[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald Photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]With Lake Mendota still frozen over and snow still lingering on the ground, it seems a bit goofy to be discussing soccer. But for the UW men's soccer team, it is never too soon to get the ball rolling on its spring schedule, and that's just what they did on a trip to Washington D.C. last week.

While the trip certainly offered the Badgers a chance to get back into action, it wasn't necessarily all business. The team intertwined action on the pitch — including its first shot at actually playing on grass — with trips to the White House, Capitol and Pentagon.

"When we go on the spring trips we like to combine some of the soccer stuff with some of the tourist, educational component as well," Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman said. "It was great for our guys to play some competitive games, and, at the same time get a chance to meet Senator Kohl and do a couple of tours. It was fantastic."

Wisconsin opened play last Sunday, falling to the Richmond Kickers club team in a 1-0 game, but battled back later that same day, coming through with a 3-0 victory over the University of Richmond Spiders.

But perhaps the soccer highlight of the trip came in a Tuesday matchup with defending-champion Maryland. While playing with a different format — four 30-minute periods instead of two 45-minute halves — the Badgers played to a draw with the Terrapins.

"I thought they played quite well in all three games … considering we hadn't even been outside — our first time on grass was at one of the parks there," Rohrman said. "When you're with the team for five or six days you certainly get time to talk to each other and get to know each other. A lot of positives come from the [trip]."

Another one of those positives included getting Eric Conklin and Scott Lorenz — the two freshmen who redshirted this past fall — into action with the team.

"I think the two freshmen that we redshirted showed well," Rohrman said. "They met our expectations for what they could do and I know they were excited to finally get a uniform on and get out there."

Overall, the head coach who is heading into his fifth season at UW was impressed with the team's play on the defensive end.

The Badgers gave up 30 goals in 19 games last season while going 8-11-0 overall. But with seven of those 11 losses coming by one goal or less, the defense — led by captain Aaron Hohlbein — is looking to step things up, starting right away this spring.

"I think we've taken a few steps forward on the defensive side," Rohrman said. "That's certainly been a point of emphasis with us, in terms of not giving up goals. We have enough fire power to create some things, we just have to be sure we're taking care of the defensive side of it."

Victor Diaz, who will be a sophomore next fall, led the way as far as goal-scoring on the trip to the nation's capital, scoring twice. The Spaniard really came on down the stretch in his first year as a Badger.

Diaz has been joined by a fellow Madrid native this spring, freshman Pablo Delgado. While it may take the 21-year old some time to get used to the college game, his resume speaks for itself.

Delgado has played for some of the top amateur teams in Spain and twice played in the COTIF international tournament. Diaz, who had to make the same transition less than two years ago, will probably be a key factor in helping Delgado gear his game more towards college play.

"Being from the same country and having known each other a few years, there's obviously a great connection there," Rohrman said. "Victor is such a wonderful personality and a good person. I'm sure he's going to help Pablo in any way he can. It's just a natural thing for Pablo to migrate towards Victor."

Just how much Delgado will have to lean on Diaz is the question. Rohrman is encouraged by what he's seen from the incoming freshman already in his first few weeks with the team.

"To be honest, Pablo has done very, very well these first few weeks," Rohrman said. "He's a very mature young man and he's made the adjustment rather quickly from what I can see right now."

The Badgers spring season continues April 1, when they will host a round-robin tournament including UW-Green Bay, UW-Parkside and Northwestern at McClimon Soccer Complex.

"Hopefully the weather will cooperate — on April 1 you never know what you're going to get," Rohrman said. "You really have to take advantage of every playing opportunity."