BOYS SOCCER: West Highland pulls away from Oakdale Christian for first MACS state title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — Two years ago, Milford West Highland Christian got a sniff of what it’s like to be near the top of the pitch.
On Saturday, the Mustangs finally reached summit.
A pair of early goals gave West Highland plenty of momentum nd helped push the Mustangs to a 4-1 triumph over Waterford Oakdale Christian Academy in the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division II state finals at Clarkston Springfield Christian High School.
The Mustangs lost in the 2013 state finals to Gaylord Grace Baptist (4-3) in their first-ever appearance in the MACS-II finals.
“That’s the way we’ve played all season. We score goals early on a lot of our opponents,” said West Highland coach Gabe Sturley. “It gives you confidence when you’re playing with a lead.”
West Highland (13-2-1) joined the MACS less than a decade ago after competing in the now-defunct Association of Christian Schools (ASCI) state tournament. This was the school’s first MACS state title in any sport. Previously, West Highland won boys basketball state titles in the ACSI state tournaments (2005, 2006).
The Mustangs played the entire tournament without their leading scorer, David Retzlaff, who scored 20 goals but sat out with an injury.
In the finals, senior John Retzlaff scored a hat trick, including the first two goals to put the Mustangs up for good.
Senior Zach Whitted set up Retzlaff in the fifth minute for a 1-0 lead, then Retzlaff scored an unassisted goal 10 minutes later for the 2-0 cushion.
Oakdale, just a second-year program making its first appearance in a MACS-II state finals, stayed within striking distance with multiple chances but could never catch up.
West Highland sophomore Max Cappozzo made it 3-0 later in the half to put the Mustangs into comfort zone.
Oakdale (9-4-1) did cut the margin to 3-1 midway in the 45th minute of the second half off a goal by sophomore forward Tim Benninger.
With numbers pushed up to try to net two more goals, that left the Patriots’ defense exposed. West Highland added a fourth goal in the 70th minute off the foot of Retzlaff, one of four seniors on the Mustangs’ roster.
Retzlaff’s three-goal explosion gave him 16 tallies on the season.
Oakdale Christian had ample opportunities in the contest, but could only push one shot past West Highland senior keeper Andrew Whitted.
“We had our chances, plenty of them,” said Oakdale Christian Ben Maier. “We just stubbled to put a few in the goal. We fell behind early and it’s not easy coming back. We did have shots and free kicks but could only score one goal. West Highland’s defense was strong, but if we could have scored in the first half I think it might have changed (the momentum) of the game.
“I’m still proud of our boys. We just started our soccer program last year,” continued Maier. “That’s not bad getting here. But we could have won this game if we finish (opportunities). It goes down to finishing and we struggled with that today.”
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