Aron Vera, Lenny Lemus help Brentwood boys soccer clinch top seed in Suffolk Class AAA playoffs
Brentwood's Lenny Lemus watches his goal land in a Suffolk League I soccer game against Patchogue Medford on Monday in Brentwood. Credit: Connor Lawless
This year was never going to be like the others for Brentwood’s boys soccer team.
The program was struck by tragedy in July when legendary coach Ron Eden died suddenly, having led the soccer team to 11 county championships, 10 Long Island championships and four state championships since 1996.
While things will never quite be the same, there are remnants of what Eden represented flying around Brentwood’s Ray Perez Field. Family. Toughness. Winning.
It’s been a challenging three months for Brentwood’s soccer community after losing legendary coach Ron Eden this summer to prostate cancer.
— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) October 20, 2026
Today, his team, now 14-1-1, clinched the top seed of Suffolk’s Class AAA playoffs with a 2-0 win over Patchogue-Medford ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QTqQb6fAzO
Senior captain Oscar Alvarenga, the only returning starter from the 2025 county finalist team, knew what Eden would have thought after Brentwood clinched the top seed of the Suffolk Class AAA playoffs Monday.
“I think for coach Eden, the No. 1 seed and 14 wins is not a privilege but an obligation,” Alvarenga said. “Because he always drives us to be the best versions of ourselves.
"There will never be anything like him — he’s just one of the greatest to ever do it — and I can’t thank him enough for showing Brentwood and the community how to play through heart and grit and passion.”
The road to a Suffolk title runs through Brentwood after the Spartans hosted and defeated Patchogue-Medford, 2-0, Monday in Suffolk’s League I.
“Since day one, we were on a mission; we’re doing this for Coach,” Brentwood interim coach Victor Farfan said. “There was a lot of pressure at the beginning … now, we are playing every match, one game at a time, and bringing Coach to the table because this is for him.”
Alvarenga helped open the scoring with a lofted pass to Lenny Lemus, who cut inside and played the ball across the box to Jason Granados. The senior laid the ball off for a one-touch strike from Aron Vera, who tucked his shot into the right side of the net for a goal in the 19th minute, personifying the off-ball chemistry Brentwood (14-1-1) so often displays.
Highlights from Brentwood v Pat-Med:
— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) October 20, 2026
- Aron Vera opens the scoring for Brentwood in the 19th minute.
- Absurd save by Pat-Med’s Aaron Mendoza
- Terrific slide tackle by Pat-Med’s Alexis Gomez Hernandez
- Lenny Lemus adds the dagger with this lovely shot pic.twitter.com/q7NNUBPq7A
“The most important thing is that we work as a team, every single game,” Vera said.
Patchogue-Medford (10-5-1) wasn’t without its chances, nearly scoring minutes into the game, but finishing eluded the Red Raiders.
“I don’t think we showed up with a lot of energy today,” Patchogue-Medford coach Tim Trava said. “They seemed like a different team in the second half … but we just couldn’t score.”
Lemus added the dagger off a pass from Vera in the 75th minute, lofting a shot from the right side of the box to the left side of the goal. And with that, Brentwood booked a home playoff game against an undetermined team as it looks to return to the county final after last year’s 2-1 loss to Commack.
“We all know how it feels to lose a game, and it hurts,” Alvarenga said. “We don’t want to ever feel that feeling again.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
