2012 Michigan Preview: Defense

Brent Kirshner is a big part of the defensive midfield

As with the offense, we don’t know how good Michigan’s defense was last year, even in comparison to other MCLA units (in that cohort, we can assume pretty good). Translating to the Division-1 level, it is a mystery. Take everything here with a grain of salt.

Working on the assumption that MCLA offenses are, in general less efficient than Division-1 offense, the Michigan defense last year was stil really good. The best NCAA defense was Syracuse, holding the opposition to .199 adjusted goals per possession. Notre Dame wasn’t far behind, but the third-best defense was Bucknell at .220.

Again, Michigan’s defense looks impressive based on last year’s numbers, but we have to throw those out the window. Another reason? Plenty of personnel turnover. Several of Michigan’s best defensive players form last year – including three-time MCLA All-American Harry Freid, and both primary goalies – are out the door. This team is truly starting from scratch.

Ken Broschart was a Division-II All-American back in his playing days, and he’s tasked with cobbling together a solid unit. Whether he can do it – especially with limited experience on the team – is the primary question facing the Wolverines.

Personnel

As mentioned above, there is plenty of turnover here. Close defenseman Harry Freid will ply his trade at St. John’s this spring, starting LSM Matt Asperheim has graduated from Michigan, and both goalies are out the door as well. This would be an inexperienced unit even at the MCLA level, but the step up in competition will make it even tougher.

Austin Swaney is the returning headliner among the defensemen. At times, he seemed like the best longpole on Michigan’s team last year, which is saying a lot considering that he was on a line with Harry Freid (albeit a never-healthy Freid). Swaney hasn’t been on the field much this spring, but will be a key to the defense. He’s making the transition to LSM, so there’s a learning curve involved.

JD Johnson was a key part of the defense last season, but he hasn’t been healthy yet this spring. It remains to be seen if he’ll be ready for the season-opener.

Rob Healy has moved from SSDM to close defense. That’s an adjustment for him, and early reports had him struggling. The team needs defenders to step up, and Healy is one who could help the team.

Freshman Vince Strittmatter is a young guy who could make an impact on the defensive unit. The Georgetown Prep product can play LSM or close defense, but with Swaney’s move to LSM, if he’s one of the best players, his role will be on close D. He has been injured this spring (this is a theme), and it’s unclear when he’ll return.

Dakota Sherman also got playing time last year, and is looking to be a major contributor on D this year. At just 170 pounds, he’s not going to be an intimidator, but he’s one of the few guys left on the team with college experience.

Sean Sutton was a starting short-stick defensive midfielder last year, and will reprise that role in the starting lineup. Fellow SSDM Brent Kirshner didn’t get any ink in the official site’s defensive preview, but I imagine he’ll be a key part of the defensive midfield as well.

In goal, everything is up in the air. Junior Cy Abdelnour, a club team holdover, is the only guy with real college experience. Emil Weiss seems to be the most talented player, and the freshman came in with expectations of starting. Hand injuries have been a huge issue this spring for Michigan keepers, however. A couple goalies are injured, so the starter (and any backups) might just be whoever is healthy.

Overview

Ken Broschart has been pretty open at Michigan’s coaching clinics that the Wolverine defense is not where it needs to be. The team is inexperienced after graduating many key members from last year’s squad, and the slide packages and individual D gets tougher with the step up in competition. Even fully healthy (which the team is decidedly not), they would struggle.

The key will be not making the team suffer too much on account of inexperience, limited athleticism, and an adjustment to new defensive schemes. Having a solid goalie between the pipes would obviously be a huge help there, but injuries at that position are piling up as well.

The defense should improve over the course of the year – and will probably be the most-improved unit next season – and treading water is good enough for now. Avoid becoming a liability, and worry about being a net asset down the road.