The Art of Lock-Down Defense

By Joey Jones
Associate Director Athletics Media Relations

The phrase gets repeated over and over again, whether it's the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four or the World Series.

Defense wins championships.

Certainly, there is some room for debate, but there is no denying that a solid defense in any sport goes a long way toward the ultimate goals of a team.

And just as in football, basketball and baseball, where the team that can effectively shut down the opponent's offensive attack has a great chance of claiming victory, a good defense in soccer is crucial to a team's success.

In fact, with soccer matches so often decided by just one or two scores, it could be argued that a shut-down defense on the pitch is more valuable than it is on any other playing field or court.

And that's good news for Rebel fans, because over the past three years Ole Miss has boasted one of the premier defenses in the Southeastern Conference, and in all of college soccer.

In its run to the 2005 SEC Western Division title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Ole Miss shut out an SEC-record eight league opponents and blanked a school-record 12 foes on the year. Goalkeeper Ann Shelton was also the nation's leader in goals-against average that season. Ole Miss has piled up 15 more shutouts over the past two seasons, one of the reasons the Rebels have not lost to an SEC West foe in three years.

Head coach Steve Holeman knows the value of a good defensive plan and execution.

"Defense is critical in soccer like it is in any other sport. You're almost always going to get your opportunities to finish on the offensive side, so if you keep the ball out of the back of the net, then you can't lose," he said with a smile.

The Rebels have exemplified the traits of a strong defense for the past several years, and the team attributes that success to good game-planning by the coaches and excellent execution on the part of the players.

"I think it's been a combination of good coaching on Derek's part, we've been very organized in the back, and we've had solid, consistent goalkeeping," said Holeman, speaking of associate head coach Derek Greene, who serves the role of defensive coordinator for the Rebels, among other duties. In his seven years on the Ole Miss staff, Greene has helped Holeman and goalkeepers coach Melinda Scruggs recruit top-notch players and develop them into some of the top players and defenders in the SEC, while organizing them on the field as a potent unified group.

Not surprisingly, there are similarities between defensive strategy in soccer and other sports. A football team can blitz heavily with their front seven or sit back and play prevent. A basketball team can employ a man-to-man or zone defense, while choosing to put constant pressure on the opponent or to play it safe and match up.

In soccer, most college teams play with three or four "backs" who play in zones along the "back line" in front of the goalkeeper. This is a somewhat recent development within the last 15 years, before which many teams employed more of a man-to-man defense involving a "sweeper" that marked the opposing team's top offensive threat.

One could think of the back line as similar to the defensive backfield in football. The soccer defenders act like cornerbacks and safeties, trying to keep the offensive players on the other team from moving the ball down the field toward the goal.

"When you play with four backs, you have a lot of good cover," Greene explains. "If you're playing with four backs and one of your outside defenders steps up out of the back line, you've got three players now in behind that player. So they become like safeties in football. You've always got your safeties roaming behind your cornerbacks in case there's a ball that comes through or a receiver or running back breaks through that first line, so you always want to have an extra safety valve back there."

The major offensive positions in soccer (forwards and midfielders) are also key components in the defensive strategy.

"Defending starts with our forwards and midfielders," Holeman said. "It's team defending. Just like in football or basketball, when you're in the attack and you turn the ball over, then it's transition and your entire team is defending."

"It all starts with pressure on the ball," Greene said. "The terminology we use is pressure, cover, balance. That's what we aim to maintain not just in the back line, but even in the midfield defending line. You always want to have pressure on the ball, cover in behind in case the first player gets beat, and then balance on the backside in case there's a big switch of the field."

The strategy has seemed to work for Ole Miss, in part because of players like two-time All-SEC selection Danielle Johnson, who has been a staple of the back line the past two years.

"The whole point of defense is not letting the other team score," said the former Freshman All-American from Baton Rouge, La. "I think we possess really well in the back and keep the ball away from the other team. A lot of our offense is generated from the defense, too. It's about possessing the ball, playing to your teammates and generating offense. One of the main things we try to do during games is make game-changing tackles or really good defensive plays that get the momentum going and give some energy to the team. We have a lot of fun with it."

Just like a middle linebacker in football or a shot-blocking center in basketball, there is one position in soccer that has the opportunity to completely dominate a game on the defensive end - the goalkeeper.

"If you have a big-time goalkeeper, she can win a game for you," Holeman said. "They always say a big-time goalkeeper is one that will be consistent and make all the routine saves and every once in a while come up with that huge game-winning save. They're also not only the last line of defense, but the first line of attack."

"The biggest thing is that the goalkeeper needs to be a vocal leader," said Scruggs, who not only coaches the Rebel keepers, but played the position for Ole Miss from 1998-2001. "She needs to be strong and demanding within her box, because she's trying to control those 18 yards. If it's a set piece, she needs to be able to control and direct the entire team and let them know what she wants so she can protect the goal. And because she can see everything that's happening on the field, she has the ability to direct at least the back four and some of the midfielders on the defensive third of the field."

Unlike some other sports, soccer is a fluid game without timeouts and team huddles, so the coaches rely heavily on players like the goalkeeper and center backs to give direction and "coach" from their positions.

"They have the play in front of them because they're the last line of defenders, so they're the ones that are able to see the play and shout instructions," Greene said. "We go over everything in practice and do video work, so hopefully when the game comes and they can't hear me shouting because they're so focused, they will take charge and be the quarterbacks of the defense."

With players like Johnson and senior team captains Christine Breaux (center back) and Megan Vickery (goalkeeper) leading the way, Ole Miss looks to continue its defensive dominance in 2008 and again push for a league championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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