GRAND LEDGE — Goalie Kaden Peggar was ready to run to the waiting fans in celebration before Carter MacKellar had even gotten set for what turned out to the decisive penalty kick.

Seconds later, Peggar, MacKellar and the rest of the Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (21-1-3) boys soccer team raced across the field at Grand Ledge High School, celebrating with fans a 1-0 shootout (4-3) win in the Division 4 boys soccer state championship win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett on Saturday, Nov. 7.

“He was the guy I trusted the most while I was getting ready to run,” Peggar said postgame. “I was like, if he misses, I’ll be shocked.”

University Liggett (21-1) had taken a 3-2 lead in penalties after three rounds, and after neither team found the back of the net in regulation or two 10-minute overtime periods. Peggar was stepping back into the net and knew he needed to come up with at least one save to give his team a chance.

He ended up stopping the next two, reverting to instinct to guess the proper way and parrying away back-to-back penalties.

“I have a really good knack for pens,” Peggar said. “I feel like I can guess the side most of the way. 
So on the first three, I didn’t get. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ I got a little nervous. But I was like, ‘I have to, I have to get the next one.’ I did. I was like, ‘OK, if I get this next one, I can win it.’ And that was just it. We ended up doing it.”

That set the stage for MacKellar to take the final kick that delivered Western Michigan Christian a title.

“Almost like, a great — like a relief that it’s over, but also seeing we did it,” MacKellar said of the feeling when his penalty kick went in. “Like, this is the best moment. Now we can celebrate.”

With the win, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian has won four of the last five titles in Division 4, all under head coach Ben Buursma.

Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett finishes as the Division 4 runner up for the second-straight season, taking its first loss of the year on Saturday.

“There were a few moments where, you know, that’s a — that’s a really good team,” Buursma said of the nerves coaching a 0-0 game through regulation and overtime. “And we’re just one mistake away from going down, and it almost happened a couple of times.”

For 40 minutes in the second half, University Liggett steadily cranked up the pressure, holding possession with strong midfield play as Western Michigan Christian found attacking chances on the counter. Several resulted in shots on University Liggett’s net, which were easily turned away by goalie Connor Sharp.

And the University Liggett offense, despite the general control of possession, had a difficult time of even getting shots home against Western Michigan Christian, as goalie Peggar easily handled what did come his way.

Peggar, a senior, decided this offseason to rejoin some of his childhood teammates in the high school ranks after playing club soccer with MLS Next the past three years.

“I come here, my only year of high school, go to win a state championship and go to PKs,” Peggar said. “That’s just what dreams are made of.”

The first half was a slow, stiff and sometimes sloppy affair. Neither team registered a shot on goal until more than six minutes had passed, as Muskegon Western Michigan Christian navigated the ball into the box but a wide-angle shot was easily saved.

A few set pieces for either team — a direct free kick from Western Michigan Christian and a corner from University Liggett — had the potential to turn into threats but never quite panned out.

And the best chance of the whole first half came with 6:30 to play, as Western Michigan Christian used its skill and pace to drive the ball up the left wing, get it deep, and slid a cross across the face of goal from within 10 yards. An attacker got a foot on the ball to try and score, but the shot attempt dribbled wide of the post.

It’d take another 60-plus minutes until Peggar made his saves, MacKellar scored his penalty, and Western Michigan Christian won another state championship.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian wins Division 4 title on penalty kick

Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News

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