Ron Eden talking to his troops at halftime. (Michael Lewis Photo)

Brentwood High School boys soccer coach Ron Eden passed away over the weekend. He was 73. On Nov. 1, 2025, I posted this story about Ron on my Substack, View From the Front Row. It was titled North of Eden, and you will find out why. He was a beloved coach and person. In many ways, this story can be an obituary about this great man. RIP, Ron.

By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

BRENTWOOD, N.Y.- Ron Eden never thought he would be this position, moving closer to a storied and what many soccer observers thought would be an unbreakable record – most career victories by a Suffolk County boys head coach.

He always thought he would be Ray Perez’s right-hand man as an assistant coach for the Brentwood High School team, helping his best friend find ways to win games, county championships and New York State titles.

Three decades later, he is at is 481 wins and counting and within striking range of Bob Muir’s record of 509 victories during a historic 40-year tenure at Mattituck High School.

“The day I get to 510 is the day put my papers in,” he said during an interview before a 3-0 home win over Connetquot at Ray Perez Field on Oct. 7. “So that’s it. That’s God willing. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But I’m not too far off. I’m only 35 off. So, we have two good years, and then finish this year off the right way. It’s doable. Two years. That’s a personal goal for me.

“I’m actually more proud of the won-lost record. We’ve only had 67 losses in 30 years, 31 years. That’s like unheard of, and most of them are playoff losses. So, most of our teams go undefeated. But I’m really happy. I never thought I’d be here this all. I almost left to go for an assistant college job at one point, and then Ray died, and just changed the trajectory.”

During his three decades running the program, Eden has forged a 481-67-33 record, second best. Combined with his record as an assistant coach, Eden has a 663-150-56 mark.

Eden and Perez were best friends for years, working together from 1981 until the latter’s death at the age of 48 in 1995.

Asked what breaking he record would mean to him, Eden replied, “Just means I’m old.”

Then he got serious.

“I’m a lucky guy in a school that the kids have as much passion about the sport as I do,” he said. “I have good players. There’s a great youth program here. So, I’m a benefactor of all those things. I think a lot of guys would have this record with this program. When Ray died, I made a promise at his funeral. I wouldn’t let the program die and wouldn’t let it be a substandard and the kids would always be dressed the right way and have everything.

“We do a lot of fundraising to get that done. The kids want to be here. We keep 40 kids. You obviously can’t play 40 kids, but we keep them just to keep them out of trouble. Last year, five guys started at college that didn’t even play a minute. We should have two full teams. It’s crazy the amount of talent and I caught a lot of kids.”

On Senior Day, a 3-0 home win over Connetquot on Oct. 7, Eden made sure all 22 seniors of his 40-man roster played.

Ray Perez (right) talking to a player in 1989. (Michael Lewis Photo)

Remembering Ray

Brentwood graduate Ralph Perez, Ray’s younger brother, gave Eden a much credit to continue Brentwood’s legacy.

“Ronnie has always kept Ray’s spirit and name around and alive,” he said. “I think the one thing that Ronnie has been able to do is bring these kids together and keep them focused and keep them going in the right direction.”

Saturday, Nov. 1 is the 30th anniversary of Ray Perez’s death.

The Brentwood  soccer stadium is named after Ray Perez. (Michael Lewis Photo)

Eden still mourns his friend after all these years.

“I still can’t even talk about it,” Eden said, while tearing up. “I keep his memory alive. We got a scholarship in his name. We’ve been doing since he died. The field is named after him. The last year before he died, before I got hurt, we went to the [1994] World Cup. We went to all the games. Went to the final. The semifinal was God’s way of giving us something really special together. I’m tight with his family, his mother, his sons and his daughters, we all still really connect.

“He’s missed. The kids don’t understand because they don’t know him, but I try to keep it alive, but they don’t understand how their lives might have been so much different with him here, because he was a guidance counselor. He was really in tune to what they were doing in school, and he probably would have been a principal at some point.”

Eden said that Perez started the process before his death.

“He was a special guy, special in my heart.”

A scholarship awarded in Perez’s name every year.

“When it comes down to picking a scholarship, they all want to win that,” Eden said. “We keep it alive. They’ve never seen him. They’ve never met him … but they know who he was, and know that they know who the field is named after, that’s the bottom line.”

Brentwood in a pregame huddle (Photo by Michael Lewis)

It’s not just about winning

Asked what he has learned from losing, Eden replied, “I try to use that as a learning experience to see where we are, the mistakes that we make, because not everybody can punish us the way they can. That’s all you can do. Losing is losing. The way we lost last year was horrible last four minutes of the game on one shot, one goal. Just that’s I’ve been in those games as a player. I’ve been in them as a coach. They’re horrible to play.”

