Four of the top six teams in the nj.com statewide Top 20 will be playing in Monday’s NJSIAA Non-Public, North A semifinals which is simply a confirmation of the fact that particular bracket comprises by far the strongest state section in the state.
No. 1 ranked St. Benedict’s (16-0-1) which interestingly enough – despite also being ranked No. 1 in national polls - lines up as the fourth seed in Non-Public, North A. The ultra-talented Gray Bees will visit third-ranked and top-seeded Delbarton (19-1-1) at 2 p.m., Monday (Nov. 9), while a half hour earlier it will be third-seeded and fifth-ranked Seton Hall Prep (13-6) and sixth-ranked and second-seeded Bergen Catholic (16-1-2) in a 1:30 kickoff at the Crusaders’ pitch in Oradell.
The Pirates, who played now 3-time defending champion St. Benedict’s to a 1-0 final in the 2026 ECT final, are led by their longtime head coach Marty Berman who will enter Monday’s contest just eight wins shy of 600 for his illustrious coaching career.
The Non-Public A and Non-Public B state sectional finals are both scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12. A strong title contender in Non-Public, North B remains eighth-ranked and second-seeded Montclair Kimberley Academy (10-5-2), the defending overall Non-Public B state champion which must first be able to get past longtime nemesis Gill St. Bernard’s, the third seed in North B, as the two longtime prep rivals meet 2 p.m., Monday, at the Cougars’ Van Brunt Field.
Gill (12-7-2) owns a recent 3-2 overtime victory vs. MKA in the state prep B-Division Tournament final in Montclair. It may not be what would be considered a vintage Gill side; however, they are still a very solid team and always a threat to come up big come tournament time.
Looking at a few of the Essex County public school soccer teams with state title hopes, No. 4 ranked West Orange (18-2), which has split two meetings with SHP this fall, including being edged by the Pirates, 3-2, in the Essex County Tournament semifinals, is a strong favorite to repeat as Group 4 state champions.
Coach Doug Nevins’ Mountaineers are a deep and talented squad which is scheduled to host eighth-seeded Bloomfield, 4 p.m. Saturday, in a North 1, Group 4 state sectional quarterfinal.
Montclair, the 10th seed in N1G4, will be an underdog on the road at second-seeded Morristown, 2 p.m., Saturday, in another quarterfinal; however veteran coach Toure’ Weaver’s Mounties are still dangerous coming off a strenuous regular season slate in the ultra-tough Super Essex Conference-American Division where St. Benedict’s, West Orange, SHP and MKA are all on the schedule.
Over in North 2, Group 4, ninth-seeded Columbia faces a tough task at top-seeded Elizabeth, 2 p.m, Saturday, and seventh-seeded Irvington travels to meet second-seeded Scotch Plains at noon.
