BOYS SOCCER: Everest shocks Liggett for second straight regional title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
MADISON HEIGHTS — Sometimes soccer can come down to finishing opportunities.
That couldn’t be any more true than for Clarkston Everest Collegiate on the soccer pitch Thursday at Madison Heights Bishop Foley Catholic.
The Mountaineers only had three shots on frame against perennial state powerhouse Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett but somehow managed to post a 2-1 upset of the Knights in a Division 4 regional finals.
It marked the second straight regional crown for Everest Collegiate, whose program has only been around for seven seasons independently and four previous seasons in a co-op with Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes. It also was a monumental upset, as Liggett was not only the D-4 state runner-up last season and returned 15 players, but defeated Everest 5-0 in last year’s state semifinals.
“We didn’t have many chances but we finished some opportunities,” said Everest coach John Haezebrouck. “We knew they would get their chances, we just had to minimize their great chances and score on a couple of ours. I thought we did a great job marking them up and we were able to score on a couple of our chances.”
Liggett has produced many deep state tournament runs in the MHSAA tournament over the four decades — posting a 3-4 record in state title matches going back to 1982. The Knights entered the campaign as one of the favorites to win D-4, along with currently-undefeated Grandville Calvin Christian.
Liggett outshot Everest Collegiate 21-3, including 14-3 with shots on frame, and even held possession for long stretches of the contest.
Still, Everest Collegiate had other plans.
The Mountaineers scored the first two goals of the game, allowed a late tally and hung on for dear life before posting the shocker of the D-4 tournament.
Senior midfielder Anthony Felix scored the first goal when he beat Liggett goalkeeper Sam Sword on a 30-yard free kick that sailed high and into the corner of the goal in the 40th minute.
The Mountaineers planted Liggett on its heals with another tally in the 42nd minute. This time junior midfielder Lucas Cross served a free kick into the box and junior forward Joey Thibodeau — one of three starters for Everest that are also starters for the school’s undefeated football team — headed the ball to the back post and into the goal.
Liggett (11-2-1) was finally able to cut into the lead in the 74th minute when freshman Claudio Cavallo converted a penalty kick.
Everest Collegiate (10-5-2) continued to frustrate the Knights down the stretch and hung on in the end.
“They have some very talented players that score a ton of goals for them, but we frustrated them the whole game,” said Haezebrouck. “I think last year when we played Liggett we were a little nervous. That was in the state semifinals and no one had ever played in a game like that. We held with them in the first half but then they really dominated the second half. This time I think we were better composed and when they did score to make it 2-1, we weren’t rattled.”
Haezebrouck credited the Mountaineers defense for shutting down Liggett senior midfielder Stewart Smith and senior forward Sheikh Manneh — a pair of All-State First Team players a year ago who dominated Everest in last year’s Final Four — and keeping them off the scoreboard this time around. Cavallo, a talented freshman, was held to just the penalty kick goal.
Sophomore center back Luke Walker — who was an All-State Honorable Mention choice as a freshman forward last year — teamed up with juniors Johnny Morrison, Charlie Reichert and Sawyer Arbogast to limit the high-flying Knights to just one goal. Arbogast received the duty of marking Liggett’s Manneh for most of the 80 minutes, while senior midfielder Dominic Cross helped Smother Smith in the middle of the field.
“Sawyer did a fantastic job marking him (Manneh). He is really fast and has a knack for the goal,” said Haezebrouck. “We know how talented (Manneh) and Smith are and what they are capable of doing. They had shots, but a lot of them were from a distance out.”
Liggett finished the season outscoring its 15 opponents by a commanding 82-17 margin but were held to one goal for the first time this season. The Knights scored at least two goals in every previous contest and averaged 5.5 goals a game.
Senior goalkeeper John Suran made 13 saves for Everest Collegiate, including 10 stops in the second half as Liggett had the wind at its backs during those 40 minutes.
Everest Collegiate will face another perennial program, Adrian Lenawee Christian, next Wednesday at Troy Athens in the state semifinals.
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