ROMEO — There’s nothing like starting a new season with a target on your back.
That’s the predicament coach Thaier Mukhtar explained to his Warren De La Salle Collegiate soccer squad after beating Romeo, 4-2, in the season opener Aug. 19.
That’s what you can expect when you’ve won state Division 2 championships two years in a row.
“You have to give credit to Romeo,” Mukthar said. “They came out fired up” and took a 2-1 first-half lead on goals wrapped around a 15-yard grass burner by Andrew Corder. (More about him later.)
“Yeah, as a coach, I always take the blame,” Mukthar said. “It’s my young team. They just come in trying to make a name for themselves. We talked about the second half. I don’t know that ‘talk’ is the right word. We discussed it loud.”
It took just 68 seconds for Corder to tie the score, then another nine minutes for senior Antonio Cardella to regain a 3-2 lead. Six minutes later, Corder clinched the victory with his third goal.
“The biggest challenge we have is understanding that we’re always going to get the other team’s best effort,” Mukthar said later. “They’re going to come at us. We’re back-to-back champs. We’re going for the third.”
Mukthar, 66, is in his 44th year coaching: 1983-2011 at De La Salle, 2012-17 at Fraser, since 2018 back at De La Salle. He’s the winningest boys soccer coach in the state with a 709-170-125 record that includes seven state titles.
“You know,” Mukthar said, “we’re in Macomb County. Any Macomb County team that does well against us, it’s all over social media: They just beat De La Salle. So my biggest challenge right now is to have these guys understand there’s a huge bullseye on their back. And they need to respect their opponent by coming out and bringing your ‘A’ game.
“So that’s the biggest challenge that we’re running into. We had a very good summer league. The kids know I’m never happy until Nov. 7 (state finals). I’m always going to find something to make them better. You know I’m one of those guys that holds my kids accountable.”
One of his “kids,” Corder, “has got a nose for the net,” Mukthar said. “The funny part is when he came to DLS he was a defender and he was mad that I moved him to forward. He didn’t want it. Now he’s got every D1 school after him.”
Corder has led the Pilots in scoring every year he’s been at De La Salle. He set the single-season mark of 38 goals last year, and the three he tallied against Romeo gave him a career-best and school-best 74. He’s earned All-State honors all three years in high school, was named to the 11-player All-State Dream Team by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association last year, and will certainly be one of the leading candidates for the annual Mr. Soccer award this season.
“It’s amazing what he is accomplishing,” Mukthar said. “I believe he is the most dangerous offensive player in the state. Absolutely one of the most dynamic offensive players I have ever coached, right after Brian Maisonneuve (1991).”
Maisonneuve, in his eighth year as head coach at Ohio State University, played his college soccer at Indiana University, winning the 1994 Hermann Trophy (awarded annually to the top college players), finishing as the Big Ten’s all-time top goal-scorer with 44, and helping Indiana to the NCAA championship game, losing 2-1 to Virginia. “I know he’s been talking to Corder,” Mukthar said.
De La Salle opens the Catholic High School League Bishop Division schedule at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
Football openers
Division 1 champ Novi Detroit Catholic Central at Clinton Twp Chippewa Valley, Thursday, Aug. 27, 4 p.m.
Division 2 champ Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep vs. Muskegon Mona Shores, Thursday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m.
Division 6 champ Jackson Lumen Christi at Detroit Edison, Friday, Aug. 28, 4 p.m.
The most interesting opener will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, when Dearborn Divine Child hosts Hudsonville Unity Christian. Last November, Divine Child defeated Unity Christian 23-22 for the Division 4 state championship.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
