Well before she became a world class soccer player, Heather O'Reilly sprinted against the boys at her brother's youth soccer tryout. "I was dead last," she said. "But I think I turned some heads with how I kept up with the boys that were three years older than me."

With her trademark speed and acceleration, both essential for superior goal scorers, O'Reilly has since caught the attention of thousands more on the soccer field.

First, as an All-American at North Carolina, where the fleet-footed forward helped teams win national championships as a freshman and a senior. And now as a member of the U.S. women's national team, where this season she's started in 17 of 20 games.

As the U.S. women's team prepares for the Olympics next month in Beijing, O'Reilly is expected to play a prominent role in the offense.

The U.S. opens with a match against Norway on Aug. 6 in the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, followed by first-round matches against Japan on Aug. 9 and New Zealand on Aug. 12.

Winners of gold medals at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, the U.S. women's team is expected to compete for another gold medal this summer. But a season-ending leg injury to star forward Abby Wambach in the team's final tune-up match before Olympic competition is a concern as the team heads into the Games.

O'Reilly, playing on her second Olympic team (she also played in 2004), will shoulder the pressure, along with her teammates, to net goals and fill the void left by the injured Wambach.

It's a job she's been preparing for since elementary school.

"Goal scoring has always been so important to me," she said in an interview in May when the women's team visited Cary. "Outthinking the other team to score goals, it's really fun. That's really what the game comes down to."

Early in her life, it became clear that the East Brunswick, N.J., native possessed one of the most important skills a soccer player can develop: She could shoot.

Plus, she had the speed to clear a path to launch her right-footed shot.

Her skill set was so impressive that she landed a spot on the U.S. women's national team as a 19-year-old, just a freshman in college and the youngest player on the team. She became a reserve on a squad that featured former UNC star Mia Hamm and veterans Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain.

Back then, O'Reilly endured jokes about her youthful exuberance but earned respect from teammates for her work ethic.

U.S. women's assistant coach Erica Walsh said O'Reilly didn't know how to take a break. O'Reilly worked to get the ball, then worked to get it back when she didn't have it. A bundle of kinetic energy.

"She's developed into a much more sophisticated player," Walsh said.

O'Reilly has refined her skills, growing as a passer and scorer. This season, she has four goals and five assists, totaling 13 points. In 92 caps, she has scored 19 goals and is still remembered for a winning overtime goal against Germany in the 2004 Olympics.

At 5 feet 5 and tree-limb thin, she is not the most intimidating forward in the world. She is the type of forward new U.S. women's coach Pia Sundhage prefers to see in the midfield.

O'Reilly made the switch earlier this year to the right midfield, where she plays almost even with forwards and her responsibility is to attack the flank.

It's a different position than she was used to, requiring more defensive responsibility, but one that uses her strengths.

With the women's team playing in a 4-4-2 formation, a European style Sundhage has implemented, O'Reilly is well-positioned to score or send crosses. She's hoping to increase her goal scoring.

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