ROCHESTER HILLS – You’d expect a confrontation between teams ranked No. 1 and No. 14 to be of mild interest. Maybe an upset?
Such was the mood Oct. 8 when Division 4 No. 1 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and No. 14 Clarkston Everest Collegiate squared off for the Catholic High School League Cardinal Division boys soccer championship at Oakland University.
Ten minutes into the game, Everest senior midfielder Xavier Brikho directed freshman Ricardo Cespedes’ corner kick into Liggett’s net for a 1-0 lead that lasted just five minutes when Liggett senior forward Brady Ancona weaved his way for 20 yards to tie the score.
Senior midfielder Ollie Cooley’s free kick 11 minutes after halftime made it a 2-1 score, the eventual winning margin for Liggett, a perfect 15-0 record, and its sixth soccer championship since joining the CHSL nine years ago.
“Tonight we hopefully picked up a little piece of armor,” Liggett coach David Dwaihy said, “That will really help us going forward because we had to dig in, we had to come back, and we had to overcome a team that was physically very capable, very organized, and made life really difficult for us.”
Heading into the state playoffs and another finals appearance, the Knights outscored their opponents 80-9, including seven shutouts.
“You know, up until tonight, a lot of games had kind of gone our way," Dwaihy said. "We certainly had some battles this season. But this was one that really stands out to me as a game where we had to overcome.”
Everest (12-2) coach Tom Strach said Liggett “had some strong players in the center, and we kept telling our boys to play the ball outside, and we just kept throwing the ball in the middle. I think that's where we lost the ball in the transition a little bit, and we were trying to also press to push the ball more to the right side in the second half.”
Strach continued: “Spiritually, just a strong bunch of boys. We pray, and we practice together. I love the heart that this team has. I love how the boys are hungry, and I love that they want more.”
State playoffs for boys soccer begin with the District tournament Oct. 14-24, Regional tournament Oct. 27-31, Semifinals Nov. 4 and MHSAA Finals Nov. 7 at Grand Ledge High School.
Here is the schedule for CHSL teams ranked among the top 15 in the four classifications:
Oct. 14: Division 2 defending champion No. 5 Warren De La Salle Collegiate (13-3-3) vs. St. Clair. D2 No. 9 Dearborn Divine Child (8-1-5) vs. River Rouge. D4 Everest vs. Southfield Christian.
Oct. 15: D2 No. 8 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (9-4-2) vs. either Auburn Hills Avondale or Holly, D2 No. 11 University of Detroit Jesuit (8-4-5) vs Oak Park.
Oct. 16: D1 No. 13 Novi Detroit Catholic Central (8-5-4) vs either Milford or South Lyon.
Oct. 20: D3 No. 5 Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day (12-4-4) vs either Ann Arbor Greenhills or Huron Prep. D4 No. 1 Liggett vs. either Westland Universal Learning Academy or Detroit Academy of the Americas.
Here are CHSL teams ranked by the MHSAA in other fall sports as of Oct. 9:
Cross Country Boys: D3 No. 12 Jackson Lumen Christi.
Cross Country Girls: D2 No. 15 Bloomfield Hills Marian, D3 No. 7 Jackson Lumen Christi.
Football: D1 No.1 defending champion Detroit Catholic Central; D2 No 1 defending champion St. Mary’s Prep; D3 No. 12 Warren De La Salle; D4 No. 2 defending champion Divine Child.
Golf girls: D2 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook; D2 No.4, Farmington Hills Mercy; D3 No. 8 Detroit Country Day; D4 No. 3 Liggett; D4 No. 5 Academy of the Sacred Heart; D4 No. 8 Royal Oak Shrine Catholic.
Tennis Boys: D1 No.3 Brother Rice; D3 No. 3 Greenhills; D3 No. 4 Greenhills; D4 No.1 Lumen Christi; D4 No. 2 defending champion Liggett.
Swimming Girls: D2 No.1 defending champion Mercy; D2 No. 8 Ann Arbor Greenhills; D3 No. 2 Marian; D3 No.5 Cranbrook; D3 No.6 Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected]
