A strong start
Horsemen’s defense shaping up nicely despite loss of three starters
Mike Feldewert loves it when a plan comes together. The head boys soccer coach at St. Michael’s had some concerns about how to re-create the chemistry and cohesion of the back line — the defense — in the Horsemen formation for the 2019 season. Going into the season, St. Michael’s needed to replace its two center-backs and goalkeeper on the defensive side, including honorable mention Class 1A/3A All-State performer Hayden Lee, to keep momentum rolling after reaching the state quarterfinals in November.
Thankfully, Feldewert turned to a couple of seniors to fill those holes and help nurture sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Dominguez to solidify an area of concern. It has worked so far, as the Horsemen allowed eight goals to start the season 3-1-1. Half of those goals came in a 4-1 loss to Class
4A Kirtland Central on the second day of the Taos Tournament.
Still, that is more than enough support for an offense that is averaging 4.6 goals per match, and that includes a 0-0 tie to open the season against Santa Fe High.
“I felt comfortable offensively, but I felt the question mark would be on defense,” Feldewert said. “We’ve played some teams with some pretty good strikers and some quality finishers, but our defense has done very well in handling those individuals. They seem to grasp the positioning that is needed to handle those difficult strikers, and I think they are learning to trust each other.”
Trust among the defenders and goalkeeper is essential to a successful unit, and senior John Morrison — one of two returning starters along with junior Kyle Peinado — said some of that was already built in with the seniors. He, along with new starters Aiden French and Santiago Lucero, had played together in the back line in the junior varsity and on club teams. When French moved from the midfield to the center-back position and Lucero stepped in to the other slot, Morrison felt comfortable with the group.
“When our seniors last year left, we kinda knew it was going to be us who had to step up,” Morrison said. “It helps that we have greater attackers and a great midfield, but to challenge for state or even districts, we knew we would have to have a pretty good season in the back.”
Even though the three seniors’ experience together might indicate a seamless transition, it wasn’t as smooth as it appeared. Feldewert said he had to do some convincing with French to make the change, but French admitted that he knew it was the best thing for the Horsemen.
“It was definitely taking on a lot more responsibility,” French said. “You’re the last person before the goal, besides the ‘keeper. It’s a shift in my play
style. In the midfield, I was passing a lot more. At centerback, you don’t receiver the ball as much. You’re just defending.”
What French and Lucero brought to the middle was size and aggressiveness. Feldewert felt the both of them were capable one-on-one defenders and attacked the ball in the air. Lucero, though, said a big turning point for the team was when it made the trip to a camp at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. He felt it sent a message to the defenders about improving their physical fitness, developing chemistry and opening lines of communication with each other.
“We have great energy throughout, and that has definitely transferred to the season,” Lucero said.
The other part of the equation was Dominguez, who played in goal on the junior varsity last year but was getting his first real taste of varsity action this fall. The sophomore admitted that he was nervous heading into the season.
“It’s been scary, I’m not gonna lie,” Dominguez said. “I’m getting used to it. Getting scored on sucks, but you get used to it. You just got to get up and keep going.”
Slowly but surely, Dominguez is gaining confidence in his ability to tend the net, and Feldewert attributed part of that to the teaching of assistant coach Brian Blaser, who works with the ’keepers. Morrison and French both added that Dominguez’s willingness to listen and learn from the seniors has been an understated quality that has helped strengthen the chemistry with the defense.
“It’s really important, especially for someone new like him, to listen to us,” French said. “We have more experience with him and we have a lot of things we can share with him. The thing is, he’s been listening and adapting his play.”
It might not have been the perfect plan for the Horsemen, but it has them pointed in the right direction.