Columbus East’s Chris Quisenberry, left, dribbles past Bedford North Lawrence’s Joseph Brazzell in a soccer match at the Richard Wigh Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Mike Wolanin | The Republic
The Republic file photo
Chris Quisenberry thought he was going to continue his soccer career at St. Louis University, but then another school that is joining the Billikens in the Atlantic 10 Conference next year came along and started showing interest in Columbus East’s all-time leading scorer.
For the past month or so, Quisenberry has been talking with coaches at Loyola of Chicago. He visited the school in late February. The Ramblers made an official offer to the Columbus East senior on Wednesday, and he committed to begin playing for them this fall.
“I had been looking at them from an academic standpoint for a decent amount of time,” Quisenberry said. “Their soccer program is also really good, and I hadn’t given them as much consideration as I should have. I thought I had pretty much made my decision to go to St. Louis, but as soon as (Loyola) came on the scene, I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”
Quisenberry, who plans to major in business finance, also visited St. Louis, Clemson and Indiana University. He also had been considering Michigan State and North Carolina, but ended up not taking visits to those schools.
“Ultimately, it came down to academics and me liking the coaching staff at Loyola,” Quisenberry said. “Their academics are elite. The time their coaching staff put into me. They asked me a lot of questions. It was the most organized visit I’ve been on. That and their academics was the deciding factor.”
Last fall, Quisenberry set the Olympians’ single-season record with 26 goals and established the school’s career record with 61 goals in leading them to a third consecutive sectional title. He was named first-team All-State and United Soccer Coaches All-Great Lakes Region.
Since the end of the high school season, Quisenberry has returned to playing with the Alliance club team. The squad has had three showcases this offseason and just started league games last week.
“It was definitely weighing pretty heavy on my conscience,” Quisenberry said. “To get that decision out there was really, really nice.”
Quisenberry has some lofty goals for his rookie season at Loyola.
“Starting freshman year would be the goal for me,” Quisenberry said. “I’m hoping to aim possibly for the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman team, and maybe if everything goes well, Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year.”
