'I called game': How Hunter Lomasney saved Christian Brothers soccer in TSSAA quarterfinals

Hunter Lomasney knew he had a goal as soon as Johnny Drouillard’s pass came into the box.  

Not just any goal. The winning goal in Christian Brothers’ 2-1 victory over Knoxville Webb in the TSSAA soccer state quarterfinals at Tom Nix Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Purple Wave, which advances to the Division II-AA state semifinals in Murfreesboro as the reigning state champion, scored two goals in the last five minutes to steal the win.

“I knew we were heading to the semifinals as soon as I saw that ball come to me,” Lomasney said. “I called game.” 

At first, Lomasney looked stunned. The goal looked like it was luck, how the ball hit off the back post and curled in. It wasn’t. That’s exactly how Lomasney targeted it.  

It showed what Christian Brothers had to do all game: perfectly place its headers.

The Purple Wave had a clear height advantage over Knoxville Webb, which made the jump to Division II-AA after winning Division I-A last season. The plan was to overwhelm the Spartans with an aerial attack that focused on getting passes to tall midfielders and attackers in the box. 

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“I don’t know what happened the last 10 minutes of the game, but I don’t think there’s any more conditioned teams out here,” Lomasney said. “We’ve been conditioning every day leading up to this. So, when I tell you last 10 minutes of the game … we had a lot of energy and I really think that’s what helped us win this game.” 

Drouillard assisted on the first Purple Wave goal on a similar set piece, curling one in from the sideline in front of the Christian Brothers fans. He found Jackson Saatkamp for the equalizer.  

You just knew the Purple Wave was going to find a way to keep its season alive. A team with 11 state championships – two in the last five years and the most for any soccer program in the state – wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“Being No. 1 is hard, but staying No. 1 is harder,” Drouillard said. “That’s our goal, to stay No. 1.” 

Saturday’s game was indicative of the season for Christian Brothers. 

The Purple Wave didn't play its style of soccer in the first half, similar to how the season started.  

"You could tell the first 10 minutes of the game we did not look like CBHS soccer out there,” Lomasney added.  

Christian Brothers  gave up 10 goals in the first 10 games. Since a 0-0 tie April 23, it hadn’t given up a goal until it conceded against Knoxville Webb.  

With six straight shutouts, the Purple Wave earned a confident attitude that has not wavered.

“That being the first goal against us in (six) games, we handled it perfectly,” Lomasney said. 

Now the Purple Wave has a chance to continue its dominance in the TSSAA state playoffs. In Wednesday's 2 p.m. semifinal, the Purple Wave will play Father Ryan, the team it beat to win its 11th state championship last season.  

“I want my two rings,” Lomasney said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.