BOYS SOCCER: Everest Collegiate won’t be ‘nervous’ in Final Four tussle with Lenawee Christian
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — If you would have asked John Haezebrouck before the 2019 season if Clarkston Everest Collegiate would be making back-to-back Final Four runs in the near future, he might not have believed it.
“I wouldn’t have believed it because we had never been that far before,” said Haezebrouck. “Just a few years ago we lost to (Burton) Genesee Christian something like 7-0 in the districts. But we have had a couple of nice runs since then.”
Everest Collegiate opened up its high school portion in 2009 and the Mountaineers played in a co-op program with Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes from 2009-2013. Beginning in 2014, Everest has competed as a stand-alone program.
The co-op program did reach the Division 4 district finals back in 2012, but was torched by Auburn Hills Oakland Christian that year, 7-0. The following season it was Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett that knocked them out with a 5-0 defeat in the district semifinals.
In 2014, West Bloomfield Jewish Academy edged Everest in a district opener, 2-1, while in 2015 the Mountaineers were given a rude awakening by dropping its district opener to eventual state champion Genesee Christian, 7-0.
The program has come a long ways since that moment.
Even though Everest lost in the 2016 first round to Danville (3-0), the 2017 district semifinals to Lansing Christian (2-1) and the 2018 district finals to Birmingham Roeper (1-0), the program was clearly building.
Last year, the Mountaineers captured their first district and regional titles before bowing out to seven-time state finalist Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett (5-0) in the state semifinals.
This year Everest faced Liggett in the regional finals and despite being in a 21-3 shots deficit still claimed a 2-1 upset victory over the Knights.
After starting 1-3-1 and losing to Romeo Summit Home School (6-2) back on Sept. 17, Everest Collegiate (10-5-2) has gone 9-2-1 down the stretch. The Mountaineers have won six straight games, including four straight in the state tournament where they hold 13-3 scoring edge,
and have yielded only one goal in their last three contests.
Everest Collegiate will play in the state semifinals at Troy Athens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and that will be against fellow rising program Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Lenawee Christian (14-2-1) last reached the Final Four back in 1999 before enjoying only moderate postseason success and playing in the shadows of Ann Arbor Greenhills and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central for years. The Cougars have outscored their four postseason opponents 14-2 and 75-15 over 17 games this season.
Lenawee Christian is also carrying a nine-game win streak into the state semifinals.
“They are a lot like us in that they have had some recent success,” said Haezebrouck. “We have never played them and the only common opponent we had this season is (Royal Oak) Shrine, who they tied 1-1 early in the season. We lost to Shrine by a goal two times.”
Shrine defeated Everest by scores of 3-2 and 2-1 in league play inside the CHSL Intersectional 2 Division. But Shrine lost to Liggett in the regional semifinals (6-2) while Everest stunned Liggett (2-1).
“We expect it’s going to be a very competitive game,” added Haezebrouck. “We just need to come out and play our game. We have been playing very good defense lately. It took some time because we graduated our goalie and a couple of defenders from last year. But we have (tightened up) defensively and we are not allowing very many great chances.
“Plus we were here last year, so we have eight guys who actually played in the semifinal game,” continued Haezebrouck. “I don’t think we’ll be nervous and we are better prepared. We know what to expect.”
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