McCallie's soccer team, top-ranked in Tennessee, was unable to separate itself from second-ranked Father Ryan as the two Division II-AA powerhouses fought to a 1-1 draw Wednesday evening at McCallie.
Father Ryan (7-0-1) seemed to have all of the momentum in the first half, winning possession of the ball often and getting it into good attacking position on the McCallie side of the field regularly.
"I thought we definitely had better possession in the first half, and we were able to establish our style of play early," Father Ryan coach Robin Dietrich said.
The first goal of the game came in the 27th minute when Father Ryan's Kyle Hellman got the ball at midfield on a counterattack with two McCallie defenders in his way. Logan Russell and Jonah Bryan closed quickly on both sides, but Hellman was able to outrun them, getting the ball past the Blue Tornado keeper and into the bottom left corner of the net for the first goal.
"They are a good team, and they are well-coached," McCallie coach Chris Cushenbery said. "They made it hard for us to do what we like to do, especially in the first half. We weren't sharp either, and I feel like we didn't make the most of the chances we had in the first half."
The second half had the same feel to it, but this time McCallie was able to win possession and get into good positions more often than Father Ryan.
McCallie (5-0-3) seemed more comfortable, settling in against the Irish defense to notch five of its seven shots in the half. Meanwhile Father Ryan only tallied two of their seven in the final half.
Northwestern-bound Drew Viscomi got the Blue Tornado on the board, drilling the tying goal into the upper right corner of the net with 12 minutes remaining in the game off an assist by Will McGregor.
"It was a great goal," Cushenbery said. "Will played a brilliant ball to Drew who was streaking in, and Drew made a good move.
"We just played better in the second half. We completed more passes and made better decisions."
Contact Ted Bryant at sports@timesfreepress.com.