Boys Soccer – CBA and Seton Hall Set for Rubber Match in Non-Public A Final

NJSIAA Non-Public A Championship

Friday, Nov. 10, 2023

At Franklin High School

Christian Brothers Academy (17-2-2) vs. Seton Hall Prep (18-2-1), 4 p.m.

CBA at a Glance

Head Coach: Tom Mulligan
Group Championships: 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2022
Group Runner-Up: 1974, 1979, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2021
Road to the Final: Defeated St. Joseph Metuchen, 1-0; No. 4 St. Augustine, 4-2, on penalties after a 0-0 draw; No. 3 Pingry, 1-0, in overtime

Players to Watch

Dylan Millevoi, Sr., Forward (13 goals, 3 assists)

Lawrence Mancino, Sr., Midfield (6 goals, 5 assists)

Christian DeOliveira, Sr., Defense (6 goals)

John Gambale, Sr., Forward/Midfield (5 goals, 8 assists)

Brayden Perry, Jr., Forward (6 goals, 2 assists)

Dan Dinnell, Sr., Defense (1 goal, 3 assists)

Miles Gallagher, Sr., Goalkeeper (12 goals allowed, 11 shutouts)

Seton Hall Prep at a Glance

Head Coach: Marty Berman
Group Championships: 2007, 2009, 2019, 2021
Group Runner-Up: 1975, 1977, 2005, 2016, 2022
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 10 Hudson Catholic, 7-2; No. 3 Bergen Catholic, 3-2; No. 1 Delbarton, 2-1

Players to Watch

Eddie Krupski, Sr., Forward (28 goals, 8 assists)

Lucas Mendes, Jr., Midfield/Forward (12 goals, 14 assists)

Benjamin Mills, Jr., Midfield (5 goals, 18 assists)

Jeremy Muñoz, Jr., Midfield (4 goals, 10 assists)

Nick Lapczynski, Sr., Forward (5 goals, 11 assists)

Wil Bauer, Sr., Defense (1 goals, 2 assists)

For the sixth time, CBA and Seton Hall Prep will clash in the Non-Public A final – all of them since 2007 and including the last two years. There is a core of CBA players – Lawrence Mancino, Dylan Millevoi, Christian DeOliveira and Dimitry Corba – who have played at the varsity level in each of the past three seasons and will, effectively, be participating in a championship rubber match on Friday. Seton Hall Prep denied the Colts a state title in 2021 and CBA returned the favor a year ago by beating the Pirates, 1-0.

Mancino and Millevoi will be starting their third state championship game for CBA, with DeOliveira and senior goalkeeper Miles Gallagher returning to start their second stat final. Current starters Cameron D’Alterio and Phil Bodenski also got minutes last year and while Corba is not likely to play Friday due to a knee injury that has kept him out of the last five games, CBA coach Tom Mulligan said Corba has been trying to get cleared to appear in his third state final as well.

Seton Hall Prep has a similar amount of experience returning, led by Rutgers commit Eddie Krupski. In last year’s final, CBA shut out Krupski and the Pirates, but the fast, physical forward created multiple chances to show off his powerful strike. Junior Lucas Mendes is also a key returning piece in the midfield, with senior defender Wil Bauer another prominent returnee from the 2022 lineup.

CBA’s run to the final has been all about the defense and goalkeeper Miles Gallagher, who will be as instrumental as any goalkeeper for a CBA championship team if the Colts win on Friday. Shane Keenan’s performance in 2017 is the goalkeeper performance that most comes to mind in recent CBA seasons, but that 2017 team lost to Delbarton in the Non-Public A final.

With Gallagher on top of his game over the last two weeks, the Colts enter Friday having posted 496 consecutive scoreless minutes and the last team to score a goal against CBA in the state tournament was Seton Hall Prep in the 2021 championship game – a stretch of 585 minutes and 30 seconds with a clean sheet for Gallagher and the defense.

Scoring has not come as easy for CBA this season, particularly with Corba out, but the Colts have found ways to score just enough. Leading scorer Dylan Millevoi has not scored since an Oct. 13 Shore Conference Tournament win over Marlboro and while defenses have kept him in check, CBA has turned to senior John Gamable to pick up the scoring. Gambale scored the first goal in a 2-0 win over Howell in the Shore Conference Tournament final and of CBA’s two goals in this current state tournament, Gambale has scored one and assisted the other.

In last year’s sectional final vs. St. Peter’s Prep and in the state final vs. Seton Hall, senior Will Thygeson came up clutch with late goals in each to deliver CBA 1-0 victories in both games. In Tuesday’s win over Pingry, it was Mancino who stepped up with the goal to win it in overtime and it will take a similar act of valor from a Colts player on Friday evening at Franklin.

The Pick: 1-1 draw, CBA wins on penalties