Eden then brought up his time with the New York Apollo, which captured the 1978 American  Soccer League championship.

“We were 19 and something,” he said. “With the same exact team the following year, we were 5-19. We lost 16 games 1-0. We were dominating teams. We just couldn’t put the ball in the net. And that’s football. It’s taking your chances at every level. We hope to do that here.

“Our goal is, as a coaching staff, is to try to get the kids into college. Even if they don’t go to college, just to make sure they’re good human beings and good fathers. Takes a lot of commitment to be here, and a lot of guys have to work. It’s just a different demographic than a lot of schools. It’s a tough community to grow up in.”

On Oct. 7, Brentwood held its Senior Day on its final regular season home game as 20 senior players were honored from the squad’s 40-man roster. Behind senior forward Diego Argueta’s brace and senior forward Jessy Pacheco’s goal and two assists, the Spartans walked off the field with a 3-0 triumph over Connetquot, avenging last year’s county semifinal playoff elimination.

Eden said that winning wasn’t the most gratifying part of his job.

“You know what? It is being part of their lives afterwards, going to their weddings,” he said. “I’m still involved with a lot of kids lives. They’re grown. They’re 50 years old. They’re detectives. They’re firemen. They’re all kinds of things. They come back on alumni day. I see all these guys. They’re dragging the kids behind them. They’re passionate about the sport with their kids. It’s a great community that gets short changed with a lot of negative stuff.

“The  soccer program has always been a spot of positivity for the school. So I’m really proud about that, and I’m proud about where these guys go and where they end up. The education is what they wouldn’t have had. It’s harder and harder to do that. Now, I don’t care where they go. I told I don’t care where you go to school. If that’s not for you get a trade. Just do it.”

Ron Eden talking to his players. (Michael Lewis Photo)

The object of desire

The immediate and ultimate goal is the states (semifinals and final), which again will be hosted by Middletown High School in Middletown, N.Y. on Nov. 15-16.

“Our goal is always the state championship,” Eden said. “We don’t look at the county. We look at the county as a way to get to the Long Island [championship], to get to the states. So kids always want to win the state championship. There’s a couple of kids on this team that were on the last state championship two years ago, so they know what it feels like. And they know what it feels like to get knocked down in the semifinal last year. So, they’re pretty focused. We stay healthy, that’s the key. We play four games a week.”

Argueta knows something about winning state championships. In the 2023 final, a 2-1 victory over Baldwinsville, as a sophomore, he assisted on Josue Granados’ first-half score and tallied the winning goal in the second half.

“That feeling, I haven’t relived it,” he said. “I want to relive it, especially with my teammates. Now it’s my senior year. It’s my time. So, it’s what we’re all thinking.”

He isn’t the only one with that on his mind.

“I’ve been growing up with these boys,” senior goalkeeper Jessie Perez said. “I’ve known these boys since I was, like, five years old, four years old. We’ve always been on the same team. We have always been about friends, always been in the community. So to win in our senior year with a ring would be very special to everyone.”

Eden has guided the Spartans to four state championships. The most recent one game during an amazing 22-0-0 campaign in 2023, capturing the state’s first Class AAA crown. He also was named the United  Soccer Coaches national coach of the year.

When he received the award at the coaches convention in January 2024, Eden wrote a thank you note on social media.

“To the Brentwood Boys Soccer family, it takes an army of people and players doing their jobs that helped me win this prestigious award,” he wrote. “I want to thank all my players past and present for their amazing skill but more important their friendship. I want to thank all the coaches – club, middle school, JV and varsity past and present as I share this award with you. I want to thank all the parents who sacrificed to help their sons along the way. Without that we have nothing. I would like to thank the fans you are the best and you inspire the players to play harder. I would like to thank the school and administrators who helped and hired me every year along the way. Last but not least my family who have sacrificed so much to let me do what I truly love, especially my loving wife Jeanette. In closing Ray Perez and Mr. Lown, this is for you for believing in me.”

Saying uncle

It must run in the family. His uncle, His uncle, former North Babylon H.S. head coach John Eden, earned the award in 1988. John Eden coached North Babylon for 27 years (1963-1989), registering a 366-91-44 career mark.

“I’m pretty goal-oriented, so I always used his records and his success as a challenge to try to reach there,” Eden was quoted by Newsday two years ago. “He’s been an inspiration, although he never knew he was an inspiration.”

