Don Bosco Prep, Gill St. Bernard Named NJ Non-Public State Champs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following my piece on New Jersey's Group 1-4 state champions, we also cannot forget about the non-public A and B state champions. Kean University was the host for both state championships, which took place on Thursday, June 6. All four teams have high-level recruits with great skill, and they put that on full display for everyone watching.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Non-Public A: Don Bosco Prep Ironmen 13, Seton Hall Prep Pirates 8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Non-Public A bracket was loaded with all kinds of talent, leading to a clash between the #1 seeded Don Bosco Prep and #2 seeded Seton Hall Prep for the state title. The Ironmen came in hot with a 16-3 record and on a 10-game heater, many of which were not close games. As for the Pirates, they entered the contest with a 15-6 record, blowing right through their side of the bracket en route to the title game. Dartmouth commit Tyler Juhlin led the way in scoring for the Pirates with four goals and one assist, while junior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='127076' first='Nolan' last='Sabel'] (Villanova) dished out three assists. On the flip side, junior attackman [player_tooltip player_id='14548' first='Brady' last='Scioletti'] (Duke) finished with a hat trick and three assists to lead the way for Don Bosco. They also got production from junior FOGO [player_tooltip player_id='28069' first='Scott' last='Conte'], who went 17-for-23 (74%), and Colton Carfello (St. Joe's), who posted 10 saves. Seton Hall Prep started hot with a 5-3 lead at the half, but Don Bosco's offense clicked in the 2nd half and outscored the Pirates 10-3 to capture the program's first state title since 2021.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["17484"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66690ea8e806c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Devir finished with four goals on the night. As a sophomore, Devir has shown that he is going to be a problem for opposing defenses to gameplan for. He isn't the biggest player but possesses the skill, strength, and toughness you want from a midfielder at the next level. He has a hard shot from a distance, and while dodging, Devir can use either hand to break free and shoot or find an open guy. He is also a physical player who doesn't mind getting in a ground ball scrum or doing work defensively. He is second on the team in points with 35 goals and 19 assists, behind only [player_tooltip player_id='14548' first='Brady' last='Scioletti'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Non-Public B: Gill St. Bernard's 15, Rutgers Prep 6</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gill St. Bernard's came into this matchup with a 13-6 record and a relatively easy path to the title game. They beat Morristown-Beard and Montclair Kimberley in the first two rounds of the tournament by 10 goals or more and their offense was humming. As for Rutgers Prep, they entered the game with a modest 9-9 record and coming off a one goal victory in the state semifinal game against Holy Spirit. The Argonauts had already lost to Gill St. Bernard's 11-3 at the end of May and they were looking to avenge that loss. Junior Mac Priesing and senior Sterling Bechler scored two goals each to lead the way in scoring for Rutgers Prep, while senior goaltender Jack Storipan (Susquehanna) finished his final high school game with 10 saves. The three big contributors for the Knights were junior attackman [player_tooltip player_id='33633' first='Brendan' last='Schwalb'] with 3 goals and 6 assists, sophomore Griffin O'Sullivan with 5 goals, and junior Max Voigt (Dartmouth) with 2 goals and 3 assists. Gill St. Bernard's was able to jump out to a 10-2 lead at the half, and Rutgers Prep never recovered. The Knights are back-to-back state champions and will compete as the #5 seed in this year's Kirst Cup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["33633"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66690ea8e813c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='33633' first='Brendan' last='Schwalb'] is an athletic attackman who likes to work from X or the right wing spot. He is a shifty dodger at X and can create space and get upfield with his hands free for a shot or pass. His vision is one of his best attributes and is always looking for cutters or skip passes. He has a good step-down shot, but also mixes in some shot and pass fakes to get defenses off-balance. He finished with a hat trick and six assists on the day and has 24 goals and 37 assists on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->