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Ultra-talented St. Benedict's, with terrific individual stars such as junior Frank Pah and the senior Amadou Hann (9) rode Hann's goal off corner kick with 26:51 remaking to defeat Seton Hall Prep, 1-0, in Wednesday night's (Oct. 28) Essex County Tournament final at Caldwell's Bonnel Field. SHP was led by outstanding goalkeeper Liam Collins who had 12 saves in yet another brilliant tourney effort. (Photos by Jeff Stiefbold)
WEST CALDWELL- The highly-skilled senior striker Amadou Hann will very likely turn pro next year, while key underclassmen such as the electrifying junior Frank Pah are likely to continue to carry the torch for St. Benedict’s which is still the No. 1 ranked scholastic soccer side in the entire country. Thanks to some brilliant work by Seton Hall Prep senior goalkeeper Liam Collins in resisting all but one of the constant attacks near the 18-yard area by the persistent Gray Bees, the third-seeded Pirates (11-6) made it a closely-contested match throughout Wednesday night’s 52nd Essex County Tournament final in a 1-0 win by the Newark powerhouse for its third straight ECT title in a high-octane match played before a large crowd at James Caldwell High School’s Bonnel Field. Hann’s 11th goal of the season with an assist from Pah, coming off a corner kick with 26:51 remaining in the second half, lifted the Gray Bees (15-0-1) to their ninth overall ECT crown while also extending their unbeaten streak to 56 in a row. SHP’s Collins, the Cornell University-bound net minder, finished with 12 saves which followed up his terrific 11-save performance in the Pirates’ 3-2 ECT semifinal upset of second-seeded and then second-ranked West Orange. “We had talked about generating a high volume of shots to try and make him (Collins) work,” said St. Benedict’s head coach Jim Wandling. “He’s really good back there, but – fortunately – we were able to generate a number of opportunities and Amadou came through with the biggest shot of the night.” Hann, who displays the touch and all-around skills with the ball of a seasoned international player, has been one of the Gray Bees’ main stars in each of the past two ECT championship runs. “Amadou is the best striker anywhere in this country,” said Pah, who has his own electrifying speed and skill set. “It’s just tremendous to have him as one of my teammates.” The relentless pressure that St. Benedict’s pappliut on Collins and SHP accounted for a 13-0 edge in shots in the match, but the Pirates also played superb overall defense in front of their stellar keeper, and made the county championship match a 1-goal contest right up to the final seconds ticked off. Veteran coach Marty Berman’s Pirates had an excellent tournament run with hard-fought wins over Livingston (1-0 in the first round) and Columbia (2-1 in overtime in the quarters) before its memorable win over longtime local rival West Orange in the semis. Now it’s on to the 2026 NJSIAA state tournament where St. Benedict’s is the No. 4 seed in a simply loaded Non-Public, North A bracket headed by top-seeded Delbarton and the Gray Bees will open up state action on Thursday, Nov. 5 was the winner of the first-round contest between 5th-seeded Don Bosco Prep and 12-Dwight-Englewood. SHP, which hosts Wallington 1 p.m Saturday (Oct. 31) in the regular season finale, is the No. 3 seed in Non-Public, North A and will begin its quest in the state tourney by hosting the survivor of 11 Oratory Prep at 6-Pope John also on Nov. 5. The Pirates are on the bottom side of the bracket along with No. 2 seeded Bergen Catholic. 52 Essex County Boys Soccer Tournament Finals: Most Titles: Consecutive Titles: Most Final Appearances: Most Consecutive Finals: Follow Steve Tober on 'X' @Chattermeister
St. Benedict's senior Enzo Lolos (20) looks to control the ball during the Essex County Tournament final where Gray Bees were able to raise the championship trophy for a third straight year and eighth time in history. Copyright 2005 Sideline Chatter - comments - contact the webmaster
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