De La Salle Collegiate Takes Final Step to Finish 1st Title Run since 2005
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 2, 2024
GRAND LEDGE – Josh Ross made it to the final game of his high school soccer career without getting a single yellow card.
But Saturday, when his late goal sealed Warren De La Salle Collegiate’s Division 2 Final against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, the senior midfielder figured it was OK to break that streak.
Ross ripped off his jersey and ran to the De La Salle student section to start off a celebration 19 years in the making.
“It was my first yellow card of my entire career,” said Ross, who was carded as jersey removal is an automatic card. “We were talking about it on the bus, we were joking that I was going to get my first yellow card taking my shirt off, and man, that was the greatest feeling that I could ever feel.”
De La Salle defeated Northern 4-1 to claim the sixth Finals title in program history, but first since 2005. Coach Thaier Mukhtar has been at the helm for all of those titles, and was emotional after this latest one.
“This is my sixth state championship – I’ve been there, I’ve done that,” he said. “But my tears were for my seniors. I couldn’t be happier for them.”
The Pilots had 10 seniors on their roster, one year after having none. But a young group a year ago advanced to the Semifinals before getting knocked out in penalty kicks, and that helped push them throughout this season.
“We had a rough start to (2023), but our group is so close,” said Ross, who had two goals and two assists. “Even though I’m a senior, I feel like I’m in the same grade as the sophomores and juniors. We’re a close group of boys that really nothing can stand in our way. Once we figured that out last year and started our run, started our roll, we got unlucky and lost in pens. But we knew how close we were, we knew how good we were, and as you see, we came out here and won today.”
De La Salle spent much of the game holding onto a 2-1 lead, as a frenetic start saw three goals scored in the game’s first 23 minutes. Neither team would find the net again, however, until Ross’ goal with 3:36 to play put the game on ice, and an Andrew Corder goal 1:26 later erased any doubt.
“The biggest weight off my shoulders ever,” Ross said. “One of the greatest feelings in my life.”
While the game was just a shot away from being tied for the majority of the second half, the Huskies weren’t able to create consistent pressure or the big chances that could test De La Salle goalkeeper Dominic Baldarotta, who stopped one of the two shots the Huskies put on frame.
The Pilots (20-3-1), meanwhile, had seven shots on frame, but just three of them coming in the second half, including the two goals in the final 3:36.
The lack of scoring chances in the second was a stark contrast to the first half, when it looked like a wide open game could be unfolding.
De La Salle created the game’s first chance in the first 20 seconds after a quick free kick, and it scored the first goal 10:01 into the game as JJ Jurczyk finished off a Ross pass following a well-worked play on a corner kick.
It only took 1:04 for Northern to answer, however, as Dylan Van Skiver scored on a free kick to tie the game.
Ross’ first goal of the game didn’t come for another 11 minutes, but both teams had pushed through that timeframe. The goal, though, was worth the relatively short wait, as Corder played a gorgeous pass to spring Ross on goal, and the senior went to the far post for a 2-1 lead.
“I saw both the defenders closing me down,” Corder said. “(The) split, I practice that at Rondos at practice every day. So I put it through and just played him.”
Ross had an assist on Corder’s second goal, while Settimo Leone had an assist on Ross’ second.
“(Ross) was extremely motivated this year to lead this team to a championship,” Mukhtar said. “He’s a two-year captain, first-team all-state last year, he’ll be first-team all-state this year, obviously. He’s just a tremendous leader. He’s the type of kid you want to adopt. He’s extremely polite – except for taking off his shirt. I guess I won’t yell at him about that; he’s done.”
Goalkeeper Lukas Darling had three saves for Northern (19-5-3), which was playing in its first Final since winning it all in 2019.
PHOTOS (Top) De La Salle’s Vince Houlihan (19) controls the ball while two Forest Hills Northern players attempt to gain possession. (Middle) FHN’s Drin Mandija (23) winds up to send the ball forward with the Pilots’ Josh Ross in pursuit. (Below) De La Salle’s Andrew Corder maintains possession. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Ludwig's Dedication to High School Pitch Energizes Clarkston's Title Pursuit
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 15, 2022
CLARKSTON – It would be a bit much to say they have been full-scale recruiting pitches for Clarkston senior Richie Ludwig, but let’s just say there have been strong nudges each time the high school soccer season has rolled around.
Before each season, Ludwig has gotten some minor overtures from coaches at various academies trying to lure him to their organizations and away from high school soccer.
And these aren’t some low-key academies, as several are affiliated with Major League Soccer organizations.
“I usually get a text or two and calls from a couple of different coaches,” he said.
The coaches essentially are saying, “Hey, if you happen to change your mind about that high school thing, you know where to reach us.”
Each time, Ludwig has essentially responded saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
You certainly can’t blame the academies for trying.
A wondrously skilled and fast player, Ludwig should be on the short list of Mr. Soccer Award candidates this year, if not the favorite.
Entering Tuesday he had 13 goals and nine assists already this season, and he’ll play next for Michigan State.
But the fact he’s in the midst of his fourth year of high school soccer is news in itself, given his talents.
Besides just loving high school soccer and playing with his friends, there are two other reasons why Ludwig has shunned prominent academies.
One, he plays on a club team, Nationals Soccer Union based out of Shelby Township — where one of the coaches is his dad, Rich — that has traveled the country to tournaments and events.
“Really, I’ve gotten all the scouting and recruitment needed at my club nationals,” Ludwig said.
Second, Clarkston plays in what annually is one of the state’s best leagues, the Oakland Activities Association Red, where nightly there are games against other prominent club standouts, future college players and state-ranked teams.
It’s not like he’s missing out on developmental opportunities in high school.
“What I get out of high school is a good social environment while also getting to compete with a couple of my buddies,” Ludwig said. “Even though it may not be at a level as high as a club team is playing at, I can still push myself to be able to play at the standards I want to play at the next level.”
Ludwig primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a center forward, and while he is a natural goal scorer, Clarkston head coach Ian Jones said he’s a creator wherever he is on the field.
Even if he is assigned to be in the middle of the field, Ludwig will go wide to create numerous scoring opportunities.
“He almost creates more opportunities by not being involved,” Jones said. “He finds spaces. He creates space for other people, so his understanding of how to create space not just for himself, but other people, is the biggest improvement I’ve seen. He just has a knack of seeing things before they evolve.”
Ludwig said he has worn a Spartans jersey “ever since I came out of the womb.”
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” he added.
Before that though, he hopes to leave high school by making history for Clarkston.
This year marks 15 years since the best team in Clarkston history made a run to its only MHSAA Finals in 2007, where the Wolves lost in the Division 1 championship match to East Kentwood.
Ludwig said he and other players have turned into historians a bit this year, studying up on that team and hoping to go one step farther so they can lay claim to being the best in school history.
“Our coaches have talked to us about some of those things they did,” Ludwig said. “The little things off of the field even. They have just told us the little things we need to pick up on to make that run.”
If a run at a Finals title doesn’t happen, Ludwig won’t have any regrets about sticking with high school for all four years given the memories he’s made and what he’s accomplished.
But if the Wolves do contend, it’ll make turning down those small overtures from academies worth celebrating more than all the goals he has scored combined.
“He’s a pretty loyal boy,” Jones said. "I think he has the ambition to do something in high school that hasn’t been done before.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS Clarkston’s Richie Ludwig (10), an all-state Dream Team selection last season, is a likely contender for the Mr. Soccer Award this fall. (Photos courtesy of Richie Ludwig.)