Through Friday, Oct. 31, Brentwood is 17-0-1. The Spartans’ only “blemish” came in a 2-2 draw with Commack on Sept. 18. The Spartans are seeded No. 1 in the Class AAA playoffs after blanking No. 4 Bay Shore in the semifinals, 1-0. Ray Sanchez collected the lone goal of the encounter in the opening half and goalkeeper Jessie Perez secured his 13th shutout of the season.

“Clean sheets are very special to me,” Jessie Perez said on Oct. 7. “I take pride in my me and my defense and take pride in having a clean sheet.”

He’ll have another opportunity to add one to his total when Brentwood meets second-seeded Commack (16-1-1), 2-1 winners over No. 3 Sachem East on Oct. 31, for the county title at Islip High School on Monday at 7 p.m.

Goalkeeper Jessie Perez: “He’s just trying to help us out, trying to motivate us, what do we need to do better. If we’re rushing a lot, he tells us to calm down, and we listen. He motivates us to win.” (Michael Lewis Photo)

Some tough love, but they love him

When Eden talks to his team, he speaks to them as adults. He can be demanding and can point out mistakes in an instant. He also is quick with his praise.

During an interview with this writer, Eden interrupted for a few seconds to give his team some direction during pregame warm-ups.

“Guys, don’t walk to the ball,” he said.

Then Eden continued the interview.

His players respect him for being direct.

“Tough love,” Pacheco said. “I mean, I’ve lived 15 years of playing football, and I’ve never had a coach like someone like that. He’s so passionate. He loves us. It’s tough love.”

“Honestly, coach Eden is a one-of-a-kind man to me, almost like a father figure in a way,” Argueta said. “It’s more than just a coach to me. A grandfather to me. He just helps me through so much stuff.”

Added Jessie Perez: “He’s just trying to help us out, trying to motivate us, what do we need to do better. If we’re rushing a lot, he tells us to calm down, and we listen. He motivates us to win.”

So far, so very good this season.

One impressive resume

Eden’s  soccer resume seemingly goes on forever. His highlights include being a member of the New York Apollo’s 1978 American  Soccer League championship team in 1978 and playing the backline for New York United in 1981. He forged a reputation as a top-flight defender for clubs in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, Hellenic-American Sports League, the Northeastern Super Soccer League and Long Island Soccer Football League. During a 12-year span, the 5-10, 175-lb. Eden played for Inter Giuliana, Greek Americans, Doxa, Inwood, GH Metros, Blue Star, Lynbrook, Glen Cove. He also directed teams in the Long Island Junior Soccer League.

It should come as no surprise that he also has been inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame, Brentwood Hall of Fame and Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame.

“Sometimes I pinch myself because here’s a guy that played football, baseball, wrestling, and I started playing soccer in seventh grade,” Eden said. “Then all of a sudden, I found a passion for it and just kept working hard and working hard.”

He earned a tryout with the Seattle Sounders, trained with the North American Soccer League) team for three weeks, but was not signed.

Eden joined the Apollo, which played its game at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and played with the KLM airline soccer team. He discovered a whole new world.

“I traveled everywhere, went on tour with them, down to South America and Central America,” he said. “I played in about 15 international games. We played China. We played the a lot of teams, Peru, Colombia, down in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras. With KLM, we went over [to Europe] and we played all the teams that are getting ready for the Olympics.”

Overcoming some obstacles

Over the years, Eden has endured several health problems.

In December 1994, he was hospitalized with a severe spinal injury. Eden, a plumber and carpenter, underwent two operations and was paralyzed for a while. After rehab he was able to walk again. A special testimonial game was held in Eden’s honor in 1995 as the soccer community came out and several thousand dollars were raised.

“People who know Ron will appreciate his dedication, competitiveness and his giving spirit,” Ray Perez told this writer then. “We know if there is one person who can recover from such a serious injury, it is Ron.”

He did and returned to coaching.

“I’m to the point where there is not too much I can’t do,” Eden said in 1995. “I’m in a lot of pain from nerve damage.”

Eden has had problems with his back recently, but Brentwood’s success keeps him going.

Still going

The number that is at the end of the coaching rainbow is 510, one past Muir’s coaching record.

Ralph Perez, who was an assistant coach of the 1990 U.S. national team that qualified for its first World Cup in 40 years, likes to ask Eden about his coaching desires and goals.

He said the conversation has gone like this

Perez: “How much more do you want to coach?

Eden: “I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking about man. I got a good team coming back, I got a good team coming back, I got a good team coming back.”

Perez: “Ronnie, you’re a broken record, bro. You get drawn back all the time because you’ve got talent coming all the time.”

Eden: “Because I know I got this freshman kid is unbelievable. This team is going to be better than last year.”

Yeah, God willing, Ron Eden will be back and will be aiming for one special record.