Offseason Notebook: how to build a back line
Charleston's approach in defense in context, plus Connor Maloney, Adrian Perez, and more weekly news
The Charleston Battery didn’t want for success in 2023, mounting a historic comeback season to win the East and nearly nab a title. Still, they aren’t resting on their laurels ahead of 2024. Aaron Molloy will make an already-deep midfield that much better, but the bigger shifts at the back are a more interesting proposition.
What defines the Charleston approach to squad-building, and how does it compare to other squads in the USL? There’s more than one route to build a contender, and Ben Pirmann and co. are doing so with intention and patience.
It’s rare to rip a roster up at its roots and build a top-level unit in a snap. Phoenix bucked the trend by retaining just three contributors from 2022 on the way to a title, but wholly re-worked squads like Las Vegas are more typical. The Battery know this, and that’s why they kept Leland Archer and AJ Paterson around as anchors of the defense last season.
Pirmann chose to pick up players who immediately knew his system to ease the transition to a greater degree. Trey Muse and Derek Dodson, the starting goalkeeper and right back, respectively, joined alongside their coach on the way over from Memphis. He also added veterans in the vein of AJ Cochran to serve as strong locker room voices.
There was still experimentation to a degree. Juan Sebastian Palma was a rare foreign import for Pirmann, and he paid off handsomely with great performances at center back down the stretch.
The same principles that made 2023 a smashing success are on show ahead of 2024. Archer, Palma, and Muse are all back. So is Mark Segbers, a personal favorite of mine and a full back capable of league-best performances on either flank. Segbers was signed very late in 2023 as a former Memphis mentee of Pirmann, and he’s now on a multi-year deal in South Carolina.
Still, there have been major additions as well, balancing the old with the new. Graham Smith leads the way. A former all-league center back with Memphis, Smith has a sixth sense for engaging with Aaron Molloy in build and is a very strong spatial defender. He’s aware against the break and a tremendous sweeper in his own box.
Smith’s abilities are seen above alongside those of both Archer and Palma. The former 901 man backtracks to fend off a break, Archer does something similar with a last-ditch tackle in his own box, and Palma plays attack dog while aggressively holding the line to head away a restart.
You see the balance at play: Archer is an ace in his own box and a legend of the Battery. He likely takes the veteran sub role next year, supporting Smith - who fills the same mold but is a bit spryer - and covering spare minutes as needed. Both are strong complements to the aggressive Palma.
New blood is in the mix too, courtesy of Josh Drack. A young left back with experience at LA Galaxy II and MLS NEXT Pro’s Huntsville side, Drack projects as a starter for the Battery heading into next season. He’s young and less familiar with Pirmann-ball, but he’s surrounded by a group that’ll make the transition that much easier.
Segbers and Drack are shown in the clip above. Both are slick in possession and more than willing to drive into the opposing box. Both also have the speed to recover and support in a flat back line in their own half. Drack will start at left back, while Segbers will return to his more natural right-sided deployment after inverting for the Battery late in 2023.
How does Charleston compare to other clubs in the USL mix? If the Battery are carving a middle ground, Orange County are relying on consistency. Their first roster announcements saw goalkeeper Colin Shutler and the entire defense - Ryan Doghman, Dillon Powers, Markus Nakkim, and Owen Lambe return to Championship Soccer Stadium.
Each player appeared in at least 21 games last year, and the fivesome was worth 14 points added by my value modeling. Doghman, the left back, appeared in my Western Conference team of the season. Continuity made a lot of sense given the group’s quality and consistency, especially relative to a changing offensive corps that’s losing Milan Iloski.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Morten Karlsen found a unit to run his system, and he’s sticking with it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the strategy, but it isn’t identical to Charleston’s iron-sharpens-iron tweaking.
Hartford, on the other hand, decided to rip off the bandage and restart from scratch. Whereas Orange County conceded just 39 times in 2023, bested only by four other squads, Hartford gave up…79 goddamn goals. Part of it was bad netminding and the struggle between the Ramos and Namazi regimes, but this group was clearly rotten to its core.
So, you reset under Brendan Burke. While Burke isn’t a Bob Lilley-level defensive mastermind, he knows how to set up a squad. His attackers are quick and free-roaming, and he keeps his back line low as a safety net in response. The players he’s added fit the bill.
