Defensive makeover took priority in offseason
As Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter turned the page on a ninth-place finish in the MLS Eastern Conference in 2016, he began the offseason with a simple goal.
“One of my beliefs is you want to have a good plan, and then the second thing you want to do is have a better plan,” Berhalter said last week. “So you’re always looking to improve, and to me, that’s what we’re looking to do. I think that we’re always looking to get better.”
Getting better started with addressing a defense that tied the Chicago Fire, Crew SC’s opponent for its opener Saturday at Mapfre Stadium, for the second-most goals
allowed in Major League Soccer with 58.
Berhalter has said he is an optimist. He also is a realist.
“Ideally we’d like to analyze the performances (from 2016) for what they are,” Berhalter said. “We’re creating enough chances and we should score enough goals and we’re preventing good, quality chances against us, but goals are going in. You have to be objective about it.”
To that end, Crew SC worked to shore up what began the offseason as a question mark and, until an on-paper lineup transitions to grass, remains so. After center back Michael Parkhurst was dealt to the Atlanta United and center back Gaston Sauro was ruled out for the season as he recovers from knee surgeries, Crew SC added four defenders in less than a month.
Center back Alex Crognale signed as a homegrown player in December. Finnish defender Jukka Raitala, who is likely to see significant time at left back, signed Dec. 23, and former Crew defender Josh Williams joined Jan. 5 after being selected in the re-entry draft in December.
Crew SC acquired another likely starter in 26-yearold designated player and center back Jonathan Mensah before wrapping up its defensive additions by drafting 22-year-old center back Lalas Abubakar out of Dayton. Harrison Afful and Nicolai Naess are likely carryovers in the starting lineup at right back and center back, respectively.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, 21, will make his MLS debut against Chicago on Saturday, replacing Steve Clark, whose option was not picked up after the 2016 season.
To a man, the resources spent to add assets to the back line and the failures of 2016 create different emotions.
Raitala, 28, said this week that as a new Crew player, he does not feel added pressure on the back line.
“What happened last year is in the past and I think we’ve been working, defensive-wise, very (well) the whole preseason and staying compact,” he said. “Everybody knows their roles, and I think it’s not easy to score a goal against us right now.”
Mensah, who has been training with Crew SC for about two weeks, also said he feels no pressure. As he understands it, the pressure came last year, on the heels of a run to the 2015 MLS Cup final.
“That is why there was much pressure last season,” he said. “We won’t put much pressure on ourselves. We just go out there, have fun and make the fans happy.”
Williams, who is in his second stint with the Crew — he also spent 2010 though ’14 with the club before stretches with New York City FC and Toronto FC — said 2017 begins with an element of wanting to turn the page while understanding the defense needs to improve.
The new season also requires an understanding that a defensive letdown is not one man’s fault, Williams said. He said the pressure belongs not with the team’s youngsters, but with a group of defensive veterans, Williams included.
“Last year, you ask around the team, ask guys around the league, it’s like, ‘I can’t believe they did as bad as they did,’ ” Williams said. “We have a little bit of pressure on us to create a solid back line, so we’re working hard on that and I feel like we’re making huge strides in the right direction.”