Just two matches into its season, the nationally-ranked McCallie soccer team put itself to the test in last weekend’s Smoky Mountain Cup against a top-ranked team from Texas that is almost in postseason form.
The result was a 2-2 draw in a match between Coppell, which holds a No.
12 national ranking for the high school winter season and begins postseason play next week, and McCallie, which went into the tournament at No. 3 in the spring rankings.
The Blue Tornado found themselves down a goal early before equalizing on a penalty kick from Northwestern signee Drew Viscomi, after Philip Martin was brought down inside the box while attempting to finish a ball from Will McGregor.
Playing on a narrow field in a match that was live-streamed by Top Drawer Soccer, the teams traded opportunities throughout the next 40 minutes, until McCallie scored on a Harrison Swank goal assisted by Thomas Priest with under 24 minutes remaining.
The Coppell goalkeeper made several strong saves on Blue Tornado shots the rest of the way, but the Texas team scored on a set piece with less than 10 minutes on the clock, and Priest’s opportunity at a game-winner sailed over the goal in the final minutes.
The Blue Tornado went on to finish second in the tournament’s top group after a 0-0 tie against Hardin Valley, despite holding a 25-4 shot advantage, and a 7-0 victory over Alabama team Daphne. Ben Brock recorded a hat trick in that win, while Viscomi had two goals and three assists, McGregor contributed three assists, and freshman Wright Self added a goal.
Despite taking a slight dip to No. 6 in this week’s national rankings, McCallie coach Chris Cushenbery was pleased with his team’s performance in the tournament and its 2-0-2 start.
“It's a big deal for a Tennessee team to go play the best team in Texas 2-2 in the first week of our season,” he said. “Both teams were missing key players from the game and the field was tiny, but it's still a very unique game.
I feel like we grew a lot from the weekend. We know that our best is good enough, and we need to keep making sure we bring that level of focus and intensity to each practice and game.”