HOMETOWN SPORTS · BABYLON

Long Island champions. Babylon beat undefeated Carle Place 2–1 on Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale to win the Long Island Class B boys soccer title, Newsday reported. Senior captain Christian Pena scored both goals, in the 22nd minute off an assist from Danny Murphy and in the 66th off a through ball from Richard Sorto. Carle Place answered 40 seconds after the second goal on a header by Evan Mehalakes. Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Fifield made four saves. The Panthers (14–4) play next in the Southeast Regional final on Saturday at Harborfields High School, against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Dover and Briarcliff.

It was the team’s second title in four days. Dennis McGovern has coached Babylon boys soccer to county titles before. What he noticed about this one was where his team started.

“This is our seventh county title now, but we’ve usually been the number one seed,” McGovern told the Herald after Friday’s final. “So, yeah, it was a little different being the three seed this time, but it still feels great.”

Babylon came into the Suffolk Class B final at Harborfields High School at 12–4, against top-seeded Southampton. The Panthers won 2–1.

Southampton had more of the play in the first half, the Herald reported. Then, with 14:08 left before halftime, the ball bounced around the Southampton box and senior captain Danny Murphy put it away, assisted by senior Carter Palmieri. “It meant a lot to score the first goal,” Murphy said. With 13:22 to play, junior Brendan McCarthy took the ball after a Southampton turnover, went around the goalkeeper and tapped it into an open net. Southampton scored with six seconds left, too late to matter. Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Fifield made a pair of key saves.

McGovern said the team had studied its first meeting with Southampton: “We learned from the first meeting where to attack them from the outside. They’re very strong up the middle.” He also pointed to his roster: “We have a lot of good young players.”

McCarthy put it in a player’s terms. “We’ve built a dynasty here,” he said, “but this one feels a little bit sweeter.”

The rest of the Town’s semifinalists. Last week we previewed two Thursday semifinals. The Section XI bracket shows how they ended. West Babylon, in its first semifinal since 1999 according to Newsday, saw its season end at top-seeded Huntington. Amityville reached the Class A final, where Elwood-John Glenn won the title. And the bracket lists Lindenhurst, the No. 5 seed, as the Suffolk Class AAA champion after Sunday’s final against Commack. We have not yet seen a game report or a score.

Sources: Herald Community Newspapers, “Babylon tops Southampton for county championship,” Nov. 2, 2026 · Newsday, “Christian Pena’s two goals help Babylon boys soccer capture Long Island Class B crown,” Nov. 3, 2026 · Section XI boys soccer bracket

Stock photo, not Babylon's field or team. Photo by Andrew Patrick Photo on Pexels.