ROCHESTER HILLS – Clarkston Everest Collegiate was able to strike the first blow to No. 1 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in Thursday’s CHSL Cardinal championship, but the Knights were able to come back and beat the Mountaineers 2-1 at Oakland University.
Ironically, after conceding a number of free kicks to the Mountaineers, that was how Liggett was able to score what turned out to be the match-winner as senior midfielder Ollie Cooley delivered a set piece that had the pace and was delivered into the opposite upper-corner for the game’s decisive goal with 29:11 left.
“Ollie’s been pretty exceptional for us all season,” said Knights head coach David Dwaihy, whose team had won all of its games this fall by multiple goals until Thursday. “I thought when we were struggling a bit to find a foot hole in the game, he took it upon himself a few times to win the ball back and play the pass we needed. We had a lot of great individual efforts.”
Less than a minute after the Knights’ second goal, the Mountaineers posed more problems with a free kick that was tipped off the crossbar by Liggett’s goalkeeper, but that was the extent of the threat.
Everest continued to have opportunities in the following few minutes, earning a corner, then another free kick. But Liggett’s play that resulted in a number of fouls helped disrupt the continuity of the Mountaineers’ attacks.
“We felt at halftime that they had outworked us in the first half, and the fouls, I’d like to think they were more the result of us being a little extra aggressive defensively,” Dwaihy said. “And we said we’re not good enough to beat any team without winning that 50-50 category, having some defensive anticipation and aggression, so I think they responded to that call really well. We also said we didn’t want to give up any fouls in our half because they scored off a corner and they’re (Everest) dangerous on set pieces, so it was a bit of a tight rope to walk.”
As stated, the Mountaineers (ranked No. 14 in D4) took the lead with 30:14 on the clock in the opening half when senior midfielder Xavier Brikho scored off a corner. But Cooley assisted Brady Ancona to cancel out the opener and level the match about five minutes after.
Mountaineers freshman Aiden Felix goes up for a header as teammate Sean Felix (3) watches on during Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to University Liggett in Rochester Hills. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)
From there, Everest was unable to join Plymouth Christian Academy as the only team to score multiple goals against the Knights in a match this year.
On whether the fouls played a part in bogging down the Mountaineers’ offense, Everest head coach Tom Strach answered, “That’s part of the game. I like playing a physical game, and they’re a very physical team, but also a clean team. I applaud their physical performance. I told the boys at halftime the best way to avoid that is to play the ball wide and don’t play with it too much. I think we just kind of dribbled the ball a bit too much in the center and made ourselves a bit of a target with the ball.”
Liggett knocked on the door the last 15 minutes, but skied several chances to add an insurance goal over the crossbar, and sophomore netminder Nicholas Sasak had a kick save to keep the Mountaineers in it, even if they lacked some chances down the stretch.
“I think we moved the ball really well,” Everest senior midfielder Charlie Schmitt said. “We were a little weak on the attack. We’ve definitely got to work on that in practice (for the upcoming playoff run).”
After starting the season with back-to-back losses, the Mountaineers (12-3-0) had been unbeaten themselves since heading into Thursday’s championship tilt.
Everest has largely done it with a young team. The Mountaineers have just five seniors (and start three), but last year’s team was extremely light on seniors, too, so the group that reached a regional final in 2025 returned essentially intact.
“These boys just click,” Strach said. “You know, soccer, it’s not even secondary or third. It’s basically your religion, family, and education, and soccer falls anywhere behind that. I want these boys to have a good bond together and support each other not just on the field but off the field, too, because that’s where you need each other.”
Strach seems to believe their bond and quality could carry them to an eventual rematch with Liggett. Everest opens the D4 playoffs with Southfield Christian, but could potentially see the Knights again in the Final Four.
“I hope we see these guys again in the state semis, because I think we’ll give them another run,” Strach said.