photo by Greg Davick
The McCallie soccer team kicked off the high school season Monday night with a taste of what is likely to come for many Blue Tornado opponents this season.
Hosting Notre Dame at Finley Stadium in a steady rain and chilly temperatures, McCallie put its No.
3 national ranking to the test for the first time, and came away with a decisive 5-0 victory.
All-America forward Drew Viscomi, who scored 30 goals in setting a school single-season record as a junior, began his senior season with a hat trick for the Blue Tornado, and junior forward Ben Brock added two goals in the win.
“It was a good opening game,” McCallie coach Chris Cushenbery said. “We want to get shutouts, so it was nice to do that. I thought we moved the ball pretty well and were pretty crisp to start the game, so I’m pleased. Obviously the conditions were tough, but it was a good effort. We battled through that and created good opportunities. It’s good to get to play everybody on the roster and get a lot of minutes in.”
With 10 McCallie starters returning against a Notre Dame team that graduated seven from last year’s state-tournament team, Viscomi opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a strike from 18 yards out after receiving a pass from Harrison Swank. Brock’s first score came on a ball from Viscomi with 16 minutes remaining in the first half, and he scored again about two minutes later on a pass from goalkeeper Emerson Brock, who played a long ball through to give McCallie a 3-0 lead.
Viscomi’s second goal, assisted by Wright Self, came seven minutes before the half, and his final score on a ball from Thomas Priest came midway through the second period.
“We started out really slow against a really good team,” Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn said. “You can’t do that against a team like McCallie. Overall, I just don’t like the way we played. We didn’t show up to play in the first half. They need to learn that if you come out with a lackadaisical start against a team like this, you’re going to be down 3-0 and scratching your head wondering what just happened.”
That’s a position many of McCallie’s opponents may find themselves in this season. After ending last year with a 13-3-3 record and a loss in the state semifinals, the Blue Tornado begin this season ranked third nationally in the Top Drawer Soccer Spring Fab 50.
“They’re so good, athletically and speed-wise,” Schermerhorn said. “Besides being good players, they’re fast at so many positions. It’s a hard matchup for us, and for a lot of other teams as well. They have depth and it’s just hard to match up, especially when you’re young and injured.”
Cushenbery said that while the national recognition is a nice honor for his team, it won’t be a primary focus for the Blue Tornado throughout the season.
“It certainly can create pressure, but we’re just so focused on the process,” he said. “The goal for us is not to win a state championship, or end the year as the number-one ranked team in the country. The goal is just for us to be the best that we can be. All you can do is go out and give your very best effort in every practice and every game. We talk about treating every game like it’s the state championship and having that level of preparation, because it all matters.”
In his first two seasons as the Blue Tornado head coach, Cushenbery has led his teams to a 29-4-4 record, and back-to-back Division II-AA Mid-East Region titles. Both those seasons ended, however, with disappointing losses in the state semifinals, leaving the Blue Tornado hungry for a state championship this season.
And with 13 players who were part of various club state-championship teams during the offseason, they’re hoping that experience will pay off at the TSSAA state level this spring.
“We were glad to see those guys play well,” Cushenbery said. “We’ve certainly had enough talent to win the past few seasons but haven’t finished it in the end. People ask if we’re really disappointed about coming up short last year, and yes, we were disappointed because you always want to win. But when I look back on the past two seasons, disappointment is not the word that I use at all. We’ve won almost 30 games, we’ve sent kids to great colleges, we’ve had seven different players get all-state honors, so I think we’re developing great players and a great culture, and I’m pleased with those things.”
In addition to depth and experience on the field, McCallie’s roster is filled with players who excel academically as well. Viscomi has already signed with Northwestern University, and fellow senior Will McGregor has earned the prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship to the University of North Carolina while also being named to the high school All-America preseason watch list. Senior Emerson Brock, a former all-state selection, has committed to Berry College, and several other Blue Tornado seniors are headed to top schools such as Harvard, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
A number of McCallie underclassmen also are attracting the attention of colleges with their athletic and academic achievements. Junior midfielder Thomas Priest was the captain of the 18-under club state champions this fall, and defender Jonah Bryan is also an all-state player who won a club championship this year. Bryan and Logan Russell will anchor the Blue Tornado defense, which will need to be in top form this weekend as the team travels to face some of the nation’s top teams in the Smoky Mountain Cup.
“We just have so many great kids this year who are also great players,” Cushenbery said. “It’s just a fun team to be with, and I would love for us to win it all this year. It would be awesome for us to run the table and finish with a state championship and a number-one national ranking, but at the end of day, all we can do is focus on being the best we can be every day.”
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)