There Could Be Repeat Final 4
In 52nd ECT Soccer Semifinals

The strong possibility of a repeat of the same Final 4 teams from last year’s Essex County Soccer Tournament remains as the 52nd edition will move into the quarterfinals on Tuesday (Oct. 20) at the higher seed.

No. 1 seed St. Benedict’s (11-0-1), 2-West Orange (15-1), 3-Seton Hall Prep (8-5) and 4-Montclair Kimberley Academy (6-3-2) remain on track to make that favored semifinal doubleheader happen, which will be played Saturday, Oct. 24, at West Orange’s soccer pitch preceding the 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 28, championship match at Caldwell's Bonnel Field.

The Gray Bees, ranked No. 1 in the state, remain a prohibitive favorite to win a third straight ECT title and will be the leading candidate to win a second straight Non-Public A state crown. 

West Orange, the defending Group 4 state champions, is enjoying another banner season with one of the state’s top defenses, and the Mountaineers hope to return to the ECT final.

SHP, which will once again be part of a very tough Non-Public, North A bracket along with St. Benedict’s Bergen Catholic, Delbarton and others, plays a strong schedule in and out of the Super Essex Conferenced and boasts one of the state’s top goalkeepers in Cornell University commit Liam Collins.

MKA, the defending Non-Public B state champ, is another team that takes on a strenuous slate of foes and veteran coach Rob Leather’s Cougars will be a solid favorite to repeat as a state champ.

Doug Nevins, the longtime coach at West Orange and keen observer of the SEC scene, analyzed the top contenders in the ECT and also looking ahead to the states where defending Group 1 champ Glen Ridge (5-5) remains another team to watch as the No. 5 seed in a strong ECT field.    

“St. Benedict’s is at such a high level and they are certainly one of those teams that you can play great against and still lose,” said the veteran Mountaineers head mentor. “I thought we had an even first half with them in our match this season (1-0 St. Benedict’s victory), and then they were the better team after that.

“It’s not fun playing the best team in the country, and it is both challenging and frustrating as your team tries to execute things you normally do.

“Their pace and ability level is just different, and the drop-off after playing them can be a massive difference.

“With that being said, we have really good teams in our county. We’re hoping that our schedule in and out of the SEC will help get us ready to make another deep run in Group 4 and that should be the same story for MKA (in Non-Public B) and Glen Ridge (in Group 1).

“MKA, with Gustavo Rosen, Solomon Lucas and CJ Deke have some great attackers, Max Fleischer is a fantastic player at Glen Ridge and they can really defend, which is going to make them really tough teams to beat in their state tournaments, and while Seton Hall Prep has a number of great teams in their section (Non-Public, North A), they do have an incredible goalie (Cornell University-bound senior Liam Collins) who teams have to deal with.”

St. Benedict’s, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation, is led by the dynamic senior striker Amadou Hann, who entered recent action with 9 goals and 2 assists. Juniors Frank Pa and Kenneth Carillo are among the other standouts for the Gray Bees.

West Orange is a deep and experienced team with seniors to watch including   attacking midfielder Darius Millington, forward Yenke Suarez and 3-year starting goalkeeper Agustin Arrieta, while the talent-rich junior class is led by midfielders Marcus Williams and Vargas Espino and center back Chase Winds.

SHP has a solid midfield to help control play with juniors Finnegan Salamone and Giovanni Carnemolla while Collins is a supreme keeper to anchor in the back.

MKA has a number of veteran standouts including key seniors such as forwards C.J. Dike and Gustavo Rosen, midfielder Solomon Lucas and back Max Ludlow.   

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