After a disappointing finish in 2010, head coach John Trask and the Wisconsin men’s soccer team set out to improve early this season.

Following last year’s 4-13-3 finish, Trask and his young team are already noticing improvements. Coming off of an unbeaten weekend at Flames Field in Chicago, the Badgers now boast a 3-3-1 record through their first seven games of the season.

“We’re improving, and I’m pretty pleased with where we’re at,” Trask said of his young team. “[But] have we really arrived? No. We’re a team coming off a four-win season. We’ve got to find a way to get some positive results, and hopefully we can push this thing forward.”

Last year’s team, which lost to eventual national semifinalist Michigan in the Big Ten tournament, was Trask’s first at UW. After winning two Horizon League regular season titles, the 2007 Horizon League Tournament and two Horizon League Coach of the Year titles with Illinois at Chicago, Trask came to Madison with a new attitude and a notoriously ferocious defense.

This year, sophomore goalkeepers Ciro Martinez and Max Jentsch have held opponents to one goal or fewer in four games, in which the Badgers are 3-0-1. The Badgers’ solid defense, at times coupled with stellar goalkeeping and steady offense, has propelled them to the best start they have had in the last few years. After closing last year 3-2-1, all signs point to success in the near future for Trask’s young team.

Sophomore forward Chris Prince led the team in scoring with seven goals and 14 points last year and netted his second goal of this season Sunday against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Sophomore midfielder Joey Tennyson has three goals on the year, including one last weekend, and sophomore midfielders Nick Janus and Trevor Wheeler each have one, meaning the sophomore class has accounted for seven of the team’s 11 goals thus far.

“Even though we’re a young team, we had seven freshmen starting last year, so they got a good 15 games under their belt,” Prince said.

“Most of our young players did get a lot of experience last year, so that’s going to help us out a lot,” Tennyson added.

The three Badger losses this season have come from Virginia, California-Irvine and Memphis – all schools that received votes to be ranked in the most recent NCAA coaches’ poll. The Badgers had chances to win all three of the games, but silly mistakes led to missed opportunities. Tennyson, who currently leads the team in goals, said he feels that consistently eliminating mistakes like the ones already committed would take the team to the level at which they want to perform.

Evidence of the Badgers’ work was shown last weekend, when scoring three unanswered goals to start the game against previously 4-1-1 Drake University proved to be enough to win 3-1 Friday. During the second game of the weekend doubleheader, the Badgers tied a scrappy SIU Edwardsville team, 1-1. The game was scoreless until the 83rd minute, when Prince put the Badgers on top for two minutes before the Cougars’ Derek Huffman scored the equalizer three minutes later.

By completing a weekend doubleheader without a loss, the Badgers showed improvement from the previous two weekends, during which they compiled a 1-3 record.

The Badgers now move on to a four game homestand on Sunday, beginning with Loyola Marymount, a team with a 2-4-0 record out of the West Cost Conference. The Lions lost a close game to University of California Los Angeles earlier this season, having to play 77 minutes with 10 men. After LMU, the Badgers have a tough stretch that includes games against Indiana, Creighton, Michigan and Michigan State. The Hoosiers, Bluejays and Spartans will all face the Badgers at the McClimon Complex.

With the Big Ten opener against Indiana Oct. 2 at the McClimon Complex, Trask and the Badgers hope to have improved in all areas, as some are speculating the Big Ten title will come down to the Badgers and Hoosiers this year.

“It’s either us or Indiana, I think, that should finish on top in the Big Ten, and hopefully we should be able to make the NCAA Tournament, too. I don’t think there’s a reason why we shouldn’t,” Prince said.

The Badgers have everything they need to succeed – a nationally renowned coaching staff, young talent, veteran leadership and an opportunity for a much improved year. Where there is any possible doubt, Trask shows full confidence in his team.

“Are we as experienced? No,” Trask said. “But I’d also say that we’re pretty darn good, so that should not be a hindrance going forward.”