Joey Farrell has a track record as a comfortably above-average center back in the USL when he’s allowed to stay home. Thomas Vancaeyezeele has been a part of two highly defensive clubs in Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh and is very solid on the ball to boot. Rece Buckmaster is a great conservative choice at right back, and they’ll all be protected by the inimitable Anderson Asiedu at the No. 6 spot.
If I were a gambling man, I’d project each of Charleston, Orange County, and Hartford to finish 2024 with a top-half defense. I like the Battery’s approach the most, as considerate and improvement-focused as it is, but I can’t fault anyone here. There are legitimate philosophies at play here, and that sets a club apart no matter the specific details inherent to that philosophy.
Connor Maloney, at 28 years old, surprisingly announced his retirement this week, and it’s a real shocker. I had the pleasure of interviewing Maloney for The USL Show last year, and he’s universally known as a great guy. I wish him nothing but the best in his next phase.
At the same time, his exit leaves questions for San Antonio. Maloney was under contract through next year under a multi-season deal and was expected to hold down a wing back spot. The timing is a bit odd, but it at least ample runway to try and acquire something approximating a replacement.
Still, Maloney is purpose-built for the Alen Marcina system. See above, where he’s at the right wing back spot in the 5-1-2-2 press. The left-sided wing back closes hard as the midfield swarms, and Maloney sits low in anticipation on the opposite flank. When the press forces a switch, he’s ready to intercept, and he does so in a manner that pushes San Antonio onto the counter.
That hard-nosed edge, progressive sensibility, and positional intelligence set Maloney apart. The numbers bear out his impact: in about 3,000 minutes in 2022, he picked up four assists and ranked in the 98th percentile by my Goals Above Replacement metric. He had a 62% forward passing rate in 2023 and won 42 tackles won to place second on the team. That all-around brilliance is impossible to duplicate on short notice.
Maloney was ready for a new direction, and I imagine that the meat grinder atmosphere in San Antonio played a part. How he’s replaced will go a long way in deciding whether or not this team can return to title contention in 2024.
Adrien Perez signed with Louisville on Wednesday, adding a right-sider with excellent ball skills to an already-potent squad. I love the get, news of which was broken by the essential Benton Newman of Vamos Morados. What sets the new man apart?
For one, he’s versatile. With San Diego, the wide man played as a hybrid winger-wing back-forward that could defend in a flat back five or just as easily overlap into the final third. Perez also brings wildly high-level technical skills, boasting a background in indoor soccer and MLS.
Perez beat an opponent on the dribble 1.9 times per 90 minutes last year. Manny Perez - the LouCity starter in his spot last year - did so a flat 2.0 times per game by comparison. Both are high-volume crossers, and both won about 25 tackles in 2,200ish minutes. The difference comes in an ability to get into the final third. The former Loyal man scored 10 times in 2023 on 51 shots; his predecessor on the Louisville right put one shot on target all year.
LouCity gains flexibility because of Adrian Perez. He likely slots in at the right wing back spot opposite Amadou Dia, and I suspect this is the year 20-year-old Owen Damm steps up into legit backup minutes behind the new pick-up.
Still, Perez could easily play on the right wing in a 3-4-3 or 4-1-4-1. In doing so, he’d allow Brian Ownby to play on the left or even slide into the No. 9 spot. This team is suddenly quite deep in attack, especially with the versatile Tola Showunmi in the mix and a full season of Jorge Gonzalez on the cards.
Perez could play as a central midfielder in a pinch. There’s precedent under Cruz for a similar scenario: Ray Serrano was almost exclusively a wing back in Tacoma but has held down a No. 8 role at times, and Perez is his technical superior. Given Louisville’s depth in the middle, we won’t see much of that deployment, but Perez is the undeniable sort of talent who demands maximum playing time.
Ultimately, it’s a big pick-up for this team no matter how you slice it. This squad now has four center backs who are very strong in possession and very able to hold a high line or cover to the flank behind a high-flying wing back like Perez. There’s a real balance here, one that’ll boost the USL’s most average defense in 2023 by goals allowed while also enabling a return to a much more possessive style.
In other news this week…
Make sure to check out my interview with Lee O’Neill, the president of USL League One.
The schedule’s out! Nicholas Murray has a great guide to the biggest games on the calendar, but check out my team-by-team spreadsheet if you want the nitty-gritty details.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, et cetera! I don’t know when I’ll be publishing on here again between now and the new year, but thanks for the support as always if I’m missing for a minute.