Will Roberts enters the NCAA Division II men's soccer national semifinals as one of the nation's premier goal scorers. The University of Charleston forward is tied for second in the country with 20 goals.
That feat, he said, isn't as much about what he can do as it is what the rest of his team has done for him this year.
"It's the players around me that get me the goals," he said. "It's not like I do it all individually. Normally, I'm scoring within the 6-yard box. Hopefully I get the movement, and the quality the players give me, it's just easy goals, really."
The junior can add modesty to the traits that make him one of Division II's top soccer players.
Among the others are speed, precision and willingness to take a critique, learn from it and become better for it. He'll try to add to his gaudy scoring total when UC (20-2) plays Pfeiffer in the national semifinals at 6 p.m. Dec. 3.
Along with being tied for second in Division II in goals scored, Roberts also ranks fourth in the country with 46 total points and is tied for first with three other players with eight game-winning goals.
Yet, when Roberts arrived at UC, he considered himself more of an assists man.
He's still pretty good in that category. His six assists rank second on the Golden Eagles, but now his role is to take the passes rather than distribute them. Roberts said he tries to maintain a passer's mentality and feels that has helped him become a better scorer.
"It's just reading what I'd expect the strikers to do for me as a winger," Roberts said, "seeing where the best position in for me to score a goal. Normally, I'm lucky I'm there."
Roberts tied for the team lead as a sophomore with 18 goals as the Golden Eagles reached the NCAA championship game. This season, however, the goals didn't come as quickly for him. He scored four in his first nine games after scoring eight in his first seven games of 2014. UC coach Chris Grassie saw the problem.
"We brought him in and showed him the stats and he wasn't running as much as he had done," Grassie said. "And he wasn't getting the goals. We said, 'Look, you're not running enough and here's the proof.'
"He said, 'OK, I'll adapt to it,'" Grassie continued. "He was on board and he's open to that sort of stuff."
The adaptation worked. He set off on an 11-game streak where he scored at least one goal, with a high of four goals in a 7-1 win over Chowan. Grassie considers Roberts very coachable, and said he does a great job at analyzing scouting reports.
Roberts also does well in understanding the player he is, Grassie added. Roberts keeps things simple, running down the wing and cutting in diagonally when the ball is on the other side. He doesn't attempt things that aren't in his wheelhouse, something that some scorers can't keep themselves from doing.
"I think a lot of players with similar skill sets don't do as well, because they're not as self-disciplined and self-aware and know what they are," Grassie said. "That's been the downfall of many a player, to try and do too much. I think Will knows who he is and is very, very good."
Roberts' teammates also are very, very good, and he gives them a mountain of credit for his ability to find the back of the net. It's helped that much of last year's national runner-up team is back on the pitch in 2015 and preparing for another national semifinals appearance.
"The team hasn't changed in, like, the last two years," Roberts said. "We're really on the same wavelength now. They're seeing the passes before I'm making the run. They know where I'm going to be. They already know, and the teams can't deal with that in the moment."
Roberts loves that synergy and how he can use it. He enjoys being part of the machine that has reached the final four of Division II soccer the last two seasons, and wants to continue to excel at his part of the process.
"It's a great feeling," he said. "You just know that these quality players are going to find you. You've just got to take care of the rest. That's what I tend to do. Luckily, I can do it."