Pat-Med wins 10 amid injuries

Coach Tim Trava and Patchogue-Medford hope reaching the Suffolk Class AAA boys soccer playoffs is just the first step of a prolonged season.

The Raiders, spearheaded by 21 seniors, made a push for their first regular-season league title since 1994 before settling for third place in League I with a record of 10-5-1. Brentwood finished first and Sachem East runner-up. Brentwood defeated Pat-Med twice.

“We’ve played great team soccer all year,” Trava said. “We’ve battled through some adversity with injuries like we’ve never seen before. We’ve used four goalies. A bunch of other kids got banged up. We can’t make excuses, though; it’s part of the game and the kids battled through it.”

Pat-Med was the only team to defeat powerhouse Commack in 2025 and went into the playoffs on that high note before dropping a controversial 1-0 match against Bay Shore, who scored with three seconds remaining in OT after the Raiders had the potential winning goal disallowed.

That’s old news, Trava said, and this year’s postseason journey begins with a matchup against third-seeded Walt Whitman. Pat-Med is the No. 6 seed in the tournament.

Third-year starting keeper Andy Hernandez, who Trava described as the team’s “rock,” saw his senior campaign cut short in September after only a handful of matches. He was injured during a clean sheet in his final start—a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Sachem North on the 14th, courtesy of Johnny Flanagan’s goal off an assist from Bora Ersoz.

Backup-turned-starter Aaron Mendoza was between the pipes three days later and posted a clean sheet against Bay Shore, with Jonathan Velasquez providing the offensive heroics with 10 minutes remaining in regulation off a feed from Ifeanyi Okonkwo. Mendoza recently returned, but also missed a chunk of time as Daniel Ramos and JC Munoz were pressed into action.

“We’re pretty healthy going into the playoffs,” Trava said.

Pat-Med enjoyed a five-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 28 through Oct. 12, its longest such stretch of the year. It registered four victories as well as a draw against Central Islip, putting it in position to make a run for the league top spot.

Anchoring the defense has been senior captain Alexis Gomez, who controls the center along with Flanagan. “Alexis has been so solid,” Trava said. “He’s a lockdown defender and also has three goals and five assists.”

Velasquez earned All-League honors last fall, scoring 11 goals with five assists. He scored in each of the first four games this year, including a hat trick against Riverhead, which was a sign of things to come. Entering the playoffs, he led AAA and ranked fifth in Suffolk in goals with 17.

“Teams know Jonathan and have tried to lock him down, but despite that he’s got 17 goals,” Trava said. “It’s impressive.”

CJ Cowell has seven goals and four others have three apiece. The Raiders scored 45 times during the regular season. Senior captain Jeremy Galvez has led the way at midfield.