Lucas Mejia's hat trick, John Guarderas' two goals lift Locust Valley boys soccer to Nassau Class A title
Lucas Mejia of Locust Valley after defeating Plainedge during the Nassau Class AAA boys soccer championship game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Farmingdale. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
Every game now could be Joe Lee’s last. But this was a particularly special game, a chance for these Locust Valley boys soccer players to make their coach’s final season a championship season.
The second-seeded Falcons were facing No. 4 Plainedge for the Nassau Class A title Saturday at Farmingdale State.
When it was over, after Lucas Mejia scored the first three goals and John Guarderas delivered the final two to send Locust Valley to a 5-0 win, Lee could call himself a county champion coach again in his 23rd season guiding the Falcons.
“It means the world to me,” said Lee, also a county champion coach in 2021. “The season was a success with whatever happened today. But these guys, all they kept telling me this week is ‘We’re going to do this for you, Coach.’
“And I kept telling them how much it was about them. And they’re just like, ‘No, it’s about us.’ … I told them [Friday] in practice, ‘When we win this, the next day, you’re going to be a changed person. It changes everything. You’ve reached a goal that you’ve set for years, and it’s going to help you for the rest of your life.”
Now Lee, who’s stepping down for more family time, and his 14-2 team will chase another title — Long Island Class A champion. Locust Valley will face Glenn at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale.
It doesn’t hurt that the Falcons have Mejia, a 23-goal scorer, on their side.
“It is priceless,” Lee said, “because you know at any time he can take over and put the ball in the back of the net.”
Mejia put the ball in the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 25th minute. It was 1-0 at halftime.
Then Mejia scored with his left foot in the 62nd minute and his right foot in the 64th — hat trick.
“We work so hard,” Mejia said. “… I live and breathe the sport. This team, we’re like family. So it meant everything to me to win. They’re my brothers.”
Plainedge, meanwhile, finished its impressive run at 10-4-4.
“It was a very successful year,” coach Jason Cinelli said. “We didn’t know what our season was going to be, what the outlook was. We were so young. We were injured. A lot of guys couldn’t play because of MLS [NEXT]. What these guys accomplished was spectacular.”
