2012 Detroit Preview: Defense

A.J. Levell was a key piece for the Titans last year. Photo by Jim Davenport

Whereas the offense was not particularly good last year, the Detroit defense was. They led the nation in takeaways (by a large margin), and held opposing offenses to .262 goals per possession – see the chart at left. Adjusted for schedule strength, the number drops even further to .257, and both numbers were good for No. 19 in the country.

Like on offense, most of the people who made that happen are back and better than ever in 2012. That includes three All-MAAC performers, and only one contributor is out the door this year (the only player to graduate from last year’s team, Tim Shoemaker). With another year of experience under their belt, they should be even better at communication and team defense, and see another leap forward.

The big question is one of style. You don’t earn a lot of turnovers unless you’re playing plenty of one-on-one matchups, and some of the better defenses in the country last year packed it in and played a zone scheme, forcing the opposition to shoot from outside. Soccer fans would call that a “negative style” of play, but it works, and it remains to be seen whether the Titans can succeed while using their more aggressive philosophies.

Personnel

Jordan Houtby is back. This is a big deal. He was named the MAAC LSM of the Year (and second-team all-conference) after leading the nation in caused turnovers – how that’s only good for second-team is beyond me. The rising junior played in the Ontario Junior A League over the summer, along with teammate Joel Matthews.

Another big returner is close defenseman Jamie Hebden. He was second on the team in caused turnovers and ground balls, and was named Second-Team All-MAAC (the fact that neither Houtby nor Hebden was first team all-conference is a freakin’ joke, by the way). He has been selected as a team captain for the 2012 campaign.

Jason McDonald started all 16 games for the Titans last year, and will be back again as a senior. This is an experienced defensive unit, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Goalie A.J. Levell was solid between the pipes, allowing 10.55 goals per 60 minutes and stopping .523 of shots faced. He was named Second-Team All-MAAC, and should put up even better numbers with a more experienced defense in front of him as a junior.

Brad Janer has been selected as a team captain, and the short-stick defensive midfielder will be an important piece of the team defense.

Tim Shoemaker is the only loss to graduation from the team. He was supplanted by Houtby as the starting LSM over the course of the year, so while his leadership may be missed, the on-field product should only suffer minimally.

Both backup goalies are out the door (Mike Brown is no longer with the team, and Danny Kransberger has transferred to Grand Valley). That means the additions of Damie Danseglio and Mike Kelly can be important. Levell played all but about 40 minutes of last season, so it’s more a depth concern than anything.

Outlook

The defense was very good last year, by normal standards (the Titans led the nation in caused turnovers) and advanced metrics (they were among the nation’s most efficient defenses). All that came without any seniors getting serious playing time once Jordan Houtby supplanted Tim Shoemaker in the lineup.

That should mean good things for this year’s defense. More experienced defenses – and more experience playing together as a unit – are the best, and communication is such an important part of team defense that the bond between the defenders should improve the overall performance.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Titans force fewer turnovers this upcoming season, because there is certainly a risk/reward aspect that they might want to tone down a bit now that they have the talent and experience to play solid settled defense. I do think that the overall defensive performance will be even better than last year’s, however, which is the only thing that counts.