FRISCO, Texas – The depth of the FC Dallas back four, a question mark entering the 2015 season, has been put to the test this year.
The usual starting center back tandem of Matt Hedges and Zach Loyd have suffered their share of injuries, with both players missing the team’s 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy two weeks ago.
One defender in particular, 2013 SuperDraft first-rounder Walker Zimmerman, has risen to the occasion during their absences, appearing in eight games and starting four for the Supporters’ Shield co-leaders.
He even made a potentially game-saving stop during last Friday’s scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls, sliding to intercept a Bradley Wright-Phillips pass that would’ve put Sacha Kljestan in on goal. It was a highlight of Zimmerman’s strong 90-minute outing, a performance that earned him a spot on the MLS Team of the Week.
- Team of the Week: Zimmerman earns honor for strong outing vs. RBNY
While the slide against New York was critical, it’s the other, aerial element of the 6-foot-3 defender’s play that has drawn the most praise from teammates and coaches.
“His aerial game is amazing,” head coach Oscar Pareja said of Zimmerman. “He’s learning to be more disciplined to the concepts that we preach. I think his matureness is coming along also, [with] the way he reads the game.”
The stats back up Zimmerman, who turned 22 on Tuesday and is eligible for the 2016 US Olympic Team. The Georgia-native has won 20 out of his 27 aerial challenges, per Opta Sports, the tenth highest percentage in MLS of players with at least 20 aerials attempted.
“He wins a lot of balls everywhere,” Hedges told MLSSoccer.com. “Nobody is going to beat him, and that’s something good in a center back partner. Obviously you have to expect a mistake as a defender. You’ve got to try to cover. But I mean, you know he’s going to win basically every ball.”
It has not been an easy road for Zimmerman, to say the least. After being drafted seventh overall in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, the Furman product has battled a series of hamstring and other injuries that have slowed down his development.
Due in part to those injuries, Zimmerman only appeared in just 17 games in his first two years in the league. He’s already nearly halfway to that total this year alone, appearing in eight games with a clean bill of health.
“Most importantly, we’ve had a player that has been healthy,” Pareja said. “We’ve had him at a regular basis and not in the nursery. So for me, that’s the biggest improvement that he’s made this year.”
Though he may not immediately return to the field this week with Loyd back in action, JeVaughn Watson's likely departure for international duty this summer with Jamaica could well open up a spot for him to once more star on the backline, should Loyd slide over to Watson's right back spot.
And while players like Zimmerman have a hard time finding the spotlight on a team with the likes of Fabian Castillo and Mauro Diaz, he’s still earned plenty of respect throughout the organization.
“They work quietly there,” Pareja said of Zimmerman and some of the team’s other under-the-radar players. “They don’t expect much attention of the people, but the importance of these players is recognized by their teammates. And that is even bigger than anything else.”
