AC Boise is struggling defensively. Here’s why, how a new signing could help
After a blistering-hot start to life as a soccer club, AC Boise has suffered a cooling-off period in recent weeks.
After winning six of its first 10 games in all competitions, Boise has gone winless in three straight and has conceded 10 goals in its past four games. Most recently, Boise fell 2-0 down to Virginia-based Richmond Kickers before scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-2 tie from the jaws of defeat.
The club is coming off a brutal stretch of seven games in May — the latter part of which saw a stomach bug work its way through the team — but head coach Nate Miller isn’t willing to blame Boise’s stuttering form on tired legs.
He is, however, very open about his team’s defensive struggles and what needs fixing.
“The huge issue we had — and a lot of it had to do with personnel in the back — was conceding huge transition moments,” Miller told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.
Since the first moment Miller could get his team on the training pitch, he’s instilled a highly aggressive mentality that asks the attacking players to immediately pressure the opposition when out of possession, while holding a defensive shape designed to stop counter-attacks.
A large part of that tactic was having the confidence to leave center-back Jake Dengler alone to deal with one-on-one attacks. However, since Dengler picked up a shoulder injury in Boise’s 2-0 win over Naples on May 13, Boise has won just once and not been tight defensively.
The final goals conceded in Boise’s 3-1 loss to Fort Wayne and 2-2 tie at Richmond both came as a result of quick counterattacks, while several other goals in that run have come as a result of Boise losing the ball in midfield and being left exposed at the back.
Following Boise’s 2-0 loss to the Sarasota Paradise on May 27, Miller said he needs his defensive midfielders to do a better job of tracking runners into the box and getting goal-side to stop any potential chances.
“With how I built the squad, I knew that (an injury to Dengler) was a risk, so you can say that’s on me for sure,” Miller said. “This is the one position where I didn’t feel like we could lose.”
Miller said that Dengler is “almost cleared for full contact” and that the target is to have him back for Boise’s game at Forward Madison on June 13 — meaning Dengler is likely to miss the two games before then, at Spokane Velocity on Saturday and a home match against Richmond on June 10.
Midfielders Charlie Adams and Dominic Gasso are also working their way back from injury, but a timeline wasn’t provided for either player.
Despite Dengler’s injury, Miller isn’t looking to change his tactics — three center backs, with two wingbacks who are given more license to attack up the field.
Instead, he’s planning on bringing in another center back to complement Dengler: Boise is on the verge of signing 31-year-old Ghanaian center back Joshua Yaro.
The 5-foot-11 defender played for the now-defunct USL Championship side San Diego Loyal while Miller was an assistant coach for the club in 2021, but he most recently spent four seasons with MLS side St. Louis City. He’s started 39 games in all competitions for St. Louis since 2023, as well as making over 20 appearances for the club’s MLS Next Pro team, St. Louis City II.
Miller hoped that Yaro would have been available for Boise’s last three games, but paperwork has delayed the club’s ability to register him for play officially.
“I want a high-end squad so that we can compete at the end of the season,” Miller said about Yaro’s singing. “... I felt like we solved (the defensive issue) in the market, and just unfortunately, with paperwork, we lost three games from Josh Yaro, which is extremely frustrating.”
AC Boise will attempt to get the wheels back on the track with the trip to Spokane on Saturday for a USL Cup fixture. Boise has already played the Velocity to a 1-1 tie in league play in early April.
