While the departure of goal-scoring dynamos Nick Van Sicklen and Jed Hohlbein may have hampered the offense of the 2005 Wisconsin men’s soccer team, the team’s defensive core only grew stronger in a year’s time.

With four incoming recruits joining four returning letter-winners in the back, the defensive outlook looks improved for a Wisconsin team that recorded only one shutout last season.

“It all starts with our captain, all-Big Ten central defender Aaron Hohlbein,” head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “I think everybody is a better player because of Aaron’s presence back there. I also think there has been some great improvement by some of the other guys — Hamid Afsari, for example, has done very well. Both Andy Miller and Zack Lambo have also done a good job so far and both played great over the first weekend.”

Not only did freshman standouts Lambo and Miller successfully work their way into the starting lineups this past weekend at the Big Toe Invitational, but they also played important roles in securing 2-1 victories in both matches.

Against UNLV, Lambo set-up the team’s first goal of the 2005 campaign with a free kick from the left flank. Lambo’s cross found Hohlbein on the back post, whose header brought the Badgers back into the game.

In the victory over Drake, it was Lambo assisting again, this time serving in the ball that produced the game-winning goal. Only 46 seconds into overtime, Lambo picked out junior forward Reid Johnson whose flick-on found sophomore Sho Fujita directly in front of the net.

“I think Zack brings a very polished left foot,” Rohrman said. “He served a great ball to Hohlbein for the goal on Friday to get us going, and he also served the ball to Reid (Johnson) in overtime allowing us to win the Drake game. His ability to play well in the flow of play and also on set pieces is a pretty nice weapon to have.”

Lambo, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defender from Crystal Lake, Ill., has adapted well to the college game early on, but admits that concentration and focus are aspects of his game he must continue to improve.

“The general pace of the game has been the main transition from high school,” Lambo said. “You have to know where you’re going to play the ball before you get it, so the first touch is so important. Everybody is bigger and has a little more pace to them, so it’s been tough. But, it’s encouraging because it’s making me a better player.”

Along with Lambo, Miller has made great strides with the team, playing stellar defense in his first career start against Drake. The Barrington, Ill., native is a physical defender for his size (5-foot-10, 150 pounds), but, like Lambo, is still adjusting to the speed of the college game.

“Coming in as a freshman, you’re obviously not as developed as some of the other guys,” Miller said. “Dealing with bigger and faster players will probably be the most difficult change. The play is a lot faster too — a hundred times faster than high school.”

As Rohrman employs his new freshman talents, he can also enjoy the luxury of having veteran defenders, such as Afsari and reserve Andrew Cardona, available on his roster.

“Andrew (Cardona) is a seasoned veteran with the team,” Rohrman said. “He played some key roles for us the first couple of years and right now he is in a bit of a support position for us. He’s done a great job in what we’ve asked him to do and I don’t doubt that Andrew will certainly get on the field — it’s just going to be a matter of where and when.”

When the Badgers head to Milwaukee for the Panther Classic next weekend, the young men from Illinois, Lambo and Miller, will most likely be on the pitch, fighting for a win. The influx of talent will provide Rohrman with plenty of room for tinkering with the lineup this weekend and throughout the season.

“We’re always looking to tweak and adjust things so that we can be sure we’re putting the 11 on the field that will work best for us going into each game,” Rohrman said. “We changed things from Friday to Sunday this past weekend and I felt they were good adjustments. Going into this next Friday, we’re going to look at a few different things back there and possibly make a few more adjustments.”