Girls soccer coach had 200-plus wins, and multiple championships during legendary career
Steve Lorincz was the varsity girls’ soccer coach at Sachem for 14 years and led the Flaming Arrows to two state championships. The 2017 Sachem Athletic Hall of Fame inductee passed away this week. He was 68.
From 1983 through 1996, Sachem girls’ soccer was nearly unbeatable. Aside from state titles in 1987 and 1993, the Flaming Arrows won four Long Island and four Suffolk County crowns in 1987, 1988, 1993 and 1995. His teams won eight league titles and were ranked in the top 10 in New York 11 times, as well as four times in the national top 20. Sachem’s 1987 team was its finest with a 25-0 record.
Lorincz was 202-44-2 as a varsity coach. He also coached JV girls’ soccer, freshmen boys’ soccer and freshmen and middle school softball at various times. A three-time New York State Coach of the Year and four-time Suffolk County Coach of the Year, Lorincz was also a two-time recipient of NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors.
Among Lorincz’s top players was Karen Ferguson-Dayes, the women’s soccer coach at Louisville who was a three-time All-American at the University of Connecticut and played for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. She was heartbroken to learn of his passing.
“Mr. Lorincz was a wonderful man, coach and teacher at Sachem High School, and I am honored to have had the privilege to play for him,” said Ferguson-Dayes. “I have very fond memories of my time at Sachem and Mr. Lorincz was at the center of many of those happy times! I am saddened by his passing and will keep his family in my thoughts and prayers.”
Christine Bravy, Sachem’s all-time leading scorer, will always remember when Lorincz informed her about her induction to Sachem’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and the memories they endured on the soccer field behind 212 Smith Road more than 30 years ago.
“Coach Lorincz was such a sweet man who always had a big smile,” she said. “He led us to many victories and thoroughly enjoyed coaching. He was an important part of my High School years and he will never be forgotten.”
During his induction to Sachem’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017 he requested that his capsule read, “Playing for Coach Lorincz meant fun, family, friendships and playing hard all the time.”
Steve was the freshman boys’ soccer coach before moving on to the girls’ program. He was Don Woolley’s assistant before moving up to the girls’ varsity when Don retired.
When starting the girls’ varsity soccer program, Sachem Athletic Director Tom Sabatelle, also a Hall of Famer, asked Woolley to start the program for one year and get him an assistant coach to take over.
“We interviewed a number of people and selected Steve,” said Sabatelle. “He learned a lot from Don especially what was to be expected from players at the varsity level. He had a great way with kids and was an excellent skills teacher.”
Lorincz and his family escaped the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He was only 5 at the time but remembered the experience vividly.
“His sense of justice and being a proud American had much to do with this childhood experience,” said fellow Sachem soccer coaching legend and Sachem Athletic Hall of Famer Frank Schmidt.
A New Jersey native, Lorincz was a two-sport athlete at South River High School and Tusculum University in Tennessee. He played soccer and pitched for the baseball team.
In addition to his success on the soccer field he was a highly respected and popular criminal justice teacher at Sachem North.
“His course was probably one of the most popular due to his teaching style,” said Schmidt.
He initiated the effort to have students from Sachem’s technology department build an actual courtroom in his classroom with a judge’s bench and jury box. He volunteered and ran a criminal justice club after school to allow his students to compete in county competitions.
Frank Tassielli, a guidance counselor at Sachem High, said Lorincz was one of the greats when it came to Sachem teachers.
“He carried the tradition of greatness that was set before him,” he said.
Added Sabatelle, “He loved the kids, worked hard at his craft, and got results. He will be missed. He, as much as anybody, helped make our athletic program great.”
Lorincz is the fourth Sachem Athletic Hall of Famer to die in the last six months following the passing of Woolley last fall, Matt “Dezy” DiStefano in January and Mark Graebe in February.
Information about services have not yet been released publicly.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro