Shealer’s Notebook: Big-time scorers dominate small schools

<em>(Editor's Note: "Shealer's Notebook" is moving to Thursday's instead of its previous Monday release.)</em> So what happens when major college attacking prospects end up on small-school rosters? Well, you get seasons such as the ones turned in by girls soccer standout [player_tooltip player_id="27526" first="Seven" last="Castain"] of Waterford (Utah) and boys soccer scoring sensation [player_tooltip player_id="15139" first="Eben" last="McIntyre"] of Charleroi (Pa.). Amazingly, the goal totals racked up by these seniors are nearly identical AND in the same number of matches. Castain scored 71 goals while helping Waterford to a 15-2 season and the Utah Class 2A girls state title. McIntyre has netted 70 goals as Charleroi is 14-2-1 entering the WPIAL Class 2A boys quarterfinals. Class 2A in both Pennsylvania and Utah is the grouping of the state’s smallest schools. Castain was an early verbal to Texas Christian, currently ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Division I poll. McIntyre recently committed to Pitt, which is No. 12 in the most recent NCAA men’s rankings. In order to pull off such staggering goal totals where they averaged just above four goals per contest, Castain and McIntyre followed a similar course. Both players scored in every match they played this season, and both had unnecessary big-time outputs. Castain dumped in nine during Waterford’s 13-0 win over North Summit (Utah) in late September. McIntyre had two eight-goal outings, one coming during a 21-0 thrashing of Southmoreland (Pa.). Castain, who stands 5-foot-5, had 14 hat tricks. McIntyre, at 6-foot-3, has 12 hat tricks so far this season. Castain’s nine-goal outing set the Utah state record, breaking the mark of eight, which was first established by Chandra Salmon of Provo (Utah) in 2005 and matched twice since. While certainly, the goal totals are exceedingly high in both cases, the truth is Castain and McIntyre have produced when it mattered most. Castain netted all four goals as Waterford upset league rival Rowland Hall 4-3 in the state final on Oct. 23. Rowland Hall entered the match undefeated and had pinned the only two losses on Waterford’s record. Castain’s performance not only delivered a state title but also gave her yet another state record — most goals in a season by a Utah player with 71, clipping the mark set by Toni Ouellette of Judge Memorial (Utah) in 1989. Meanwhile, McIntyre was held to one goal in the team’s most recent outing, but it was meaningful as Charleroi edged Keystone Oaks 1-0 on Monday in the match that sent the team to this week’s WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals. <strong>SETTING THE STANDARD:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="11758" first="Kristian" last="Fletcher"] of Landon (Md.) has established a new school scoring record, and while the total isn’t overwhelming — he’s currently at 24 goals — the story around it is. Let’s start with the player … Fletcher is a junior playing his second year of high school soccer (he played as a freshman in 2019). He would be one of the nation’s top Class of 2023 college prospects had it not been for the fact he angling to sign a professional contract as soon as December. Now, unlike the high school players who are reported by local newspapers of thinking about turning pro right after high school, Fletcher is big-time legit. He is going on trial with Manchester United in November and already has a contract offer in hand from Borussia Dortmund. Now, for the record … Long-time Landon coach Bill Reed knows Fletcher’s goal total has clipped the previous mark, but the actual performance and name of the player has been lost to history — at least for now. The record was believed to have been set in 1981 while Landon, along with a number of D.C.-area private schools, played high school soccer during the winter season. Yes! During the winter months, complete with matches played in the snow and on frozen grass fields! In any case, the coach of Landon during that era, a long-time school employee, recently passed away, according to Reed, and now there does not seem to be any tangible records remaining of that era.