James Fay's hat trick leads Stony Brook boys soccer to PSAA championship

This moment was four years in the making for James Fay and his senior teammates. The Stony Brook School’s boys soccer team is no stranger to reaching the PSAA final. Winning it is another story. Stony Brook and Portledge met for the third straight year in the PSAA championship Thursday. Portledge won the last two years, once in overtime and once on penalty kicks.

Fay was determined to change his team’s fate.

The senior scored three goals as top-seeded Stony Brook defeated second-seeded Portledge, 3-1, in the boys soccer PSAA championship game at Cantiague Park. It is Stony Brook’s first league title since 2018.

“This is very special for me,” Fay said. “I’m a senior now and we’ve lost it in some very emotional ways. So it’s great we got the job done today. It ended up being worth it in the long run.”

Stony Brook (8-5-2) advances to the NYSAIS boys soccer tournament, scheduled to begin on Monday. The exact date, location and opponent are to be determined. Portledge is 10-3-3.

Fay said he had a good feeling when he woke up this morning that he and his team could have a special performance. But he passed the credit to others.

“It felt great, but it’s not on me though,” he said. “The people setting me up there did their job and it just made me look good.”

Fay finished a cross from his twin brother, John, to give Stony Brook a 1-0 lead before halftime. He then created separation left of the 18-yard box and scored after a few fakes to give Stony Brook a 2-0 lead with five minutes left in the second half.

“I knew I had to get the shot off and eventually, I found the right space and I just hit it,” Fay said. “Right when it left my foot, I knew it was going in.”

Franklin Escobar scored for Portledge shortly after but Fay struck again, scoring from 15 yards out following a strong throw-in from Aiden Ruiz to secure the victory.

“Any time James has the ball in the box at his feet, you feel something special is going to happen,” Stony Brook coach Tim Beirne said. “It doesn’t always deliver, but most of the time it does.”

Fay said the team is entering “unfamiliar territory” in the NYSAIS tournament. But the Bears have been waiting for this moment for years and want to make the most of the opportunity.

“We’ve always said that’s our goal,” Beirne said. “As a program, we obviously want to win this game. But this game is the structure to be in the actual state playoff system. It means the world to have guys where this is their last chance to do that and to really break through and have that opportunity means the world.”