Colorado University Athletics
Alex Vidger lets a shot fly during Wednesday's morning training session.
Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Position Preview: Defenders
August 09, 2017 | Soccer
BOULDER – Heading into last season, the Colorado back line looked like it could be thin and a question mark. That assessment was quickly proved wrong as the Buffs boasted one of the top defenses in the country, despite losing two starters to injury midway through the season. That defense led the Buffs to a school-record 15 wins, a tie for second place in the Pac-12, and a postseason run into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"A key to our success as we led up to Pac-12 play and as we got into Pac-12 play was the depth of players that we had in the back, especially since Kahlia Hogg and Joss Orejel went down [with injuries]," head coach Danny Sanchez said. "Kelsey Aaknes stepped up into an important role and did a very good job. Erin Greening transitioned from attacker to an outside back and did a very good job. Alex Vidger had a much better sophomore year and then Mikaela Kraus coming in [to start later in the season after the injuries to Hogg and Orejel]. We went from it being a question mark to it being one of the strengths of our team."
Orejel believes the success last season had as much to do with attitude and effort as anything.
"Everyone just wanted to work hard for each other and we were all on the same page," Orejel said. "Our main focus was block shots and just work really hard. We had some injuries last season and we had people change positions and everyone was willing to work hard. Our whole back line adjusted to everything."
The back line looks to be a strength again this year as the Buffs return starters at all four defensive positions in 2017, led by Orejel, who is a senior. Joining her are juniors Greening and Vidger, and sophomore Aaknes. It looks like CU will also be deep at the position with seniors Courtney Fedor and Hannah Scheid, freshman Hannah Cardenas, and sophomore transfer Courtney Kaplan all providing depth and competition for the four positions.
Hogg and Kraus both graduated from last year's back four and the two were the vocal leaders of the group. Hogg started the first 13 matches before suffering an injury. After she went down, Kraus and Vidger stepped in admirably.
The Voice Of The Defense
Sanchez is looking for someone to replace Hogg and Kraus as the vocal leader of the defense this year.
"That's another task that we've put on our players, is who is going to be our voice," Sanchez said. "Our [goalkeepers] do a very good job communicating, but you need to have that voice on the field. That's an area that we're going to have to develop and we've put a lot of onus on the players to step into that role and have a bigger voice in the back."
Defensive Personnel
Orejel, the team's returning starter at left-outside back, is perhaps the front-runner to take over that vocal role as she is embarking on her fourth year as a starter and her experience is invaluable. The key for her will be to remain healthy for the full season, something she has yet to do in her career. She started 12 times last year before missing five matches with a knee injury. For her career, she has nine assists, ranking seventh in assists per game. Her healthiest season was in 2015 when she started 17 matches and had one goal and four assists. As noted last month, she has taken extra steps to stay healthy for the duration of the season.
Vidger looks to hold down one of the center back positions. After an inconsistent freshman season, she stepped up to start 15 times and appear in all 22 matches, scoring two goals and adding an assist for five points.
Greening is the most versatile of CU's returning starters, having moved from forward to right-outside back during fall camp a year ago. She was the only defender to start all 22 matches last season. Sanchez looks for her to play a role similar to what Madison Krauser did in 2015 after Krauser moved from the attack to the back line. Krauser ended up being an All-Pac-12 selection that year and played professionally in the top division in France this past season. The two players possess similar skills and athleticism, but Sanchez hopes Greening can be more of an offensive threat this season than she was a year ago.
"The advantage for Erin [compared to Krauser] is she's still only a junior," Sanchez said. "She has a year under her belt where she started every game in the back for us. The task we've put on her is to continue to improve defensively in her shape, in her 1v1 defending. A lot of the reason she's back there is because she can attack. We want to get more production out of that. It doesn't necessarily mean more goals and assists, but just putting pressure on the [opponent], winning free kicks, winning corners, and so forth."
Aaknes stepped into a key role as a freshman early in the season in 2016 and was a starter in 17 matches. She initially was a center back, but moved to left-outside back after Orejel went down with her injury.
Like Aaknes last season, Sanchez believes Cardenas can play a similar role of filling in both in the middle and outside of the defense. A freshman from Placentia, California, she was a two-time all-CIF performer and played on one of the top club teams in the country with Slammers FC.
"Hannah has always been a central defender for her club team, but we feel she for sure has the pace, athleticism, the 1v1 tenacity defending to play as an outside back," Sanchez said.
Fedor has seen an increased role each season, appearing in a career-high 17 matches a year ago. She is the ultimate team player and can fill in at multiple defensive and midfield positions.
Scheid and Kaplan are insurance options in the back of the field and both can also play other positions. Scheid has one year of eligibility remaining after joining the team and sitting out in 2016 due to NCAA rules. She played in the second division of the Bundesliga in Germany as an amateur player in 2015-16, giving her experience of playing at a high level to step into Pac-12 play. Kaplan trained with the team in the spring after transferring from South Carolina and was officially added to the roster this past week. She scored a goal for the Gamecocks as a freshman in 2015.
2017 Outlook
Regardless of the combination of players, the Buffs will no doubt have four capable starters in the back this season. Aaknes, Greening, Orejel and Vidger are certainly the front-runners to start, but the next four players will also push for significant playing time. With whatever the defensive lineup combination is, the Buffs open this season with more experience than they did in 2016.
