Norwell boys are on a mission
With the depth of talent the Norwell boys soccer team enjoys in its senior class, the Clippers would likely still be among the top programs in Division 3 without Mischa Spasic. But they are still ecstatic that the star midfielder’s family decided to settle on the South Shore.
Spasic is the engine for a team that outscored foes 41-2 during an 8-0-1 start.
“It’s a hunger that’s grown,” said Spasic. “We have been good all three years but we have never gotten to where we want to be. The boys want to prove that we are capable of making it far in the tournament and hopefully win a state championship.”
The Spasics emigrated from Sweden when Mischa was 10, bringing a clan full of burgeoning soccer players with them. Younger sisters Smilla and Olga play for the Norwell girls, an impressive 7-1-0, while brother Sascha is a promising prospect as a seventh grader with the Boston Bolts club squad.
A Herald All-Scholastic
and a two-time Eastern Mass. All-Star, Spasic has been a starter since he was one of six freshmen to make the 2018 varsity. Coach Jack Browne calls Spasic the most complete player he’s had in two decades with the Clippers.
“Everything goes through Mischa,” said Browne. “He’s a relentless worker. He’s an attacking mid and he does a very nice job attacking, but he’s not selfish with the ball. He’s more than happy to pick up an assist, not a kid that just keeps the ball and shoots and shoots. He incorporates
his teammates and has an exceptional understanding of the game.”
While Browne has a strong appreciation for Spasic’s fundamentals and willingness to tackle and help on defense, he also marvels at the flair in his game.
“His foot skills, sometimes you watch him and it’s hard to figure out what he just did,” said Browne. “He is so crafty and dangerous with either foot, and he is able to do it with his head up. He can really turn defenders inside out. He is something to watch.”
If you can see the European influence in his game, it’s because he returns to Sweden every summer to visit family and play with an academy, and more soccer across the pond may be in his future as well. Spasic, an excellent student who speaks three languages — English, Swedish and his father’s native Serbian — is considering continuing his schooling in Europe after high school while playing semi-pro or professional soccer.
But first, he and his classmates have unfinished business. Spasic isn’t the only two-time EMass All-Star on the squad as goalie Alec Pettit also holds that honor and has been impenetrable, unscored upon all season.
Pettit may find his role changing, however. Due to injuries in the back, particularly to standout Matt McKenna, the Clippers may deem Pettit more valuable as a field player, where he is equally adept.
Norwell still has 6-foot-3 center back Nick Anastos to anchor the defense. Twins Ethan and Evan Thompson, Alex Geagea, and Michael Bulens are also seniors that are vital to the Clippers success.
“This group of seniors, I heard about them in seventh and eighth grade,” said Browne. “I’ve never had a group work so hard. They actually make me nervous in practice because when we have scrimmages or small side games they just go all out, always.”
The Clippers had a long string of South Shore League titles snapped when COVID shut down their season prematurely last season, but appear poised to start a new streak this fall. This group has bigger goals, though.
Norwell advanced to at least the Div. 3 South final from 2013-17, including sectional titles in 2014 and 2017. But in their last two tournament appearances, the Clippers entered the postseason unbeaten only to fall in the semifinals, something Spasic and company are looking to remedy.
“It’s massively (important),” said Spasic. “We have been playing club and town together since the fifth or sixth grade. We know each other very well and we know how we play. I think for us the quality is there just remaining focused and not getting complacent and every game working as hard as we can.”
Sweeping the Nation
Despite saying they hoped to have the power ratings that will be used for seeding in the new statewide tournament format posted at some point last week, the MIAA still has not released those lists for both boys and girls soccer.
But some rankings from this season that might interest local girls soccer fans.
Each week, the United Soccer Coaches put out its national ranking, and in each of the first three weeks a Massachusetts team has made the top 10. The last two, that squad has been Bishop Feehan. which sits at No. 4 behind Noblesville (Noblesville, Ind.), Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) and Pennridge (Perkasie, Penna.).
The Shamrocks are unbeaten in their last 46 games — a streak that dates to 2018 — heading into Friday’s big Catholic Central League clash with Bishop Fenwick. Feehan has a dominant 49-1 scoring margin during its perfect 8-0 start.
Hingham appeared in the opening week, checking in at No. 5. The Harbormen have been as advertised the fall at 7-0-1, the tie coming at Whitman-Hanson.