The nation’s second-longest active undefeated streak will be put to the test, a trio of perennial spring powers look to prove their mettle and one upstart hopes to crash the party at the Smoky Mountain Cup in Gatlinburg, Tenn. 

The 64-team boys soccer event kicks off Thursday night with a clash between Norman North (Norman, Okla.) and McCallie School (Chattanooga, Tenn.). In all, five SIMA FAB 50 Top 25 teams will be in action with three of the teams — Norman North, McCallie and Dalton (Ga.) — going head-to-head.

TopDrawerSoccer will provide a daily recap of key matches starting Thursday night, along with daily reports of standout performers from the event.

The premier bracket has SIMA FAB 50 No. 4 Dalton, No. 15 Norman North, No. 24 McCallie and J.L. Mann (Greenville, S.C.), and the teams will face each other in a round-robin format. J.L. Mann was a preseason Top 10 team, but has fallen from the SIMA FAB 50 following an 8-3 start. Dalton and Norman North spent time at No. 1 this season.

Three matches from the top bracket will be streamed live, and TopDrawerSoccer will make those links available when they are ready. The streamed matches will be Norman North vs. McCallie on Thursday, Norman North vs. Daton on Friday and Norman North vs. J.L. Mann on Saturday.

No. 7 Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) and No. 16 Mauldin (S.C.) are the other SIMA FAB 50 Top 25 teams at the event, but both will be competing in separate brackets and will not get to mix it up with other ranked teams.

Dalton carries a 75-match undefeated streak (72-0-3) into the Smoky Mountain Cup, a streak that is topped only by Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), which has a national record and active 136-match undefeated run. 

Norman North, J.L. Mann and Omaha South have been SIMA FAB 50 fixtures in recent years, and both Norman North and Omaha South have won SIMA FAB 50 national titles. 

The upstart is McCallie School, which had a breakout season in 2015 under then first-year head coach Chris Cushenbery. 

“It’s an honor for us,” Cushenbery said of the chance to compete at the Smoky Mountain Cup, despite a completely underclass starting lineup. “We have big aspirations for the program … We want to test ourselves against the best. … I don’t think we’re carrying the banner for Tennessee. I look at it as we’ll figure out how to get better, so there not a ton of pressure on us.”

The four teams in the premier bracket combined to go 74-4-1 last year, and three won state titles. This year, those teams are a combined 25-4-2 as key graduations and recent injuries have lowered the success rate, yet all four remain nationally rankable programs.

Dalton (9-0-1) lost standout senior defender Hernan Saldana to a season-ending ACL injury in the team’s win over SIMA FAB 50-ranked McIntosh (Ga.). Norman North (4-1) lost key offensive performer Cary Pritle recently to injury, as well. J.L. Mann (8-3) graduated the state’s 2015 Player of the Year and lost another top player to club soccer. Meanwhile, McCallie (4-0-1) will start an entire underclass lineup at the event. 

For a complete schedule of matches, visit the Smoky Mountain Cup schedule page.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jimmi Becceril, Omaha South (Neb.), Sr., MF: In a balanced scoring attack, Becceril leads the way with four goals and three assists through Omaha South’s 6-0 start.

John Deer, Jenks (Okla.), Sr., D: Deer was a second-team All-Metro pick last year as Jenks posted a 15-2 season. This year, he is tabbed as one of the top players in Tulsa area.

Isai Hernandez, Dalton (Ga.), Sr., MF: Hernandez was a TopDrawerSoccer all-star last year and his carrying the scoring burden for the team this year. He scored both goals in a 2-1 Dalton win over SIMA FAB 50 Top 25-ranked Northwest Whitfield on Monday. 

Ben Henke, Norman North (Okla.), F: Henke has delivered several key goals already this season for Norman North.

Churrui Huitanda, Dalton (Ga.), Jr., F: Huitanda’s offensive production will be key if Dalton wants to extend its undefeated streak.

Brenden Jones, J.L. Mann (S.C.), Sr., MF: A first-team all-state selection as a junior is one of the primary reasons J.L. Mann was tabbed a preseason state title contender.

Noah Liddell, Norman North (Okla.), D: Liddell is listed as a starting defender, but he finds a way to get into the attack. He has had a goal or an assist in almost every match this season.

Will McGregor, McCallie School (Tenn.), Jr., MF: An attacking midfielder whose production will be important to McCallie’s efforts this season.

Drew Viscomi, McCallie School (Tenn.), Jr., F: One of the state’s most dynamic players, Viscomi has scored 17 goals through four preseason and five regular season matches. He is being courted by NCAA Division I programs.