EAST LANSING — David Dwaihy had nothing but praise for his team in spite of their season-ending loss.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett suffered a 4-1 loss to Kalamazoo Christian in the MHSAA Division 4 girls soccer state championship game Saturday, June 14, at DeMartin Soccer Complex at the campus of Michigan State. Kalamazoo Christian midfielder Jordyn Bonnema scored twice as the Comets collected their sixth state championship in school history, their second in three seasons, and were too much for the Knights to overcome.
“I thought we played some of our best soccer of the year against a really good opponent, one of the strongest opponents we’ve seen in a long time and on the biggest stage possible,” Dwaihy, in his final game as University Liggett coach, said.
Liggett struggled early in the game as Christian junior midfielder Izzy Suloff scored the game’s only goal in the first half in the third minute. The Knights advanced down the field and made multiple attempts to score, but Comets goalkeeper Kailey Triemstra halted their momentum.
Bonnema scored the team’s next goal early in the second half in the 43rd minute.
But Knights senior midfielder Kerith Short responded five minutes later, advancing the ball down the field and scored putting Liggett within one goal. Short continued to lead the team’s efforts to tie the game, but could not find the back of the net again.
“She’s the grittiest, toughest kid I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching, and it really game through today,” Dwaihy said. “She created countless chances for herself. She put some really good serves in from the left wing and I thought she did a lot for us.”
As the game came down to the last 10 minutes, Bonnema scored from the corner, putting the Comets up 3-1, followed by the final goal from freshman forward Laila Rashid.
Bonnema reflected on her two-goal performance in the state championship.
“I just wanted to give it all for my teammates,” she said. “I just wanted to put my full effort out there and be at the right place at the right time and fortunately that’s what happened.”
After 17 years, Dwaihy, also the Detroit City USL W League coach, will coach Liggett’s boys team in the fall. He’s grateful for his team and the journey to the state finals.
“What a send off and what an amazing group to graduate with,” he said. “Just couldn’t have been more proud of their efforts throughout the season and the fact we got to extend it this far was just a real gift, a blessing I’ll be forever grateful for.”
Nominate a high school athlete for the Detroit Free Press boys and girls athlete of the week.
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X: @EricGuzman90.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA girls soccer: Kalamazoo Christian captures D4 title 4-1 over University Liggett
Reporting by Eric Guzmán, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
