Shoring Up the Hounds' D

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By @SAdyson

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Best gif ever by @KyleMcHenry

Tuffy has coaxed the likes of Ngwenya and Obodai to join the Hounds’ camp for the next USL PRO season. Both players will surely add an offensive spark to a lineup that will already see two USL PRO points leaders–Jose Angulo and Matty Dallman–return for next season.

But what about the Hounds’ back line? We all know all too well the late-game defensive lapses that plagued the Riverhounds last season, and it will be interesting to see if Evans and company do something to bolster the Hounds’ D.

RETURNING DEFENDERS

  • Andrew Marshall – At 6’0″, Marshall added some much need size to the back line. In addition to this, he followed with extremely aggressive play. Yes, he did average 1.42 fouls per game last season. But the tenacity with which he played the CB position added some grit to the D. You could always tell he put in that extra effort to corral opposing forwards and borderline body-slam them if need be.
  • Sterling Flunder – Not as big as Marshall, Flunder will be better suited next season assuming a wing back position in 2014. He can move the ball up field and more times than not exhibits good vision. At age 27, he still has some wheels and adds speed to the Hounds’ D. Forced into the CB role last season, he demonstrated good chemistry with Marshall in the middle of the field. We’re just not convinced he has the CB pedigree.

DEFENSIVE NEEDS

  • Center Back
  • Wing Back

We love the way that Richie Costanzo and Mike Green play, but they are definitely not born to be defenders. Richie showed some ability to push the play into the offensive zone and showed great aggressiveness, but his lack of size was often exploited by teams such as Harrisburg that deployed large, physical forwards. In addition, Mike Green held his own on the opposite wing back position, but often times looked out of sorts playing defense. When Green was brought into the Hounds’ camp in 2012, he excelled in the midfield. Which is where he should be.

In our opinion, the Hounds have two dire needs to shore up their defense. First, a larger CB to complement the defensive-minded Marshall would be a huge boost against teams with affiliations that can field forwards taller than 6-foot. Considering the Anthony Vazquez experiment did not pan out last season, it would make sense to find a serviceable wing back that can relieve Richie and Green of being thrust into that position.

#UNLEASH

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