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With just four games on the books, the UW men’s soccer team is already making its presence felt this season. Jumping to an undefeated record thus far (3-0-1) and a No. 21-ranking in the latest national poll, the Badgers are poised to make a big run.

“To be honest, [the ranking] may be a little bit of a complement to the work we’ve done so far,” coach Jeff Rorhman said. “But it is so early in the season. … The goals we’ve laid out for ourselves are greater than being ranked four games into the season. So we have some other things to take care of and are pretty motivated to achieve.”

Nevertheless, the Badgers have already shown they are equipped to take on the national spotlight. The Badgers won the Middleton Sports and Fitness Invitational by beating then-ranked No. 20 Santa Clara and holding onto a 3-3 tie against a strong Dayton team just two days later.

The Badgers’ success last weekend can be attributed to great play from just about everyone on the team. However, midfielder Pablo Delgado stood out during the tournament, most notably for a spectacular cross that led to the game-winning overtime goal scored by Taylor Waspi. For his  performance last weekend, Delgado was awarded Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Going into this weekend, Delgado leads the team with six points, two goals and two assists.

“Honestly, it’s not about how I play. It’s about the team, and the team has been playing pretty well so far,” Delgado said modestly.

This year, the Badgers have both skill and experience exemplified by seven starting seniors. The team hopes to use this advantage for its ultimate success down the road this season.

“If there’s any year that we could do it, it’s this year,” said senior captain Andy Miller. “This is the best team we’ve had in a long time, in my opinion.”

The Badgers proved last weekend that no matter whom they play or how dire the situation may look, they have the ability to come through when it counts.

“Our experience, leadership and maturity have helped us in games where maybe we haven’t played as well as we all think we’re capable of,” Rorhman said. “We find ways to grind out wins and get it done down the stretch. It shows some great character when we pull games out in the 80th minute or when we win a game in overtime.”

The Badgers fought extremely well against the bigger, stronger and more celebrated Santa Clara team and held onto a tie with Dayton in a high-scoring showdown. The only real concerns from last weekend were some defensive letdowns.

“We all agree we did not defend that well the last game, so we had a commitment this week to work even harder in that area,” Delgado said. “In order to be successful, we have to defend well, and everything else will come after.”

 This week, the Badgers finish up the tournament section of their schedule in games against Cal-Northridge (3-1-0) and Binghamton (2-1-1) in the UW-Milwaukee Panther Classic. Both games will serve as a tune-up for the Badgers, who look to make use of this weekend to catapult them into the rest of their season. Arguably, the most difficult aspect of the weekend will be playing two games in three days.

“I don’t worry too much about Friday. I think we are going to be well-prepared,” Rorhman said. “A lot of times in our sport, one of the biggest challenges is coming back less than 48 hours later and having to play a tough, physical, emotional game and be able to put forth a great performance on that Sunday after playing a hard match on Friday. That’s going to be our challenge.”