Danny Murphy, Brenden McCarthy lead Babylon boys soccer to 7th straight Suffolk Class B title
Daniel Murphy of Babylon celebrates, left, with his team after scoring a goal in the Suffolk Class B boys soccer final on Oct. 30, 2026 at Harborfields High School. Credit: Joe Orovitz
In Suffolk Class B, the decade of the 2020s has known only one boys soccer champion. That is not changing anytime soon.
Third-seeded Babylon defeated top-seeded Southampton, 2-1, in the finals of the Suffolk Class B tournament at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn on Friday night. The victory marked the Panthers’ seventh consecutive county title — a streak that started in the spring of 2021.
Southampton (13-5) dominated possession for most of the first 25 minutes, but in the 26th, a solid scoring opportunity finally presented itself for Babylon, and senior forward Danny Murphy was ready. Senior midfielder Carter Palmieri lofted a ball into the box that Mariners junior midfielder Brian Ortiz blocked. Murphy was waiting right there for the ricochet and buried it in the back of the net to give the Panthers a lead they never relinquished.
“Getting the first goal is always crucial,” Murphy said. “It allowed us to express ourselves more. Once we get ahead, it takes the stress off and allows us to play more of our game. Nobody wants to be the group who the streak snapped on, so that’s always the biggest motivation, and it’s a testament to what this program’s all about.”
In the 67th minute, junior midfielder Brenden McCarthy stole the ball from the goalkeeper and slipped it past him for the goal to make the score 2-0. Junior forward Ulisses Lopez Silva scored off an assist from senior midfielder James Garvin with 6.3 seconds left for Southampton.
“That felt great; I’ve envisioned it for the whole season,” McCarthy said. “To do it in a game like this makes it mean that much more. I finally had my moment, and I’m just blessed. This group’s special, and we can go far.”
Before the season began, Section XI's Class B was awarded an at-large bid to the state tournament. By becoming the section's runner-up, Southampton earned the at-large bid and will advance to the state tournament, despite the loss.
This year, the at-large bid rule allows the section champion (in this case, Babylon) to choose whichever path it wants to take in the state tournament. The Panthers had the choice of facing either the currently undetermined Section IV champion in a state subregional contest, or playing the Nassau champion in the Long Island Class B championship, which is also a state subregional.
Babylon coach Dennis McGovern told Newsday after Friday’s game that they will choose to play in the Long Island championship and face Carle Place at Mitchel Field in Uniondale at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Southampton will face the Section IV champion on Wednesday at Windsor Central High School.
“We hope this wakes us up and sharpens our edge, a little bit,” Southampton coach David Riley said. “We see this as a potential state final, so we’re definitely motivated.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
