SBP SOCCER TEAM WILL PLAY FOR ITS 21ST SUCCESSIVE STATE TITLE
X-country team falls short in bid for a five-peat

Nov. 4, 2009

The vulnerability St. Benedict's showed during its two losses earlier this year is clearly a thing of the past.

The Gray Bees are playing their best soccer of the year - perhaps even better than when they were ranked as the No. 2 team in the country - and now find themselves in familiar and comfortable territory.

Coach Rick Jacobs' club advanced to another State Prep A championship final with a dominant, 2-0, victory over Lawrenceville in Wednesday's semifinals at NJIT.

"We've managed to right the ship and are playing really well right now," said Jacobs. "I think we recovered and are doing what we've done around here for quite some time now."

What they've done is unmatched in New Jersey annals. Jacobs has guided his teams to 20 straight state titles and will be looking to add another on Sunday when the Gray Bees play Pennington in the championship game. Pennington, which lost to St. Benedict's by a 1-0 margin on Sept. 17, posted a 4-0 victory over Hun in the other semifinal contested Wednesday.

The Gray Bees remained patient against a hunkered-down Lawrenceville squad this time around. That was something they were unable to do when they were coming off back-to-back losses before beating the Mercer County school, 2-1, two weeks ago.

But, just like two weeks ago, Clint Caso used his deadly left foot to get the Gray Bees on the board. He scored off a free kick from just beyond the right side of the penalty area off a low shot that just eluded the foot of teammate Bryan Gallego and slipped inside the post in the 36th minute. Caso scored both goals against Lawrenceville in the last meeting between the two clubs.

The Gray Bees, which possessed a huge advantage in shots (26-3) for the second successive game against their rival, left little doubt of the outcome in the 69th minute when Larry Serrano took one touch off a rebound on a shot from Branko Dugalic and ripped a shot from 25 yards out that caromed off the left post into the goal.

"We stayed within ourselves," said Jacobs, whose team posted a 47-6 shot advantage in the two games against Lawrenceville, the same team it beat in last year's state final, 2-0.

The Gray Bees, which have a regular season game against Princeton Day on Thursday, will seek overall championship No. 23 in Sunday's 2 p.m. title game against Pennington at NJIT.

Unlike the soccer team, the Gray Bees cross country contingent couldn't keep its State Prep championship streak going after winning the last four titles.

Coach Marty Hannon's squad wound up fifth with 121 points in the A Division race of the Prep Championships in Blairstown on Wednesday. Seton Hall won the team title to end St. Benedict's amazing run.

St. Benedict's was led by Garland Miller, who came across the finish line in ninth place with a time of 17:30.

"Obviously, we were disappointed to not win after having a 4-year winning streak. However, we made very good progress (this year)," said Hannon. "The kids gave it their best shot. They did not shy away - from the gun they went with the leaders, but they just did not have enough to stay with the stronger teams that had somewhat more experience and depth."

SOCCER TEAM LOOKS PRIMED FOR STATE PREP CHAMPIONSHIPS
X-country team has a number of runners establish personal bests
Water polo squad competes in Garden State Challenge

Nov. 1, 2009

The St. Benedict's soccer team swept a pair of weekend games in Connecticut and seems to be clicking on all cylinders as it readies for Wednesday's start of the State Prep A Championships.

The Gray Bees (14-2) showed their quick-strike ability in posting a 5-0 triumph over Waterford on Saturday before coming back and beating South Kent, 3-0, on Sunday. Both games were played at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Coach Rick Jacobs' club exploded for three goals in a 2:06 span, two by senior forward Branko Dugalic, during a five-goal first half against Waterford (9-4-2). Dugalic added a third goal for his first hat trick, while Beau Gordon and Vitaly Zaluha scored once each and Noah Sadaoui and Clint Caso contributed with two assists apiece.

The Gray Bees played a scoreless first half against South Kent (14-2-1), but scored all three of its goals within the first 13:20 of the second half. Musa Sackoon sandwiched a pair of goals around Dugalic's fourth goal of the weekend.

"These two games were as good as a performance as we've had all year," said Jacobs. "It's a good way to be going into the states."

The Gray Bees begins its quest for State Prep A championship No. 23, including 21st straight, on Wednesday against Lawrenceville in the 1 p.m. semifinals at NJIT. Jacobs' club beat Lawrenceville, 2-0, in last year's title game and added a 2-1 regular season victory over the Mercer County team two weeks ago.

