Gill St. Bernard's boys soccer continues hot stretch run with North Non-Public B title
PEAPACK-GLADSTONE – Go back about six weeks, and the Gill St. Bernard’s boys soccer team was still very much a work in progress. A few moves here and tweaks there, along with good health, and the Crusaders have once again molded into a championship team.
Wednesday, GSB defeated Montclair Kimberley Academy 3-0 to claim the North Non-Public B title before enthusiastic home fans. The Crusaders have won four of the last five Non-Public B state and sectional titles. (In 2020, in lieu of a state tournament because of COVID, the Knights won the Central West C, Non-Public regional title.)
The home team kept the pressure on its opponents for most of the first half, but just couldn’t punch one in. That changed in the second half.
Nick Collins fired a bullet into the net in the 43rd minute from 20 yards out that gave GSB a 1-0 lead. Thirteen minutes later, Dan Scali bolted downfield on a breakaway run and boomed a shot that hit the top crossbar. Max Voigt kicked in the rebound for the 2-0 lead.
Collins capped the scoring by getting in a header off a corner kick with just under 25 minutes left.
Mike Dumiec recorded three saves in the win. MKA’s goalie Alex Provost was outstanding with 14 saves to keep his team in the game.
Gill St. Bernard’s, of course, has been a state-level staple under Tony Bednarsky in his 32 seasons at the Gladstone school. This fall, though, didn’t go exactly as planned with a handful of injuries and illnesses at the wrong time.
Witness GSB losing 1-0 to Bridgewater-Raritan in the Somerset County Tournament semifinal without five starters, including Collins (flu) and Dumiec in the net.
That didn’t stop the Crusaders from thinking they had a shot come November.
“The goals don’t change,” Bednarsky said. “We have a tradition at the beginning of every preseason we meet up on our preseason field and we set our goals – and they don’t change. Our goals for this year were to win five championships. We have a chance to win four.”
The current six-game win streaks includes another 3-0 win over Montclair Kimberley Academy in the Prep B Tournament final on Oct. 26. GSB also captured the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title to add notches to the banner of a storied program.
What’s Next
Gill St. Bernard’s advances to the Non-Public B final Saturday at host Franklin High School at 12:30 p.m. The Crusaders play St. Rose, which won the South Non-Public B title on penalty kicks over Bishop Eustace.
Key plays
Coaches often tinker with the lineup to see what works. Around midseason, Bednarsky moved three players up from JV into the varsity lineup in sophomore center full back Dylan Palmieri, junior right wing Dan Castro and the sophomore Voigt to center forward.
The coaches also moved Charles Taliano from center fullback to center midfield to join the top-notch line of Dan Scali and Chayse Stolarski. As Bednarsky said, “It’s sometimes like when one piece of the puzzle fits, all the others comply. It made everything else click.”
Wednesday, the GSB coaches made some tactical moves at halftime that helped put pressure on MKA in the second half.
Bednarsky moved left forward Jonathan Ferreira, who has a strong left foot, to the right side so when he cut, he could shoot with his left foot, and the same with Castro to the other side of the field. The coaches also shifted Taliano from fullback to up front in the final 40 minutes.
Gill played without forward Danny Spataro, who Bednarsky said may be able to return for the final.
They said it
Collins, who Bednarsky called one of the best defenders in the state, said, “We always click at the end and it comes at the right time. Sometimes we go through a lot of highs and lows through the season and we have. A lot of people have stepped up, including the freshmen and everyone has played their part and it’s coming together.”
Bednarsky said the team has a next man up-mentality and noted, “We got guys healthy at the right time. These younger guys came up and stayed up and played well. And it gave us some instant depth which we didn’t have before.”
Bednarsky on the success of the program, “It kind of makes the bullseye bigger each year, but the kids take pride in that. That they accept the challenge. We knew the pressure was on us today. They had absolutely nothing to lose. They played a very, very good technically sound first half. So the longer that game stays 0-0 for them, they’re like one counter away. One mistake away from taking the game and we addressed that at halftime. We said, we have to be very, very consistent. Don’t change what we’re doing, but a little more urgency in the box – and that’s what we did.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ high school soccer: Gill St. Bernard's boys win sectional title
