- Athletics
- Upper School
A year ago, penalty kicks at the close of McCallie’s state title soccer game loss to Montgomery Bell Academy left a bad taste in the mouths of Blue Tornado backers everywhere.
And when Wednesday afternoon’s TSSAA Division II Class AA semifinal match against Christian Brothers went to penalty kicks after neither team could escape a 2-2 tie, a frustrating feeling of déjà vu hung in the air above Murfreesboro’s Siegel Soccer Complex.
There would be no repeat of 2025 on this soggy, storm-filled day, however. Making all five of its PKs, McCallie topped Christian Brothers 5-3 in that department to move on to tonight’s 7:30 (EDT) title game against Briarcrest, which defeated Knoxville Catholic 2-0 in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
“Will (Neely) is insane,” said senior Alejandro Dominguez after Neely, the McCallie goalie, blocked Christian Brothers’ fourth PK to put the Blue Tornado in front and secure the win. “I knew he would come up big for us when it mattered, and I knew we could win this. We wanted it more than them, and we were prepared for it, and we just held to the standards of the school, Honor, Truth, and Duty, and we die for that and gave everything for the school, which I think helped us be able to win.”
The five successful McCallie penalty kicks were struck, in order, by Finn Arnold '28, Dominic Kowalski '28, Darius Otchere '26, Dominguez '26 and Matthew Jelley '29.
It capped a long, stressful afternoon that saw McCallie grab a 2-1 lead on goals by Arnold and Dominic DeBellis '27, but then being forced to endure 60 more minutes, including two 10-minute extra periods, of scoreless soccer to reach the PKs after Christian Brothers tied it at 2-2 in the match’s 49th minute.
A win for McCallie against Briarcrest would be its second title in three years and fourth in 10 years.
- Athletics
- soccer