished this season, but the ball wasn’t bouncing our way against them.”
Argueta, a sophomore forward, set an aggressive tone by getting off five solid shots during the first 18 minutes. Josue Granados got a shot from the right side of the goal from about four yards out that Jets keeper Jack DeVoti turned away, but Argueta was on the other side for the rebound and put it in for a 1-0 lead 14:50 into the game.
“You try to be in the right place at the right time,” Argueta said.
Brentwood made it 2-0 when Acosta placed a long pass from the right wing right in front of the goalmouth and Granados got to it before DeVoti. Christopher Arriaza put a high shot into the net off a pass from Granados in the first minute of the second half and Cristian Escobar finished a breakaway with a pretty left-footed tap with 27:50 to play.
Brentwood was the undefeated top seed in 2021 and got stunned in the first round by a 16th-seeded Patchogue-Medford team it had beaten twice in the regular season. It was unbeaten though with a tie, and again top-seeded in 2022 before suffering a quarterfinal upset against a Northport squad it also beat in the regular season.
“This team has refused to lose and never taken its eyes off its goal, even when it trailed by two goals in games or dealt with injuries,” Brentwood coach Ron Eden said. “The team has learned an important lesson: in soccer you can lose on any given day so you play every game like it’s the biggest.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
