Michael Quatrano's move has helped state-bound Notre Dame soccer team

It took a lot of convincing, but Michael Quatrano finally wore Jim Schermerhorn down.

For four years, Quatrano had been pestering the Notre Dame soccer coach to let him play forward. Schermerhorn had been content with Quatrano as a defender throughout his career, though, so this spring the player did a little recruiting for his senior season.

In came Alex Darras, who hadn't played soccer since his freshman season, to move into the defender spot Quatrano normally played. That freed Quatrano to move to forward, where he has simply scored 25 goals and helped lead the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish (12-5-4) into the TSSAA Class A/AA state quarterfinals.

Notre Dame will face second-ranked Christian Academy of Knoxville (19-2-1) Tuesday night at 7:30 Eastern at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.

"Michael was always asking me to play forward, so finally this year I said, 'All right, get up there.' We put a center back up at forward and let him work," Schermerhorn said. "Coaches ask me where he was at last time. They ask, 'Who's 15?' I tell them he's been playing in the back.

"It's worked out good for us."

The only other area soccer team still competing is top-ranked McCallie (13-2-3) in Division II-AA. The Blue Tornado will play third-ranked Montgomery Bell Academy (9-3-1) in a state semifinal at 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, also at the Siegel complex. The teams tied during the regular season after MBA won an overtime match in the 2015 state semifinals.

As for the Irish, there's little doubt part of the reason they're moving on in the postseason is because Quatrano moved up on the field.

It's been a long time since Schermerhorn has had such a prolific scorer. The Irish totaled 37 goals last season, with all but 10 coming in two matches against district competition. The school's girls' soccer team that won the 2010 A/AA state championship and was coached by Schermerhorn scored 38 goals in 22 matches.

Defense clearly is a staple for Schermerhorn's teams, but Quatrano's success up top and production from Milan Card (eight goals, 12 assists), Esteban Lee (seven goals) and Darras (five goals) have helped the Irish net 62 shots in 2016.

And all it took was a little arm-twisting.

"I've been bugging (Schermerhorn) for four years now," Quatrano said. "(The transition) wasn't difficult, because I've always wanted to play up top. I've been ready for it for four years now.

"It's been a great season, but it's my team that gets me those goals. Without them, I wouldn't be anywhere near here, so all the credit goes to them. We've all worked hard together. They just put me in opportunities, and I trust them to."

Now the Irish have a major opportunity as a team in their first state tournament appearance since 2013. Their goal this season initially was to advance to state; now it's to do some damage while they're in Murfreesboro.

"We've been excited for this game," Quatrano said. "All of the seniors have been getting ready to go to state for years. It's been disappointing we've been put out (in the playoffs) two years in a row, so this year we knew was our last chance.

"It's been our goal all year to make it to state. Now the new goal is that ring."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.