“Stout defense defines Lakers” |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:17 PM PST SKANEATELES — Trevor Diamond might have the best job in high school boys soccer. The job description for Skaneateles' goal tender has been pretty simple this postseason — stand between the two white pipes and watch while everyone else does the work. "Our defense is really good. I don't really do too much," Diamond said. "I don't want to do anything. I'll just let Mikey (Richards) Zach (Brownlee) and Tim (Lewis) do it all." It hasn't exactly been that easy, but for the first-year goalie, having a wall consisting of Richards, Brownlee and Lewis is always a good thing and they seem to be peaking at the right time. It took Skaneateles 16 games in the regular season to record four shutouts, a number they would finish the season with. In the four postseason games thus far, the Lakers have already matched that total. "The defense has been solid all year long but especially in the postseason," Skaneateles head coach Kirk Atwater said. "They haven't allowed one goal. They're doing a great job." Skaneateles will have an opportunity to surpass its regular season total Saturday in the NYSPHSAA semifinals against Akron in Middletown. The Tigers, though, won't be impressed with the Lakers' streak. Akron has shut out its last seven opponents entering the game. Richards plays the lead role in making Diamond's life in goal an easy one. In the Lakers' scheme, the senior acts like a middle linebacker barking out commands to his teammates, making sure they are in the right position at the right time. Under Richards command, the Lakers have held opponents to 1.1 goals this season with eight shutouts. "He's been phenomenal, it's unreal how good he is back there," Brownlee said of Richards. "Because he gets the ball up, he's very fast and athletic. Without him we're really nothing." In all, the Lakers have played they have held their opponents to one goal or fewer in 16 of their 20 games. Only twice has Skaneateles surrendered more than three goals. The defensive game plan is executed by Brownlee, Lewis and Richards, but it's implemented by Atwater. His defensive philosophy mirrors that of his offense — play aggressive. Instead of giving the offense time and room to set up an offense, Atwater has his defenders pressure offense, harassing them before during and after they the ball. "Our defense is great because if they're getting to he ball first, not letting them get to the ball, that's the difference," he said. "If you as an offensive player get the ball and let him do what he wants, that's free opportunities for them. So what do we do as a defense? We get to the ball first." The Lakers defense has a knack for forcing teams to walk off the field playing less than their best game. Against Westhill, the Lakers defense held the Warriors two best players to just two shots, neither reached Diamond, as Lewis blocked both. The suffocating defensive effort was all set up by communication. The constant chatter allows each player to confidently know when he has help and when he doesn't. "I don't have to fear, when I get beat, it's (Richards)," Lewis said. "And if he gets beat, he's got Zach right behind him and then if he has to get Trevor, we are usually fast enough to close down the gap." It hasn't happened often this postseason, but when an offensive player does break the three-man wall, Diamond has come up strong every time. It's something the Lakers have become accustomed to, even if Diamond deflects the praise of the shutouts to his defense. "He says that because he's a first year player, he doesn't have much confidence," Richards said. "We have all the confidence in the world, if there is a big save that needs to be made, he's going to make it." And although capable of making a game saving stop, Diamond prefers a much less stressful job. "I'll be content not making another save this soccer season," Diamond said. "... If they weren't there it would be a very different season. We'd be closer to 0-20 than 20-0. I'm basically a spectator back there, I don't really do too much. I love it, though." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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