Thaier Mukhtar's Pilots (4-3-2, 1-0-1 Catholic League Central Division) proved to be a resilient bunch against their Catholic League rivals from Detroit U-D Jesuit Thursday evening at St. John Baptist de La Salle Field. In a hard-fought contest that saw both sides fight with maximum effort, the Purple and Gold came out on top, 2-1.

All the scoring came in the first half of play, with the Cubs getting on the scoreboard first. The Pilots answered back with a goal of their own at the 19:20 mark in the half, courtesy of junior Michele Pizzo. The goal was assisted by senior Marco Foltz. Junior Dean Oakie produced the second and final goal of the match for the Pilots, which came on an assist from senior Sebastian Genna.

In the second half, the Purple and Gold stymied the Cubs, on the heels of a solid performance in net from senior Ryan Golden.   

Mukhtar was proud of the effort he saw from his Pilots.  

"We needed to win this game. It's our home field, our turf. We knew we were playing a great team, and we just had to step up to the plate," Mukhtar said after the game. "It's a fight, it's a war every game against these guys and the rest of the teams from the Catholic League Central Division (Birmingham Brother Rice and Detroit Catholic Central). Every ball is fought for, contested for, things like that. And, many times, it's the team that makes the most out of the breaks it catches that wins the game. And, I thought we did that today."

With the win, the Pilots are tied for first place in the Central Division with Brother Rice -- the team that De La Salle just happens to play next Thursday (Sept. 9) at St. John Baptist de La Salle Field. 

Before that, though, the Purple and Gold will square off with Lake Orion Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. at Lake Orion High School. 

More soccer from 9/2

De La Salle Collegiate JV-A 1, U-D Jesuit 1: The Cubs scored first in the second half. Junior Matt Muzik followed it up with a huge, equalizing goal for the Pilots (0-2-1). The De La Salle back-end of the defense played strong, and the midfield kept great possession throughout the entirety of the contest. Muzik had a standout game up-high. Next up for the Pilots is a contest with Lake Orion, which kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Orion High School.