By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

     EWING - Christian Brothers Academy's soccer players will not go as far as to say they were robbed, but the Colts' 2-0 loss to Seton Hall Prep in the NJSIAA Non-Public A final on Tuesday certainly is not going down easy.
     Senior forward CJ Crooks had both of the Pirates' goals, the first coming in the 19th minute that came off a questionable goalmouth collision with CBA goalkeeper Steve Alessio. The Colts were never able to bounce back and Crooks added another goal on a breakaway in the 61th minute to give Seton Hall Prep its first group title in school history.
     "The first goal was pretty questionable but we're not making any excuses, we had our chances," said Colts senior sweeper Jim Lannon. "This is a very close-knit unit. We have a lot of respect for Seton Hall but this one is hard to take because it didn't feel like they earned it on us."
     Midway through the first half, senior defender Will McKenna dribbled down the right side and sent a ball into the box from about 25 yards out. The ball was heading for the net just under the crossbar as Alessio jumped in an attempt to deflect it away. At the same time, Crooks was following the ball the entire way and collided with Alessio, knocking the ball into the net. CBA disputed the goal to no avial and the officials later confirmed the ball had been directed in by Crooks' head. The puzzling part for the Colts was that one of the line officials had his flagged raised for foul, but was not consulted by the head referee until after play had already resumed.
     "He had his flag up, we saw it," said CBA senior forward Andrew Liapis. "But (the head official) didn't look over at him."
     "No comment," said CBA head coach Dan Keane.
     Crooks, meanwhile, was not concerned with his proximity to the keeper.
     "I saw McKenna cross it and I just had my eye on it the whole time," he said. "I'm thinking this is as much my ball as it is his."
     The Colts made a bid to tie the game in the 38th minute. Senior midfielder Chris Mergenthaler sent a rolling cross from the left side that was just missed by Tim Brennan, who was running full speed toward the goal, inside the six.
     The possession was fairly even in the first half, with a slight edge going to Seton Hall Prep. In the second half, however, the Pirates took over and possessed the ball in the CBA end for most of the final 40 minutes. They took a 2-0 lead when Crooks scored on a breakaway off a quick counter attack with 19 and change left to play. A direct kick from about 30 yards out was punched away by Seton Hall goalkeeper Gabe Gaggioni and the rebound shot was blocked by senior midfielder Brian Maher. He then played a long pass up to Crooks, who beat two CBA defenders before sliding the ball past Alessio for his 24th goal of the season.
     "They caught us off guard there," Keane said. "(Crooks) had a lot of speed and he got a great pass from the back."
     "I was up because we had to get a goal and they turned it around quick on us," Lannon said.
     Seton Hall Prep finished the 2007 season with a school record 22 wins to go along with its first ever group crown. The Pirates also set school marks for fewest losses (1), most shutouts (15) and most goals scored (95).
     "It feels really great," said Crooks, who missed last season with a torn ACL in his left knee. "The game really opened up for us after the first goal. It calmed us down and allowed us to possess a lot more."
     The Pirates were very quick in the back and did a very good job of closing off the passing lanes when CBA got within 25 yards. They also marked Liapis, who came into Tuesday's game with five goals in three state playoff games, tightly.
     "They are a very talented team and they marked Andrew very well," Keane said. "They knew who he was."
     CBA finished up at 14-6-1 and captured the Non-Public South A title for the second season in a row. Tuesday's loss is particularly hard for the Colts to take, not only because of how a game they felt they could have won slipped away, but because this group of seniors really felt this was going to be the year they walked off the field with a championship.
     "There were a lot of tears left on that field," Keane said. "The really wanted to win this game."
     "It's a completely different feeling from last season," Liapis said of the Colts' loss to Pingry last Fall. "These seniors, it was our last shot to win it together. I didn't expect it to end like this."
    Lannon was one of the Colts seniors wearing his heart on his sleeve after the game. However, he knows CBA has nothing to be ashamed of.
     "I'm proud of this team," said the senior captain. "People counted us out the whole year but we fought through it together. Freshman year we all came in and said we wanted to make our mark at CBA and it would be unfair to say we didn't. We won two sectional titles. We just wanted to win this one so bad for each other."

Box Score

Seton Hall Prep 2, CBA 0

CBA (14-6-1)               0 0 - 0
Seton Hall Prep (22-1) 1 1 - 2

Scoring: Crooks (McKenna) 19'; Crooks (Maher) 61'.
Saves: (C) Alessio 1; (S) Gaggioni 1.
Shots: Seton Hall Prep 11-6.

E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com