KRISTEN ELVES/Arizona Daily Wildcat After netting her 12th goal of the season last weekend, redshirt freshman Kelly Nelson broke the Arizona record for single-season goals.

Kelly Nelson knows how to score. A lot. So much, in fact, that as a redshirt freshman, she has already broken the Arizona single-season scoring record with two games to play in the season.

Nelson beat the old record of 11 goals on Friday, when she scored the game-winner in the 5th minute of double overtime as the Wildcats played host to then-No. 20 Washington and beat the Huskies 2-1, marking the first time Arizona has ever downed a ranked opponent.

That was Nelson's third game-winner of the season, tying another school record.

What made the moment even more spectacular was that the Husky goalie, Hope Solo, is a member of the U.S. National Team and will probably be in the next World Cup.

"That made quite an impact," Nelson said. "It put me in reality of where I can be and what I can do in the future as long as I keep working and keep trying new things. It's pretty exciting."

Pretty exciting, considering Nelson didn't play in a single game last year because of a torn ACL that forced her to red shirt.

"I had a really, really hard year last year," she said. "Coming back from that injury was the hardest thing ever. I'm really excited just to think that after all the hard work I've put in, that something this good can happen."

She said her only ambitions were to start on this team after last year.

"I just wanted to score some goals and to do my part to help the team win," she said.

And it gets better: She is the leading goal scorer in the Pacific 10 Conference with 13 and is tied for first in overall points with 27.

Arizona head coach Cathy Klein said she has nothing but admiration for Nelson, calling her one of the top three forwards in the Pac-10, regardless of statistics.

"That means a lot," said Nelson blushing. "I'm obviously doing something that's catching her eye, and hopefully it's catching other people's eyes as well and changing our team as a whole."

There is no doubt in Klein's mind that Nelson has attracted attention.

"Kelly is a marked woman," Klein said. "She works so hard on and off the field. We'll probably see her get national accolades pretty soon."

Nelson's performance on the weekend ÷ in which she also scored once against Washington State two days later ÷ earned her Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. It was only the third time an Arizona player has been awarded that honor.

Her teammates are also recognizing her prowess. Nelson has been voted one of the team captains for the spring, along with the only two seniors. According to Klein, she was named a captain not just for her game-time deeds.

"She is no question a leader of this team, not only because of her play on the field, but her character off the field," Klein said.

All of that's quite a feat for someone who could have given up after last season ÷ but she stuck with it.

"I wanted to be here. I've always wanted to play college soccer; it has always been my dream," she said. "I wanted to help change the program, to become a better soccer player and to better myself."

The thought of breaking the single-season scoring record never crossed her mind. "Yeah, right," she said, laughing at the idea.

"I've never had numbers that high set for myself. I'm happy with what I've done and I really don't take that for granted."

Coming from Lakewood, Calif., Nelson chose Arizona because of the campus, the community and the athletic facilities that UA offers.

"I really liked how the athletic community was really close knit and such a family," she said. "That's what I grew up with, so I liked it."

Nelson is fourth in the line of six children, with three brothers and two sisters; thus, there was never a lack of family around.

After Arizona, she plans on being back in California. The WUSA San Diego Spirit is on her long-term list of ambitions, but there's a catch: only if they have No. 19 available, the number she now wears and the day of her birthday. She says she will only play with that number on her jersey.

"No, not really," she laughs.

Meanwhile, Nelson and her second family are changing the essence of the Arizona soccer program. With a 6-10-1 record, the Wildcats have rewritten or matched the record book in 11 categories, including team points (104), team goals (36), and team assists (32).

Exactly how much better have they been? The old record for team points was 80, team goals was 30 and team assists was 20.

"I think we've all offensively just stepped outside ourselves," Nelson said. "We've learned to adapt and accept our roles and what's come out of it is we've been successful. We have 36 goals now and have broken so many records. Something good is going to come out of it."

With the youth and inexperience the Wildcats bring to the table, time is only going to help them. Looking down the line, only two seniors are exiting the program this year, and 19 freshmen and sophomores will be back in action next season.

"We're still going to be awfully young," Nelson said. "We do have experience now, but we know what it takes now, and we know that small mistakes can turn into drastic changes and misfortunes."

With time, experience will build and the talent will mature.

"Next year and two years from now, (youth) will still be an advantage. It'll work with us, not against us, and we won't be able to use it so much as an excuse," Nelson said. "We'll have the knowledge and experience and wisdom that the teams we're playing against right now have."

The future of Arizona soccer has never been brighter, but at the same time, it's also quite scary.

"This is the worst she'll be," Klein says of Nelson. "She's going to be even greater."

That should provoke some fear for the rest of the Pac-10.