Christian Graziano's corner kicks set up two goals for Farmingdale in Long Island Class AAA boys soccer final
Farmingdale celebrates its victory in the Suffolk Class AAA championship boys soccer game against Lindenhurst on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 in Medford. Credit: Connor Lawless
This was uncharted turf out back of Patchogue-Medford High for Farmingdale and Lindenhurst.
The two boys soccer programs had never been in a Long Island championship game before.
But here they were Wednesday night, vying for the Class AAA title in what was also a Southeast Regional semifinal — first-time outright Nassau champ Farmingdale vs. first-time Suffolk champ Lindenhurst.
The first-time Long Island champ? The team now one step away from the final four in Middletown?
That would be Farmingdale. That would be because Christian Graziano set up two second-half goals with corner kicks, the first by Patrick Molite and the winner by Anthony Princi with 5:24 left.
So the Dalers edged Lindenhurst, 2-1.
“Everything is like first ever now for us,” Farmingdale coach Brian Weber said. “I can’t be more proud of this group of kids. The talk inside the bus before we walked onto the field was just — I wish I could throw on a jersey with you.
“I love this group. They fight for each other. We grind and grind and grind. Every single game out, we give the opponent 80 minutes of nonstop hustle and effort.”
This group moved to 14-3-3. The Dalers will face Section I champ Mamaroneck at noon Saturday at Byram Hills in Westchester in the Southeast Regional final.
“The job’s not done yet,” Princi said. “We still have another game ahead of us and we’ve got to keep moving forward.”
It was 1-1, and then came a series of corner kicks for Farmingdale.
“Eventually one of them has got to go in,” Lindenhurst coach Joe Riemma said.
Graziano sent the last one into the box from the right side. Princi headed it in for the win past a diving Dylan Prisco.
“[Graziano is] a very good corner kick taker,” Princi said. “He has very good set pieces.”
The game was scoreless at halftime. Then Graziano sent a corner kick into the box, also from the right side. Molite headed it — goal in the 59th minute.
“We work a lot on set pieces in practice,” Graziano said. “We always try to perfect that, and finally it paid off in this game. I’ve got to give credit to the players in the box fighting for that ball.”
Gianni Lombardo made it 1-1 with 12:35 remaining. But an impressive run for the Bulldogs was coming to an end.
“[We had] plenty of chances,” Riemma said after they finished 13-7, including 11-2 in their final 13 games. “Listen, our goal is always to be in Middletown at the end of it, to be the last team standing. But at the end of the day, you prepare, you work, and then it’s who executes better on that given day.”