The cross country team competed in the Essex County Championships on Friday and also served notice that it just might be ready to challenge for its fifth straight title when the State Prep Championships are staged Wednesday.

In its final tune-up for the state Preps, the Gray Bees finished seventh in the Essex County Championships on Friday at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield when coach Marty Hannon saw his top five runners post personal bests.

John Joseph was the top Gray Bees runner to cross the finish line with a 16:50. He was followed by Garland Miller, who ran a PR in 16:59. Adebayo Eisape continues to improve greatly, finishing fourth among St. Benedict's runners with a time of 18:11, just behind Jason Presley. Morgan Kipchumba finished fifth with a clocking of 18:28.

The Gray Bees will compete in the Prep Championships at Blair Academy on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The water polo team traveled to Lawrenceville for the second time in four days and competed in the Garden State Challenge. Coach Glenn Cassidy's club, however, didn't get the results they were hoping for.

The Gray Bees dropped a 10-7 decision to Pingry, the same team it beat two weeks ago, 14-11. Cassidy's club also dropped its third decision of the year to Lawrenceville, this time by a 16-8 margin after losing the two previous battles against the host school by two goals or less.

St. Benedict's did get in the victory column by besting Horace Mann, 12-9. Courtney Mosley led the winning assault with a hat trick, while Anthony Nunez, Mike Ciociola, Giovanni Urquilla and Troy Johnson each scored a pair of goals.

SOCCER TEAM DROPS SECOND STRAIGHT AND PLUMMETS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
X-country, water polo teams continuing to fight through season

Oct. 20, 2009

The St. Benedict's soccer team was in the midst of a national title chase only a week ago.

Today, the Gray Bees are out of the national picture while licking their wounds after back-to-back losses for only the second time in coach Rick Jacobs' 25-year career.

St. Benedict's, which fell from No. 2 to 30th in the latest ESPN rankings and completely out of the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, followed a 2-1 setback to Rancocas Valley last Thursday with a 3-2 loss to Lower Merion of Pennsylvania on Monday.

Jacobs' club fell behind by two goals to Lower Merion after only 10 minutes and trailed by three at the half. Bonny Londono scored twice after intermission, but the hill was just too steep to climb for the Gray Bees, which hopes to right the ship on the road against Lawrenceville on Wednesday.

"We didn't come to play in the first half," said assistant coach Craig Gillespie. "We kept bringing it to them in the second half, but that doesn't mean a thing when you forget to show up for the first 40 minutes. We just weren't ready."

The cross country team continues to make inroads this season. Coach Marty Hannon's runners placed fourth in the B Division of the Old Bridge Classic at Thompson Park on Saturday in Jamesburg.

Leading the charge for the Gray Bees was John Joseph, who placed ninth over the 3.1 mile course with a time of 17:34. Garland Miller placed 15th with a 17:40, while Jason Presley clocked in with a time of 18:51. Rounding out the top five for SBP were Adebayo Eisape (19:17) and Morgan Kipchumba (19:26).

St. Benedict's finished with 138 points to place fourth behind Metuchen (55 point), Mater Dei (67) and Whippany Park (131).

The water polo team struggled over the weekend in the Cardinal Invitational (0-4) in Connecticut after producing a scintillating victory over Horace Mann last week.

The Gray Bees were leading Horace Mann the entire contest, but gave up the tying goal with 18 seconds left to square the match at 11-11. Coach Glenn Cassidy's squad, however, had one last rush in the works.

Anthony Nunez took a shot with 12 seconds left that was blocked by the goalie. After a scrum in front, Mike Ciociola came up with the loose ball with five ticks left on the clock.

Ciociola managed to fight off a defender and found enough space to uncork a shot at the last possible instance and the ball settled in to upper corner of the goal as the buzzer sounded to give the Gray Bees a 12-11 victory.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP FOR X-COUNTRY, WATER POLO TEAMS

Oct. 3, 2009

The cross-country and water polo teams continued their travels over the weekend and came away with some positive results.

Coach Marty Hannon's cross country team competed in the Shore Coaches Invitational and finished eighth out of 33 teams in their division at the 5K course in Holmdel.

The Gray Bees runners were led by Garland Miller's fourth-pace effort. Miller, a junior, clocked a 17:16 and was followed by teammate John Joseph, who came in 22nd place (18:00).

There were over 200 runners in the race. The other St. Benedict's runners included Jason Presley (19:04), Joshua Ajamu (19:44), Morgan Kipchumba (19:50), Adebayo Eisape (19:53) and Bahiyd Larkins (22:19).

