Tuesday, November 10, 2026
As he raked leaves in his backyard on Sunday, Farmingdale boys soccer coach Brian Weber gained some valuable perspective.
His team had done what had never been done in school history — first winning an outright county title, followed by a Long Island championship. Their quest for another first — a state championship — ended with a 2-1 loss to Mamaroneck in the Class AAA Southeast Regional Final last Saturday.
“It took a little while today in the backyard to just kind of remember things that I had forgotten for a half a second because that next thing was coming up on my plate,” Weber said. “It was an intense time for us in a short amount of time, but it was just the coolest high for the kids to be on and to just watch them all just loving doing that together, coming together as a family.”
As he took a brief respite from the piling leaves, Weber scoured social media, where many of the seniors on his senior-laden team posted heartfelt messages about the magical journey they just embarked on.
“For the seniors to go out the way that they did and to hear and read what they were writing about, how they felt, that they couldn't have asked for anything more from the brothers that they’ve made this year and will always have, and the coaches and the community, to just read and hear all that, there’s nothing better than that,” Weber said.
It was a whirlwind for the Dalers (14-4-3), from one emotional playoff win to the next, all of it happening in rapid succession. There was no time to take a breath, to reflect in the midst of it all.
“What we didn’t think was possible, slowly but surely became, maybe it's possible kind of thing as the first and the second round, and then, oh gosh, the third round,” Weber said. “And then you win the Long Island championship, and you just feel like you’re on top of the mountain and you’re ready to go take another bus ride.”
After a thrilling penalty kick shootout win over Oceanside to win a first outright Nassau Class AAA title, the Dalers took on a Cinderella Lindenhurst side in the Long Island championship game.
And in that game Nov. 4 in Patchogue, won by Farmingdale 2-1, two of the team’s most influential seniors came up huge.
Christian Graziano, the engine in the middle of the field, picked up a pair of assists on perfectly served corner kicks — the first to Patrick Molite to open the scoring in the 59th minute and the second to Anthony Princi for the match winner with 5:24 remaining.
“I couldn't be more proud of those two,” Weber said of Graziano and Princi. “They were leaders and captains for reasons, and through this entire stretch and run, they showed all the reasons why.”
