John Pagano Becomes Winningest Boys’ Soccer Coach

John Pagano became the winningest varsity boys’ soccer coach ever when the Blue Devils topped Centereach, 3-1 on Tuesday to give the veteran sideline mentor his 205th career win.

Now in his 23rd season, Pagano, a Huntington High School English teacher, passed retired coach George Hiscox, who won 204 games between 1974 and 1996.

“I am very proud of the way the program has turned around and prospered in my time here,” Pagano said. “We have made the playoffs in 16 out of 22 years and made our first county final appearance in 57 seasons.”

Against Centereach, Carlos Gutierrez scored two goals to lead the Blue Devils. Gutierrez now has nine goals, the most in Suffolk this fall. Bryan Lizama also scored in the game. Jerson Contreras and Jayden Schneider both added assists. Goalie Dylan Hayden made six saves.

The victory improved Huntington’s record to 6-1-1 through the first eight games of the season, but the win was especially sweet for Pagano.

“I’m very appreciative and grateful for both Coach Jason Suarez and Jose Alfaro and their commitment to this program over the years,” Pagano said. “They have been invaluable and continue to be so.”

Pagano has been a Huntington English teacher since September 2000. A graduate of Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from SUNY Cortland and SUNY Stony Brook, respectively. He has taught Regents English on all four high school grade levels as well as 11 Honors English, Mystery Literature, Sports Literature, Journalism and Film & Short Story.

Pagano has been the Blue Devil varsity head coach since 2002. He guided the program to its first outright league championship in 27 years in 2017. He has also spearheaded fundraising drives to provide needy African communities with soccer balls and has raised money for needy families during the holidays.

“One of the things I am most proud of is the amount of alumni that come back to visit us during training week at the end of August, as well as all of our home games and even some away games,” Pagano said. “We have preached ‘family’ for years and the idea that they come back to support us in numbers makes me feel that we are doing something right.”