Pete Hill is a natural defender.

He knows it. His coach knows it.

Yet, after playing his freshman season as a defender, the junior was primarily playing the midfield last season.

This season, though, the midfield is not where Hill is needed – instead, he will go back to where he has played for so long.

Hill, along with teammate Brien Chamney, will be returning to their more natural positions as defenders for the upcoming season as Syracuse looks to sure the holes provided by the loss of three of the four starting defenders to graduation last season.

Chammney and Hill return to the defense Friday night when the men’s soccer team opens its season Friday night against Canisius.

‘Coming in, I was a defender, so it’s like my bread and butter back there on the back line,’ Hill said. ‘It’s more of a change with the personnel having lost three of four guys, but we have a lot of really talented midfielders, more than we’ve had in our three years. So we got a lot of guys to play, and so they were able to move Brien (Chammney) and I back to our original positions.’

Hill played in all 16 games as a freshman defender (starting eight) while Chamney transferred last season from McMaster University (Ontario, Canada). Both are defenders, but last season, they were moved to the midfield to try and add an athletic and assertive presence in the midfield. Both are listed at over 6-feet tall and at least 170 pounds. SU men’s head coach Dean Foti said the team’s wealth of versatile defenders also allowed him to move the two to the midfield.

That didn’t mean the duo didn’t get to play any defense. Hill played defense at times and Chamney started the last eight games of the season on the back line, after starting the first 10 in the midfield, because of a season-ending injury to the graduated James Goodwin.

This season, though, three of the four defensive starters from last season’s unit that allowed the sixth-best goal-against average in school history at 0.98 (goals/game) are gone in Goodwin, Brad Peetoom and Aaron Bonser. This created a need of the Orange for quality defenders.

In turn, a good crop of midfielders allows Chamney and Hill to return to their more comfortable positions. Among those midfielders who stepped up Hill said, are freshmen Kevin Chan-Yu-Tin and Raoul Meister along with the regulars like junior Kenny Caceros.

And the duo’s coach knows defense is their more natural spot.

‘(Chamney and Hill) were comfortable enough that they could step into the midfield and kind of play a defensive midfield role for us in there,’ Foti said. ‘With this group, some of those guys that were playing in the defense graduated, so we’ve got three more midfielders now so we can move them into that vacuum that was created by the graduating players and put (Hill and Chammney) in their more natural position of defenders.’

Playing in the midfield last season put both players in foreign situations, which helped them develop as more refined two-way players, Foti said. Chamney absorbed a well-rounded structure of the team. Hill said his time in the midfield helped him learn how to play under more pressure situations and in tighter spaces on the field, while giving him more confidence with the ball.

With the switch, Foti and the players expect the unit to be one of the team’s strongest suits. Along with sophomore Justin Arena, Hill and Chamney are expected to play aside last year’s defensive MVP and senior, Karol Wasielewski.

‘I think we’re going to be great,’ Chamney said of the defense. ‘I think we have a really solid group of the back four, and if we need to slide any other person in there, they can step up immediately and play. I think we’re going to have a really good season.’

Only time will tell if Hill and Chamney will pay dividends by returning to the defense. One advantage the duo has, Foti said, is there shouldn’t be an acclimation period.

‘We’re looking forward to being back on the defense,’ Hill said. ‘It’s where I’ve been my whole life and it’s the most comfortable for me. Definitely (I’m excited for it).’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on August 25, 2008 at 12:00 pm