If CU's defense can improve, or even maintain the level it played at last season, expect big things from the Buffs. Colorado has had a season goal-against average under 1.00 five times in its 21-year history and has won at least 14 games each of those seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament each time as well. With what could potentially be an improved offense on top of this potentially improved defense, the Buffs could go past the 15-win mark for the first time in school history and push deep into the NCAA Tournament.
"A key to our success as we led up to Pac-12 play and as we got into Pac-12 play was the depth of players that we had in the back, especially since Kahlia Hogg and Joss Orejel went down [with injuries]," head coach Danny Sanchez said. "Kelsey Aaknes stepped up into an important role and did a very good job. Erin Greening transitioned from attacker to an outside back and did a very good job. Alex Vidger had a much better sophomore year and then Mikaela Kraus coming in [to start later in the season after the injuries to Hogg and Orejel]. We went from it being a question mark to it being one of the strengths of our team."
Orejel believes the success last season had as much to do with attitude and effort as anything.
"Everyone just wanted to work hard for each other and we were all on the same page," Orejel said. "Our main focus was block shots and just work really hard. We had some injuries last season and we had people change positions and everyone was willing to work hard. Our whole back line adjusted to everything."
The back line looks to be a strength again this year as the Buffs return starters at all four defensive positions in 2017, led by Orejel, who is a senior. Joining her are juniors Greening and Vidger, and sophomore Aaknes. It looks like CU will also be deep at the position with seniors Courtney Fedor and Hannah Scheid, freshman Hannah Cardenas, and sophomore transfer Courtney Kaplan all providing depth and competition for the four positions.
Hogg and Kraus both graduated from last year's back four and the two were the vocal leaders of the group. Hogg started the first 13 matches before suffering an injury. After she went down, Kraus and Vidger stepped in admirably.
The Voice Of The Defense
Sanchez is looking for someone to replace Hogg and Kraus as the vocal leader of the defense this year.
"That's another task that we've put on our players, is who is going to be our voice," Sanchez said. "Our [goalkeepers] do a very good job communicating, but you need to have that voice on the field. That's an area that we're going to have to develop and we've put a lot of onus on the players to step into that role and have a bigger voice in the back."
Defensive Personnel
Orejel, the team's returning starter at left-outside back, is perhaps the front-runner to take over that vocal role as she is embarking on her fourth year as a starter and her experience is invaluable. The key for her will be to remain healthy for the full season, something she has yet to do in her career. She started 12 times last year before missing five matches with a knee injury. For her career, she has nine assists, ranking seventh in assists per game. Her healthiest season was in 2015 when she started 17 matches and had one goal and four assists. As noted last month, she has taken extra steps to stay healthy for the duration of the season.
Vidger looks to hold down one of the center back positions. After an inconsistent freshman season, she stepped up to start 15 times and appear in all 22 matches, scoring two goals and adding an assist for five points.
Greening is the most versatile of CU's returning starters, having moved from forward to right-outside back during fall camp a year ago. She was the only defender to start all 22 matches last season. Sanchez looks for her to play a role similar to what Madison Krauser did in 2015 after Krauser moved from the attack to the back line. Krauser ended up being an All-Pac-12 selection that year and played professionally in the top division in France this past season. The two players possess similar skills and athleticism, but Sanchez hopes Greening can be more of an offensive threat this season than she was a year ago.
"The advantage for Erin [compared to Krauser] is she's still only a junior," Sanchez said. "She has a year under her belt where she started every game in the back for us. The task we've put on her is to continue to improve defensively in her shape, in her 1v1 defending. A lot of the reason she's back there is because she can attack. We want to get more production out of that. It doesn't necessarily mean more goals and assists, but just putting pressure on the [opponent], winning free kicks, winning corners, and so forth."
Aaknes stepped into a key role as a freshman early in the season in 2016 and was a starter in 17 matches. She initially was a center back, but moved to left-outside back after Orejel went down with her injury.
Like Aaknes last season, Sanchez believes Cardenas can play a similar role of filling in both in the middle and outside of the defense. A freshman from Placentia, California, she was a two-time all-CIF performer and played on one of the top club teams in the country with Slammers FC.
"Hannah has always been a central defender for her club team, but we feel she for sure has the pace, athleticism, the 1v1 tenacity defending to play as an outside back," Sanchez said.
Fedor has seen an increased role each season, appearing in a career-high 17 matches a year ago. She is the ultimate team player and can fill in at multiple defensive and midfield positions.
Scheid and Kaplan are insurance options in the back of the field and both can also play other positions. Scheid has one year of eligibility remaining after joining the team and sitting out in 2016 due to NCAA rules. She played in the second division of the Bundesliga in Germany as an amateur player in 2015-16, giving her experience of playing at a high level to step into Pac-12 play. Kaplan trained with the team in the spring after transferring from South Carolina and was officially added to the roster this past week. She scored a goal for the Gamecocks as a freshman in 2015.
2017 Outlook
Regardless of the combination of players, the Buffs will no doubt have four capable starters in the back this season. Aaknes, Greening, Orejel and Vidger are certainly the front-runners to start, but the next four players will also push for significant playing time. With whatever the defensive lineup combination is, the Buffs open this season with more experience than they did in 2016.
If CU's defense can improve, or even maintain the level it played at last season, expect big things from the Buffs. Colorado has had a season goal-against average under 1.00 five times in its 21-year history and has won at least 14 games each of those seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament each time as well. With what could potentially be an improved offense on top of this potentially improved defense, the Buffs could go past the 15-win mark for the first time in school history and push deep into the NCAA Tournament.
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