Adept at adapting: ND defense thrives in wake of injury, new alignment

~ Defending state champs have not yielded a goal since before the district tournament.

An injury to a key defender late in the season threatened to create a speed bump in Notre Dame's road to back-to-back state championships.

When senior Chris McMillan went down with a knee injury against Clayton on Oct. 13, Bulldogs soccer coach Brad Wittenborn was forced to make some changes. He moved a forward to sweeper, his sweeper to stopper and inserted a utility player into McMillan's spot.

Wittenborn laughed when asked how it's worked out.

"Starting with districts, we haven't been scored on and there's been games where we haven't really had a dangerous shot attempted," he said.

Obviously the moves worked.

Before the 2006 state title season, the Bulldogs employed four defenders, four midfielder and two forwards. But with Abe Dirnberger, Jack Wedemeier and Ty Williams all possessing outstanding scoring prowess, Wittenborn decided to use three forwards. The move worked as Notre Dame's three forwards scored goal after goal on their way to the state title.

Wittenborn decided not to tempt fate, and employed the same three-forward alignment to start this season. Williams was joined by Mark Himmelberg and Brock Dirnberger at forward. But even before McMillan's injury, Wittenborn was considering a move back to two forwards.

"As the season went on, we would occasionally feel like we had some spacing issues playing with three up top," Wittenborn said. "So for stretches in games we were playing four midfielders and we were starting to develop that feel that we're playing better like that. I'm not a real stubborn coach. I don't say, 'Well this is how we always do things.'"

New leader on defense

When McMillan got hurt, Himmelberg made the biggest change, going from forward to sweeper, the quarterback of the defense.

"I've played just about every position this year other than goalie," Himmelberg said. "I did play goalie my freshman year. I'm used to it. I guess I consider myself as kind of a role player and I'll just go wherever.

"Probably the hardest part is the mental part of it. It's not as hard physically. It's just making sure I'm in the right place at the right time and I'm starting to pick up on that."

One of the sweeper's biggest roles on the field is ensuring defenders are positioned correctly. It requires a lot of observation and communicating during games.

"I guess the first game I was a little timid," Himmelberg said. "I guess I felt a little uncomfortable just yelling and communicating and making sure I was communicating in the right way. But I've grown more and more comfortable with that as the last few games have gone on. It's gotten better, so I'm getting more used to it."

Senior Matt Kiblinger played sweeper for years, but approached Wittenborn about moving to stopper, the top of the defensive diamond, to help the Bulldogs.

"It actually was a huge change," Kiblinger said. "I've been playing sweeper for about the past seven or eight years and that's the only position I've played, But once Chris got hurt, we needed somebody to fill in those positions.

"It feels like you're a lot more involved. You're actually making plays instead of just backing them up. You're a lot more involved in the game, I think."

The move allows Kiblinger to be more aggressive as he tries to slow down opposing rushes. He said he feels comfortable challenging players because Himmelberg has adjusted so well to playing sweeper.

"I think Mark is doing a great job just keeping people matched up," Kiblinger said. "He makes it easy to listen to and make sure we have all their forwards and midfielders marked up. I think that's a big reason why we haven't allowed a goal in district or sectionals."

Wren inserted into lineup

Nick Wren was the player who stepped into McMillan's spot in the starting lineup alongside Mark Zimmer on the defense. Wittenborn said Wren was the first guy off the bench before the injury and that he played all over the field. Now he's done a fine job filling the big shoes left by McMillan's injury.

"Chris was having a great season," Wittenborn said. "He's a fantastic player. He attacked out of the back very well. He anticipated plays very well. Nick has just become very comfortable in the back. ... I'm just excited about being able to attack from the back because that creates matchup problems for most teams."

Goalkeeper Ryan Bass said it's been an easy transition from the old defensive unit to the new one.

"Different people play different ways," he said. "Mark's got a really good leg out of the back and sets up a lot of plays up front. But Kiblinger is still in the back and helps me in the back."

Even the forwards appreciate the new alignment. Ty Williams, who leads the team with 23 goals, said the change allows he and Dirnberger to become more involved in the game.

"I think it just works better with two forwards," Williams said. "When we had three, we found most of the time one forward was just standing and not really having anywhere to go. With two forwards, it creates a lot more running, but I think it opens up things, a lot better spacing on the field and everything."

And as long as Williams, Dirnberger and the midfielders manage to score one goal, Kiblinger said the new-look defense will do its part to contribute to a win.

"Shutouts are what the defense gets recognition for," he said. "We're just happy no one's scoring. We're trying to continue that on to the state finals."