Midweek Musings: assessing the Switchbacks’ defense

If you're giving a way-too-early award for the best offseason, the obvious winner is Colorado Springs. This offseason's signings, in addition to the loan returns of Michee Ngalina and Lamar Batista, include:

• Jeff Caldwell, GK

• Malik Johnson, WB/AM

• Cam Lindley, CM

• Elvis Amoh, FW

• Issa Rayyan, RM

• Yesin van der Plujim, LB

By my Goals Above Replacement model, these additions are worth about half as much last season's whole Switchbacks roster. As a group, this unit combines for more than 350 USL appearances. In other words, a clear top-five Western Conference side with the reigning MVP just injected itself with half-a-dozen talented veterans.

I've delineated a few possible lineups above, but I wanted to get into last season's defensive system to preview where Colorado Springs might be headed in 2022. As you can see in the numbers, this team had a dominant offense and somewhat below-average goalkeeping. At the same time, the Switchbacks were one of the most aggressive pressing sides in the league by Passes Allowed per Defensive Action, powered by a manic counterpressing regime. Nonetheless, this system left Colorado Springs vulnerable in transition, leading to a league-worst amount of centerback interventions alongside substandard shot and goal allowance numbers.

In terms of a system, the Switchbacks ran with a fluid 3-5-2 base. They'd often plug an extra forward into the lineup or use a full-blown back four in defense; even in the normal three-at-the-back setup, Sebastian Anderson would shuttle between a winger role and that of a right back. This provided a ton of attacking verve, but it also put pressure on the back line. In the center, one holding midfielder (think Beverly Makangila here) was complemented by two higher-placed partners in the mold of Zach Zandi or Andre Lewis. That holder would sit back as an anchor while his peers burst into the press. This general system can be seen in the ensuing clip.

As mentioned, this team really based its identity around the counterpress. At a basic level, counterpressure is the practice of immediately closing down your opponent and trying to win the ball back when your team loses possession. For a team like Colorado Springs with two wingers, two forwards, and two central midfielders up the field at a given moment, forcing a counterpress turnover would put you high up the pitch with a numerical advantage. What's more, your foe is on the back foot switching from buildup to defending.

The other key tenet of the Switchbacks system was aggressive denial of central passing lanes. Winger- and wingback-types were instructed to close down hard, angling themselves parallel to the sideline to show opponents to the wide areas. In support, you'd often see a central midfielder drift wide to man-mark foes running to serve as an outlet. Both of these tenets can be seen below. The first clip sees six men press up to regain possession after a long ball into the channel is intercepted, while the second depicts that central denial.

Another example below is illustrative of Brendan Burke's philosophy. RGV works into the half-space, but an abundance of Switchbacks pinch inward, including both a central defender and Deshane Beckford in that high-work-rate right-side role. With Colorado Springs exceedingly narrow, RGV is able to switch play to the wing. Beckford recovers apace, and his side re-forms into the hybrid back-three shape. You see the vital importance of an athletic right-sided player here, and you're also left salivating over the transition opportunity that could've come if that initial compression created a turnover.

In terms of that aforementioned right wingback spot, say hello to Malik Johnson. He mainly operated as a winger or a wide player in a standard 3-4-3 with Real Monarchs last year, but he's familiar with the wingback role from his time in Tampa. Johnson pairs the pace provided by Anderson (gone at the end of a loan) and Beckford (not announced amongst this team's returners) with sharp dribbling and a progressive attacking impetus. I can also see Issa Rayyan holding down the right with Johnson, who mainly played on the left in Utah, on the opposite flank.

The rest of the back line is composed of centerbacks, though the far-left man in the defensive trio moonlights as a conservative left back at times. In any event, these defenders are encouraged to close hard on opposing forwards and make occasional forays into the midfield to press. On the ball, the Hodge-Mahoney-Ockford trio pass with confidence, and they often bomb the ball into the channels to let Ngalina or Hadji Barry go to work.

What came of this system? For one, it naturally opened up the Switchbacks to counterattacks. When you're pressing high and pushing defenders up, you naturally leave yourself open to rapid attacks by opponents. As seen above, wide recoveries and a decent sense of structure often saved this side, but there was a reason that they placed last in defensive actions by defenders and performed poorly in terms of goals allowed. For me, there was a dearth of centerback pace to suit this style (enter Batista?), but below-average goalkeeping didn't help either.

On that latter point, I'm very high on the addition of Jeff Caldwell. As you can see on the graph comparing value-added with save rates for USL goalkeepers, Caldwell is a clear improvement on Sean Melvin. His Hartford numbers were strong, and he earned 21% of the vote for 2021's Goalkeeper of the Year honor. When you're a team that systematically gives up big chances, having a difference-maker in net is key, and Caldwell is a true difference-maker.

If you think about Colorado Springs last year, they succeeded on the back of attacking dynamism powered by an offensive core that's mostly back for 2022. Their playoff exit came at the hands of a shorthanded Orange County team that felt like they could counterattack against the Switchbacks without risking their defensive system. Improve this team's defense a smidge, and a different game plays out; maybe OCSC risks too much and Hadji Barry finds a moment of magic. Looking forward, I love the way that Colorado Springs is trending, and I really think they could be a favorite in the West with Phoenix slightly rebuilding and El Paso moving to a new era. No matter what, refining and perfecting the defensive system is going to be crucial.