Long Island fans support local hero Joe Scally as U.S. begins World Cup

A half a world away, Long Islanders rooted Monday for their hometown soccer hero from Lake Grove as he and the rest of Team USA began play at the World Cup in Qatar.

Though he didn't take the field for the team's draw with Wales, Joe Scally had plenty of support from friends, family and neighbors who hosted watch parties at the 19-year-old's childhood home and at Lake Grove's Village Idiot Pub, which his parents own.

The Long Island soccer star with a golden smile is the youngest member of the 26-man roster by a month.

He rose from pee wee and club soccer in Lake Grove to Major League Soccer as a 15-year-old player for the New York Football Club. Others took notice of Scally's skills and at 18, he was playing for a team in the Bundesliga, Germany's top professional soccer league.

"We've been watching soccer my whole life, so this is a dream come true for our whole family," his brother Drew Scally said. "It's all really cool, so he's just taking it all in. This has been his dream ever since he started playing soccer … Just making the team means a lot to him and to all of us."

Drew Scally said he speaks every day to his brother, who has shown him his hotel room in Qatar on video calls. Their parents, Joe Scally and Margaret Paragine, left Friday to watch Team USA's opening game.

Before the World Cup, Joe Scally played in three national games as a defender, either a left or right back. Before that he competed for the United States team in 2019 at the under-17 World Cup in Brazil.

Scally's mother, a former soccer player, coached her three children in Lake Grove when they were five or six. He eventually moved on to play club soccer for the Sachem Destroyers.

His brother, sister Anna, and friends cheered on Team USA's only goal Monday from their living room.

"This is an unreal moment, to hear your brother's going to the World Cup," Anna Scally said. "He's very dedicated and determined and I'm just so proud of him that he's living out his dream."

Joe Scally's former coaches, teammates and other friends watched the game in the packed Village Idiot Pub, showing the green pitch on every screen.

Frank Schmidt, his trainer with the Sachem Destroyers, said Scally's potential was clear to see as a youngster, but he never imagined that seven years later, that boy would be considered one of the country's best, playing in the World Cup.

Scally showed athletic skills along with maturity, modesty and a self-deprecating humor, Schmidt said.

"The sides of my mouth hurt from just smiling so much. You couldn’t ask for a better person to get this recognition to be able to get to this level," Schmidt said. "I knew he was a special player, but the chance of kids from all over America and the kid from Lake Grove is one of the best players in the United States — No, I couldn't have predicted that."

Brayden Walker, 15, of Lake Ronkonkoma, formerly a neighbor of Scally, said he always looked up to him playing soccer.

"Considering I played with him when I was younger, it's a very exciting experience," Walker said. "It is possible to get to those levels and it's just very inspiring, considering I know how hard he worked and all the trouble he went through to get there."

Jennifer Walker said she watched her son grow up with Scally at the school bus stop.

She said Scally's journey from local kid to a slot on Team USA is a lesson for other youngsters with aspirations of greatness.

"If only 1% of the kids make it and to know someone, it's like Derek Jeter. It's really special," she said. "It's amazing right there. Like I still can't believe it."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.