Jessica Keller If knowing where to be on the field at a critical moment is the key to scoring, Jessica Keller has the right intuition when going on the attack during her games with the Orangeville Athletic division one women's soccer team.

The 20 year-old forward is the team's leading scorer and one of the top strikers in the league.

By the time the Athletic played game number 16 in the regular season, Jessica had 15 goals including a triple in a game against the King United on August 9.

“It’s usually my team,” she says. “I’m just there when they pass it to me. They pass me the ball and

just finish.”

The highly competitive division one squad plays in a 12 team league and is currently in the middle of the pack near the end of the season.

She credits some of her scoring ability to the fact the she played four years at the high school level with several of her teammates at Orangeville District Secondary School.

“A lot of them I played with in high school too, “ Jessica says. “I know where they play and how they play, so we know exactly where we are going to be.”

Communicating on the soccer pitch is also a big part of setting up the action. There is a “lot of yelling” Jessica says, between players when executing a play.

“The last few games we've really come together and played really well. We know exactly how everybody plays and which position we should play now.”

Conditioning is a big part of soccer, of course, and Athletic coach Colette Smith says Jessica's speed is a major factor in her ability to blow by the competition.

“Jessica is very fast, she's a fast runner,” she says. “She instinctively knows where to go. She doesn't tire. She's like the Energizer Bunny. She communicates with the players out there. At this level they know how to play the game. It's about stamina, conditioning, and communication with your teammates. She has a natural instinct of knowing where to be and where it's going to be. And that's something you can't teach.”

Going into her third year at the University of Guelph this fall, Jessica toyed with the idea of trying out for the collegiate level soccer team but decided that the commitment required would cut into the time she would need for her heavy course load.

But playing at the division one level provides the competitive environment she likes in soccer.

“I like the intensity,” she says. “Some games are really crazy, but it's a good group of girls we play against. They’re really competitive and athletic and we all want to win.”

The Orangeville women’s teams has three games left in the season after this past weekend - time enough for Jessica to aim for a season total of 20 goals.

“I’m going to try to keep it up,” she says of her scoring total, “I’ve got five more games left, maybe I’ll get another hattrick in there.”