KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior forward Candice Wilks, left, and juinor forward Kelly Nelson plan to guide the Wildcat offensive attack this season. Nelson, the team's leading scorer in 2002, hopes to join Wilks, last year's scoring leader, on the Arizona front line soon after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.

Soccer opens tonight at Cyclone Classic

A soccer player can practice the fundamentals of the game all she wants, but one thing that won't improve with practice is how to find the back of the net in game situations.

What separates the great strikers from the good ones is that innate ability to know where the ball will be next, to get there and, with minimal touches, put a shot on goal.

Candice Wilks and Kelly Nelson have that knack for netting goals, but due to injuries last season both saw limited playing time, reflecting in the the team's 6-11-2 overall record (2-6-1 Pacific 10 Conference) last season.

The team spent many games pounding the opposing teams' defenses, but with no results to show for it. Against Oregon State, the Wildcats out-shot the Beavers 20-6, and lost 2-1. They out-shot Arizona State 23-14, taking 10 corner kicks compared to ASU's one, and settled for a 1-1 tie. Seven of the team's 11 losses were by one point.

"I think they are two of the top strikers, certainly on our team and two of the top strikers in the conference. The two as a tandem play off of each other very well," said head coach Dan Tobias, who is in his second year with the Wildcats.

"When they are completely healthy, I think they are a very dangerous attacking tandem and they really help elevate the level of our team."

Wilks, a senior, and Nelson, a junior, have both had seasons in which they put up big numbers, but those seasons have never coincided.

In 2002, Nelson led the team with 13 goals and one assist, and earned Pac-10 first team honors. Last year, her season was virtually over before it began.

On the third day of two-a-day practices in the summer, Nelson hurt her ankle. She missed seven games, and even when she did come back, she played in pain and her minutes were very limited. As a result, she ended the 2003 season with two assists and no goals.

"Even playing through last year, the games I did, I was never really at full strength. It wasn't just hurting me, it was hurting the team," Nelson said. "A part of me being hurt left a lot of pressure on Candice and she had to do a lot of extra work as far as scoring goals or getting assists. There wasn't much help for her to work with. She picked up a lot of the load last season."

Wilks responded to the pressure, leading the team in scoring with eight goals and notching two assists in 2003. After receiving Pac-10 honorable mention the two previous seasons, Wilks moved up to first team All-Pac-10 last season.

Despite career numbers for Wilks, she battled her own minor injuries. She suffered a foot injury in practice mid-season that forced her to sit out four games in the middle of Pac-10 play. It limited her playing time for the rest of the season. For a team that narrowly missed going to the playoffs, having Wilks healthy may have been the difference.

"Just as a competitive athlete in general, just sitting there and watching someone else play your position is never fun," Wilks said.

For these two, leadership will be just as crucial to this team's success as their play on the field. Of the 22 players on the team, 12 are new-and 11 of them are freshmen.

While Wilks is not a captain like Nelson, she will still be in a leadership role, according to Tobias.

"I think Candice is all about leadership by example. She's not going to say much, but what she says with her play and how she takes care of herself and her teammates; it speaks real loudly."

Wilks said that she is healthy now and ready to play.

The Wildcats play their first games of the 2004 season this weekend at the Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa. The Wildcats will face Iowa State today at 7 p.m., and Saturday they will face Drake at 7 p.m.

Nelson is not completely healthy yet, and will not be traveling with the team to Iowa. She had surgery on her ankle in April, where she said some bone was removed and a screw was inserted. Nelson began running in July, something she had not done since Pac-10 play ended in November. She practiced in cleats for the first time last week, and is hoping to get cleared to play the first week of September. The Wildcats' trip to West Virginia on Sept. 10 is the junior's target date to return, she said.

The sooner Nelson is cleared to play, the better for the Wildcats. If Nelson can possibly get back to her 2002 form, and if Wilks can stay healthy and have another big season, Wilks has an idea of where she thinks this team can go.

"I don't want anyone to think for a minute that I don't think we can win every game. So playoffs are definitely on my mind."