As Tacoma Defiance got younger, they got better

Ever since the Tacoma Defiance were first launched, the main goal of the team has been to develop players for the first team. To the degree winning helped in that pursuit, it was desirable, but it was never the primary objective.

It was with that in mind when the Defiance agreed to release veteran midfielder Frank Daroma and Faysal Bettache over the summer. Although they had established themselves as productive starters, they had expressed interest in pursuing opportunities in other leagues. The Defiance took that as a chance to give some of their younger players like Snyder Brunell, Chris Aquino and Sebastian Gomez even more responsibility and playing time.

Those youngsters have responded even better than their coaches had hoped. They now enter Saturday’s MLS Next Pro Western Conference semifinals against No. 1 seed North Texas playing some of the best soccer they’ve played all year.

“It did create a vacuum that they had to fill,” Defiance head coach Herve Diese said. “They’ve done it brilliantly.

“It’s what you do to develop young players. You have to give them a chance to take up that space, both on the field and in the locker room. That’s the only way they can grow. It was a good decision by the club. We wanted to trust these kids to step up to the plate and that’s what they’ve done.”

Prior to the departure of Bettache and Daroma, the Defiance went 9-7-2 and were scoring an average of 2.17 goals per game while allowing 1.94 goals per game. Since then, they’ve gone 5-3-3 while scoring 2.18 goals per game and allowing 1.63.

Aquino, 18, went from barely playing to leading the team in scoring with 10 goals. Gomez, 18, has emerged as a consistent two-way player on the wing, scoring five goals and dishing out two assists, all of which have come in his last 13 appearances.

But the player who has most established himself is Brunell. The 17-year-old first came onto the scene last year when he logged nearly 1,000 minutes for the Defiance as an amateur. He signed his first professional contract during the offseason and will likely end up playing close to 2,000 minutes, which includes a couple of appearances for the Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup.

Brunell was already a regular starter even before the veterans’ departure, but he’s become more of a leader since then, which has even included several games where he served as the team captain. In addition to reliably connecting passes and playing a mature brand of defense, he’s also scored four goals with five assists.

“It was sad at first,” Brunell said about the depatures of Bettache and Daroma. “We loved playing with them.

“It gave me and some other people a sense that we needed to step up and do what the team needs us to do.”

Of all the prospects on the Defiance, Brunell might be the one with the brightest future, following in the footsteps of fellow academy-trained central midfielders like Obed Vargas, Josh Atencio and Danny Leyva.

Diese certainly thinks Brunell is on the right path.

“Everything he’s doing is exactly everything he has to do,” Diese said. “Snyder is one of the hardest working players I’ve worked with as a coach. Every time he’s on the pitch, he’s always at 100%. You never have to ask him to do his gym sessions, his proper activations, is he sleeping well? He’s raised by very good parents who know how to mature a young man into an adult. He understands the opportunity he’s getting.

“I never have to talk about behavior, professionalism, politeness, respect – he’s raised really well. He shakes your hand in the morning. He’s growing, he’s getting more intelligent, he’s getting faster, stronger, and will be able to handle the highs and lows.”

Perhaps the biggest test this young Defiance team has faced this season will be North Texas, a team that had a league-best 62 points and posted a +24 goal-difference during the regular season. No matter what happens, Diese is confident it will be an important experience.

“This is the reason we put so many hours into this, it’s moments like this,” Diese said. “It gives us information on what to do next. It’s a tough task, but you don’t win anything if you don’t get over tough tasks. You don’t achieve anything in life if you don’t overcome the challenges in front of you. It’s our chance become better as human beings, as coaches, as players. That’s literally how we’re approaching this game.”