Boys Soccer NJSIAA Tournament Preview: The Shore Non-Publics

For the better part of five decades, two Monmouth County schools have been the source of success for the Shore Conference in the non-public boys soccer NJSIAA Tournament: St. Rose and Christian Brothers Academy. That has certainly been the case over the past three seasons, during which each team has made it at least as far as the sectional final round.

CBA is currently the standard in boys soccer at the Shore and its nine straight trips to the sectional final (including seven championships) in the last nine seasons in which a tournament was contested underscore that. St. Rose, meanwhile, has been to two straight sectional finals and saw its season end on a penalty-kick loss each of the last two seasons — once in the Non-Public B state final in 2022 and again in the sectional final in 2023.

Ranney has had its moments in Non-Public B as well, topped by a trip to the 2021 sectional final. St. John Vianney appears poised to make noise this year after losing a heartbreaker at St. Peter’s Prep a year ago in the sectional quarterfinals and returning almost all of its roster. The path is littered with quality opponents but the standards for CBA and St. Rose — whether it is a dream season or a rebuilding one — is always to contend for a title. With St. John Vianney’s talent, the Lancers are in that same category this season.

South Jersey Non-Public A

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 3 Christian Brothers Academy, No. 5 St. John Vianney, No. 10 Donovan Catholic
Top Seed: Pingry
Defending Champion: CBA
Favorite: Pingry

Dark Horse: No. 6 Notre Dame. The Irish have lost six times this season and four of those losses are to teams that played in a state final in 2023: Group IV champion Princeton (twice), Group III champion Robbinsville and Group II runner-up Delran. Notre Dame also knocked off Robbinsville in the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament semifinals before eventually losing to Princeton in the championship game, 1-0. In sectional seldom home to a team beyond the top four seeds that makes it to the championship game, Notre Dame is a serious contender as a No. 6 seed.

Bracket Breakdown: For the first time in quite some time, the Shore’s hopes of a championship in South Non-Public A do not rest squarely with CBA. The Colts remain the Shore’s best hope for a sectional title, which the Colts have claimed in each of the past three seasons and in seven of the past eight state tournaments, but St. John Vianney is prepared to unleash the best team it has had in a decade on the rest of the field. Just a year ago, SJV lost at St. Peter’s Prep, 1-0, on a late penalty kick – a result that showed the Lancers are ready to compete with the top teams competing in the South Jersey section. St. Peter’s Prep is back in North Jersey this year, but Pingry, No. 2 St. Augustine and No. 4 St. Joseph of Metuchen are all in play to win a title. Pingry (Somerset) and St. Joe’s (Middlesex) each won their respective county championship, while St. Augustine (South Jersey Coaches), CBA (Shore) and Notre Dame (CVC) each lost in their respective conference championship games.

Championship Prediction: Pingry over St. Augustine. Pingry has been beatable this season, but the three teams that have conquered the Big Blue are teams that could very well win overall state championships this season: Hunterdon Central (Group IV), Gill St. Bernard’s (Non-Public B) and St. Benedict’s (Non-Public A). St. Benedict’s is currently the No. 1 team in the state and Pingry also owns two wins over Gill St. Bernard’s, one over Hunterdon Central, as well as one over CBA. St. Augustine, meanwhile, just suffered its first loss – a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Shawnee in the South Jersey Coaches’ Cup Final – after starting the season 19-0. Not since 2013 has there been a South Jersey Non-Public A Tournament that did not include CBA in the championship game, so if St. Augustine or Notre Dame can somehow beat the Colts, it would mark the end of a remarkable run. For now, however, CBA’s steak remains intact and the Colts are the champions until a team finally beats them in November. Coincidentally enough, CBA’s only two losses within the South Jersey section over the past 10 years are to Notre Dame (2014) and St. Augustine (2019).

South Jersey Non-Public B

Shore Teams in the Field: No. 5 Ranney, No. 8 St. Rose
Top Seed: Moorestown Friends
Defending Champion: Moorestown Friends
Favorite: Moorestown Friends

Dark Horse: No. 6 Princeton Day. A year ago, Princeton Day entered the NJSIAA Tournament with a 1-15-1 record and won two rounds before falling to St. Rose in the sectional semifinals. This time around, the Panthers are 5-13, seeded sixth and have a strength of schedule that again leads the casual observer to believe that they will be playing in the sectional semifinal round. St. Rose has had a down season – hence its No. 8 seed – but has mustered up the occasional reminder that the Purple Roses can be dangerous in this particular tournament. Had St. Rose drawn the No. 7 or 10 seeds, it would have a more favorable draw, but as it is, getting by defending champion Moorestown Friends will be a tall order.

Bracket Breakdown: Moorestown Friends has the best body of work in the field by a wide margin. After a 5-1 loss to Cinnaminson to open the season, the Foxes have either won or been competitive in every game while amassing a 9-7-1 record, which includes two wins over defending South Jersey Group I champion Palmyra. St. Rose could get a rematch with Moorestown Friends in the quarterfinals after the Foxes ousted the Purple Roses on penalties in last year’s South Non-Public B final and Ranney could very well await the winner of that potential match. Ranney also would have benefitted from drawing the No. 6 seed instead of No. 5, which would put the Panthers in position to reach the sectional final round for the second time in four years. To do that under the current circumstances, Ranney will have to get through St. Joseph of Hammonton on the road, followed by a likely date with Moorestown Friends in the semifinal – assuming Ranney and St. Joe’s can hold serve at home in the first round.

Championship Prediction: Moorestown Friends over Princeton Day. The defending champs will take on the 2021 sectional champion in this prospective championship game, with St. Rose looking to spoil the party and reach the state final for the second time in three years while boasting an almost-entirely new lineup. All that said, Ranney might be the Shore’s best hope at a sectional champion in this field and if the Panthers – or anyone else – can upset Moorestown Friends before the sectional final, they become the de facto favorite.