By George O’Gorman
For BucksLocalNews.com

If his objective were just to win championships, Ed Gauss could have taken the easy road and his Pennington School boys soccer team would be celebrating a second straight Prep B state championship today.

But Gauss is all about making sure his teams play the best soccer possible, even if they have to pay for it with a loss to a program that has dominated New Jersey boys soccer for the last 23 years.

Pennington paid that price last Sunday, although it gained tons of confidence, and even more respect, as it fell to St. Benedict’s Prep of Newark, 3-2, in the Prep A state final, played at NJIT.

Trailing almost from the outset after giving up a goal in the first minute on a corner kick, Pennington roared back in the final 20 minutes and had the nationally-ranked Bees on their heels until the final whistle.

“In the second part of the second half we put the pressure on them and played some of our best soccer of the season,” said Gauss. “We hit the post twice and had some dangerous corners. I couldn’t be prouder of my guys.

“Sometimes in soccer, you need some luck, and they sure got it in that first minute when their kid put the corner over everybody and it banged off the back post,” said Gauss.

Noah Sadaoqi put the first-minute free kick into the box and beyond the reach of Pennington ’keeper John Ricketti. Twenty minutes later, Bonny Londono would make it 2-0 for the 17-2 Grey Bees, who kept constant pressure on the Red Raiders defense while at the same time seeming to double and triple mark every Pennington player who got possession.

After Sammy Adjei gave the 23-time Prep A champs a 3-0 lead with a goal five minutes after the break, Pennington finally began to click on all cylinders.

After watching shots from Chandler Fraser-Pauls and Kyle Roach go over the bar or wide of the post, Pennington used its newfound confidence to its advantage, especially with corners that consistently were put on the goal line.

With 28 minutes remaining, Roach took a pass off a throw-in by Fraser-Pauls and rocketed a 15-yard shot past Bees goalie Chris Lands.

Suddenly, St. Benedict’s found itself under the same pressure it had earlier in the season, when it needed an own goal to beat Pennington, 1-0.

While most of its shots were off target, Pennington’s chances were a lot more dangerous.

Three of its corners were put to the 6-yard line, but weren’t converted because Pennington players were in position behind Lands, rather than in front of him to get an open shot.

With 2:13 remaining, Fraser-Pauls got a throw-in at the top of the penalty area, and with Lands charging off his line, the Pennington forward chipped it high enough to get it over the ’keeper and just under the bar.

Time would run out on Pennington, however, leaving it to agonize over a second one-goal loss to the the team that would claim its 21st straight state title.

“All season we’ve had trouble defending balls played in from the side, and sure enough, their first two goals came from the side, said Gauss. “Sometimes you need the luck, and they got it on that first goal, then we had to play from behind the rest of the game.

“In the second half, we realized we can’t be afraid of this team and we played much better. It’s never too late to become a better team, and in the second part of the second half we became that better team.

“They (St. Benedict’s) knew they were going to be in a game today after that first game with us, but it took a while for us to show it,” said Gauss.

“I told the team we could probably be holding the Prep B trophy at Pennington right now, but the kids wanted more than that. They wanted to play the best, and we gave the best all they could handle. I couldn’t be prouder of my kids,” said Gauss.