By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

If he ever doubts his decision to go to a new defense, all Thomas More Prep-Marian boys' soccer coach Shawn Lawson has to do is look at the statistics.

The Monarchs have a school-record eight shutouts, and take away a game when the Monarchs conceded 10 goals when the starting goalkeeper was sick, TMP-Marian has allowed just 15 goals in the other 16 games.

Lawson, an assistant last year in charge of the defense, is the team's head coach this year. He switched to a zone defense in 2008, using the flat-back four. The Monarchs had five clean sheets last year while learning the system.

"A lot of people don't use it," Lawson said. "It takes a lot of time and cooperation."

But the defense, when it's used right, shuts down the other team.

"If you shut them out, you only need to score one goal," Lawson said. "Kind of the way it was," Tuesday.

TMP-Marian (11-6) won 2-0 over Elyria Christian in Tuesday's semifinals of the Class 4-3-2-1A Regional Championships. The Monarchs advance to the regional title game for the first time, Friday at No. 2 seed Wichita-Trinity (13-4). Game time is 4 p.m.

Against Elyria Christian, Lawson has done what he has tried in the past, experiment with a new formation, this time a 3-4-3. That won't be the case against tradition-rich Wichita-Trinity, which has won nine straight regional championship games and took third at state last year.

"It's going to carry the rest of the team," Lawson said of the 4-4-2 flat-back four. "Experiments were just that -- experiments."

Lawson has a pair of central defenders to anchor the back line in seniors Nathan Lawson and Braden Dreiling.

"They're both kind of different style of players," Coach Lawson said. "Nathan has a little more speed, is a little more physical.

"Braden doesn't quite have the speed; he's smart."

Having smart players on the pitch is key to the flat-back four.

"Biggest thing is understanding the system," Lawson said. "Their ability to communicate together is really huge, and understanding the zone system."

The Monarch coach said there are two kinds of players, and he's found the right mix for his defense.

"There are two kinds of people -- those that want to score and those that don't want to be scored on," Lawson said.

Lawson said the flat-back four can be vulnerable against through balls up the middle, but he devised a way to counter that tactic.

"We kind of counter that with a sweeper-keeper, he kind of becomes a sweeper," Lawson said of sophomore starting goalkeeper Drew O'Brien. "I told Drew to stay on his toes; if a through ball is put through, he's there."

When teams send a long ball up the middle, O'Brien comes off his line, sometimes past the 18-yard penalty area, to clear the ball.

"When you've got a keeper as fast as Drew, as smart as Drew, he's on it," Lawson said.

With the flat-back four in front of him, O'Brien has posted a 0.82 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage.

"In the long run, it's a smarter system," Lawson said.

"There's a reason colleges and the pros use it.

"The sweeper-stopper system is more of a club level."

But Lawson realizes the system isn't for every team, especially on the high school level.

"If you don't have time to put the system in place, you just stick it out," Lawson said. "I knew I had time to use this. Last year was a learning experience for them.

"After two years, there's no going back. It works for us; it may not work for everybody," he added.

The key for TMP-Marian is having two experienced center backs in Nathan Lawson, the coach's son, and Dreiling.

The speedy Nathan Lawson is under control while being pressured, and makes few mistakes.

"That coolness and being calm and collected rubs off on the rest of the defense," Coach Lawson said.

Dreiling has been what Coach Lawson has called in the past a utility player, able to play anywhere on the field. But in preseason this year, Dreiling found a home on the back line.

"Going into the second week of practice, we had a lot of strikers, a lot of speed," Lawson said. "Braden's really smart. We said let's try this. We needed another center back.

"That might have been his best position all along," he added.

TMP-Marian has a defensive core consisting of Lawson, Dreiling, and juniors Matt Roberti, Cedric Kim and John Kim.

Junior Kyle Braun is a season-long starter who plays defense and but also sees time at midfield, too, and scored the first goal of his varsity career Tuesday.

"This group we've got, I have five guys who play strictly defense," Lawson said.

"A couple more midfielders-defenders gives some flexibility."

Wichita-Trinity could be in for a surprise on Friday when it tries to penetrate the Monarch back line.

"My thing, they don't see a lot of it," Lawson said. "Very few high schools use it."