MONTCLAIR- When it comes to the state’s highly-ranked teams, the usual suspects come from either the powerful Fitch-Pitt or Gibbs Divisions, while the Waterman also has at least a couple of bona fide group title contenders to keep an eye on.
Still, when you’re talking about top-notch competition on a day-to-day basis, the Bianchi is certainly a division that also comes to mind, and this season appears to be no exception with the current division leading Livingston Lancers (5-1, 4-0) along with St. Peter’s Prep (5-2, 3-1), Montclair Kimberley Academy (4-2, 2-1), Columbia (2-5, 2-2), Millburn (4-2, 2-2) and Madison (3-2. 2-2) all among those very much in title contention.
“The Bianchi is great,” said MKA coach Dave Giarrusso. “I know for us we felt we were mismatched in the Waterman since our numbers aren’t really there with those teams and the competition in the Bianchi is terrific.
“The coaches really coach here, the teams are equally matched, and you better come ready to play if you want to win in this division, and it’s never going to be easy, that’s for sure!”
MKA, which has just one senior on its roster, had to battle back from an early 4-0 deficit vs. visiting Millburn in this past Tuesday’s division showdown, and the Cougars went on a late 7-0 run to earn an 11-7 victory.
Millburn, which has been battling an assortment of injuries, including absorbing the strong possibility that its best player, Rochester Institute of Technology-bound senior attackman Zach Lipton (knee) might be sidelined for the season, still continues to compete at a high level under the direction of its third-year, co-head coaches Brian Roth and Mike Gilligan.
“Not having Lipkin, a two-time point leader in the Bianchi, has been tough, and then we lost (senior attackman) Jake Fishkin to a sprained ankle just as he was scoring the first goal of the game at MKA,” said Gilligan, a former standout at Columbia High School. “Still, no excuses, because we have some real good athletes on this team and guys will just have to continue to step up, and we just have to do a better job of not allowing a team to go on such a big run as MKA did against us.
“We have a nice mix of seniors and underclassmen, but we’re predominantly a young team,” added Roth, who starred as a football quarterback and lacrosse player at Montclair during his own superb scholastic career. “Our kids compete hard and we’ve had a close win against St. Peter’s (7-6 Millers win) and a close loss to Columbia (8-7), so we know that this division is going to continue to be a battle each and every game, but we love the competition in the Bianchi.”
Sophomore attackman Oliver Becker (14 goals, 6 assists) and junior midfielder Ander Berman (11 goals, 8 assists) have been among the leading scorers for the Millers, while there is balance throughout the lineup, indicated by the fact that seven different players scored goals in the game at MKA.
Millburn is just two years removed from a superb 14-3 season when it was a perfect 6-0 in winning the Bianchi title; however, that team graduated 13 seniors and 2023 was a tougher go for the Millers as they finished 9-10 overall and 0-6 in the Bianchi.
“It was definitely a rebuilding year,” said Gilligan. “But, we knew we had some talented kids coming back this season, including some really good young players, so we just have to continue to persevere regardless of the injuries that might occur along the way.” |
