Pilots team to beat in D2 soccer

WARREN — As Warren De La Salle boys soccer head coach Thaier Mukhtar describes the state tournament, it’s “De La Salle” time.

When you’re the winningest coach in Michigan high school soccer history and have 12 regional titles and five state championship titles attached to your name, you have the power to claim the postseason as a time where your team will turn on the afterburners.

But when Mason blocked the Pilots, who have five state championship titles, from making its seventh state finals appearance in a 3-2 shootout defeat in the state semifinals, the clock simply ran out for Mukhtar and company.

It’s always tough to see the silver lining in defeat, but returning the entire roster, for the first time in Mukhtar’s 54 years of coaching both boys and girls soccer, every player on the De La Salle roster knew 2024 was going to be their year.

“There’s nothing else on our minds than getting that ring,” senior captain Josh Ross said. “Having everyone back was a huge plus. We already had that chemistry that we built off of. We’re just grinding in these practices and trying to get better every day. Having everyone back was a huge advantage for us.”

Opening the season with four-straight wins and outscoring opponents 17-4, De La Salle was firing on all cylinders until a 4-0 loss to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep stopped the team in its tracks.

The Pilots team of 2023 struggled finding its consistency after defeats, suffering back-to-back losses three times during the season that led to an 8-9 regular season record.

De La Salle responded with a crucial 1-0 win over Catholic High School League rival Detroit Catholic Central, and had revenge on its mind with a rematch against Mason in the TC West Showcase.

Beating Mason 2-1 and Traverse City St. Francis 4-1 to complete the weekend sweep, a new kind of confidence and resilience was showcased by the Pilots.

“Going into that Traverse City tournament, coach Mukhtar purposely wanted Mason out of all the squads, and obviously we did as well,” senior captain Daniel Makara said. “That was a big factor. That game was very important for us, showing that we are the better team even though we lost to them last year. I think we gave them a sign that we’re coming for them in the playoffs. Hopefully we see them again in the playoffs.”

Makara, a first team all-state selection in 2023, leads the backline for No. 3 ranked De La Salle alongside senior captain Harrison Pertot, senior Jack Janusch, and sophomore goalkeeper Dominic Baldarotta, who was an all-state honorable mention in net as a freshman in 2023.

A three-year varsity player and multiyear captain, Makara understands the emphasis Mukhtar, a defensive-minded coach, places on his defender night in and night out.

There’s a certain level of pressure that comes with playing for a coach who would rather win 1-0 than 5-4, but Mukhtar said he holds that type of standard to his guys because he knows Makara and company are up to the task.

“He (Makara) quarterbacks the team from the back,” Mukhtar said. “I have not seen a better offensive player from the backline as I’ve seen him. He’s deadly on set pieces, he can launch the ball 70 yards in the air to a teammate, and he reads the game very well and controls the game very well from the back.”

Makara can be a gamechanger on the attack, but he doesn’t need to be when you have guys like sophomore Andrew Corder, junior captain Nikolai Zacharko, senior captain JJ Jurczyk, and Ross who can send the ball into the back of the net at any given time.

De La Salle’s triangle attack consists of a trio of all-staters with Corder (first team all-state in 2023), Zacharko (third team all-state in 2023), and Ross (first team all-state in 2023).

The Pilots’ offense has been efficient, but Mukhtar said he’s looking for more consistency from his guys.

“Once Nikolai (Zacharko), Josh Ross, and (Andrew) Corder connect in that triangle that we have on the attack, with Corder up high and Nikolai and Josh Ross,” Mukhtar said. “It’s three all-state players, and they all have dominated at times but not together as a unit and as a machine. Once they all hit their stride together, watch out. I truly believe they will.”

The trio responded to Mukhtar’s proposal with a 3-1 win over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice on Sept. 13 where each of the three players posted a goal.

“We really connected together in that game,” Ross said. “Things really shifted with us three because we were kind of unstoppable that first half with all three of us getting on the score sheet. We were breaking out of the defense, transitioning very well, and building off each other. We were definitely excited about that.”

As a whole, the Pilots have acted as a cohesive unit, which has sparked the success and resiliency shown throughout the season.

The chemistry is a mix of a passion shared by each player for the sport, a brotherhood the players have built over the course of their high school careers, but also an understanding of what it means to represent the purple and gold and the history behind it.

“Playing for a program like De La Salle with the story behind it, it’s a handful of feelings,” Zacharko said. “It’s not only playing for your school but playing for the players that played before you. Coach will talk to us about how there’s alumni around the country that are still interested in what we’re doing. That just goes to show the impact that this program has had on students and players. Playing for a team like De La Salle and a coach like Mukhtar, it’s more than a team — it’s a family. It’s probably one of the greatest experiences I’ve had with soccer and the school.”

Currently 9-3-1, De La Salle will finish off its Catholic High School League schedule before heading into the state tournament.

The Pilots entered the 2023 postseason fresh off back-to-back wins against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Lake Orion, playing their best soccer of the season.

When the lights are the brightest and it’s all about surviving and advancing, Mukhtar said his guys know how to show up and bring it.

“The games are a battle, and the state championships are a war,” Mukhtar said. “You may lose a battle here and there, but you can still win the war by learning about what you did wrong. That’s the big thing. We’re just pushing to clean up and get smoother on everything we need to clean up before it’s do or die, and I love the do or die games. We always say, ‘That’s De La Salle time.’” When it’s the playoffs, it’s ‘De La Salle time.’”