The water polo contingent traveled to Maryland over the weekend and competed in the Golden Bear Classic and wound up in second place.

The Gray Bees opened the tournament with a 6-3 victory over the Claude Moore Aquatic Club. Senior captain Courtney Mosley led the triumph with a hat trick while three other players had one goal apiece.

Coach Glenn Cassidy's club then fell one-goal off a perfect weekend by dropping a 10-9 verdict to Gonzaga. Mosley once again led the attack with 4 goals, while Juan Carlos Del Rios chipped in with a pair of scores in the loss, the Gray Bees fourth of the season by two goals or less.

St. Benedict's wrapped up the weekend with a victory over Landon, 14-10. Mosley poured in 4 more goals and Anthony Nunez and Mike Ciociola each produced a hat trick.

The Gray also posted an 11-7 victory over Horace Mann last week, a match that was captured in pictures and can be viewed by visiting Mike Scanlan's website.

WATER POLO TEAM WINS TWICE IN BEAST OF THE EAST INVITATIONAL
Cross country team places 5th in Passaic meet

Sept. 27, 2009

The Gary Bees water polo team capped off the weekend in the Beast of the East Invitational with a victory over Pennridge at Muhlenberg High in Pennsylvania.

St. Benedict's (3-5) bested its foe from Pennsylvania, 9-8, by posting a 3-2 edge in scoring over the final quarter. Juan Carlos DeJesus led the effort with four goals, while Anthony Nunez added three scores.

That game preceded a tough, 11-9, setback to Lawrenceville earlier on Saturday. It was the third loss of two goals or less by the Gray Bees this season. DeJesus led the scoring in that game with five goals.

On the first day of the Invitational at Episcopal in New Town Square, Pa., St. Benedict's fashioned a 1-2 mark with its victory coming over another Pennsylvania opponent, Wyoming Valley West, by a 12-6 margin.

The Gray Bees broke open the game by scoring six goals in the third quarter to take a commanding, 10-5, lead. Nunez led the way with four goals, while Isaiah Del Rios, Dennis Tassie and Troy Johnson scored two goals apiece.

The cross country team competed in the Passaic County Coaches Invitational on Saturday and came in fifth-place in the Group 2 race over the 5k Garret Mountain Course in West Paterson.

The Gray Bees finished with 134 points, which followed Wallkill Valley (52 points), Newton (72), Lenape Valley (101) and Gov. Livingston (115).

Garland Miller led St. Benedict's runners with a fourth-place showing in a time of 17:19. John Joseph was the only other runner with a time of under the 18-minute mark, clocking a 17:59, good for a 17-place effort.

Adebayo Eisape and Bahiyd Larkins have come along very quickly as varsity runners, each posting a personal best. Eisape ran a 19:24 and Larkins posted a mark of 21:17. Morgan Kipchumba fashioned a 19:10, five seconds ahead of Joshua Ajamu, while Jason Presley came across the line in 19:53.

WATER POLO, X-COUNTRY ACTION HEATING UP

Sept. 21, 2009

The St. Benedict's water polo team suffered a heartbreaking loss, while the cross country team competed in the New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Bernie Magee Memorial race.

The water polo team hosted Germantown on Monday and busted out to a 5-1 first quarter lead with Isaiah Del Rios pacing the attack with two goals.

The Gray Bees maintained their lead heading into the fourth quarter, but were outscored 7-2 in the final stanza and were stunned, 14-12.

Coach Glenn Cassidy's troops were led by Courtney Mosley's four goals, while Juan Carlos DeJesus added a hat trick. St. Benedict's hopes to turn things around against a very tough Pingry squad on Wednesday (Sept. 23) in Martinsville.

The cross country team competed in Class races Saturday at Warinanco Park in Elizabeth. Garland Miller led all Gray Bees runners with an 18th-place finish in the Junior race with a time of 17:41.3. John Joseph finished 5.6 seconds slower and came in 28th place in the Senior race.

Team members Akuku and Watata Makori, Kyle O'Keefe and Kyaire Kirkland ran their first cross country race while competing in the Freshman class.

Next up for the cross country team is the 43rd Passaic County Coaches Association Invitational Cross Country Meet at the Garret Mountain Reservation in West Paterson on Saturday (Sept. 26).

32nd Newark Academy Invitational

Click here for Cross Country News from the 2008 season.