Already responsible for two goals this season and numerous other scoring opportunities to boot, Gianna DeSaverio is shaping up to be the offensive muscle of the Arizona soccer team (2-2).

The sophomore forward approaches soccer like it is her job, with a level head and a plan.

“”She is a very businesslike individual, she’s prepared and tough minded,”” UA head coach Dan Tobias said.

She is not a one-woman show, though; she cares deeply for the team and its overall success on a team where she is also known as the mom. When DeSaverio was having difficulty describing herself, she looked to teammate Brianna Caceres, who said that she is motherlike and the responsible one.

DeSaverio was fine with this description, admitting that it is true.

“”She’s energetic, loving and fun,”” Caceres said from her car.

DeSaverio, who played in all 22 games last season, is looking to make her mark this year.

“”She has come with the mentality: ‘I want to be the No. 1 scorer out there,'”” Tobias said.

After the first two games against Michigan and Oakland, Tobias said that despite her being the top scorer that weekend, she was still disappointed in her overall performance.

“”I had a few more opportunities to finish,”” DeSaverio said. “”I feel it’s my role to be the goal scorer.””

And this may be her fate; Tobias attributes much of DeSaverio’s success to her composure in the box, saying that she makes adding a tally to the scoreboard look easy.

Tobias said the best indication of her character came last season when she was injured for a period of time and out for six weeks while playing with her club team. She came back to help her club team win a championship and never let her injuries keep her out of the game.

She is hoping to make this season even better than the Wildcats’ breakout 2005 season.

“”I think we have a lot of talent this year,”” DeSaverio said. “”It’s exciting to see how the team forms.””

With her maternal eye, DeSaverio does not yet think that the players are as mature as they could be.

“”With time it will get better, though, the freshmen are getting accustomed,”” she said.

She also sees things she needs to work on in her own game, and like any athlete, she will always believe that there is room for improvement.

“”My goal is to help my team in whatever way I can,”” DeSaverio said. “”I need to work on finishing around the box and some first-touch stuff.””

Soccer is her escape from reality, from school and life, and she said she cannot think of one thing she doesn’t like about the sport. That businesslike mentality will stretch throughout her life.

“”I think soccer has been preparing me for the working world,”” she said.

DeSaverio is a persevering person, also inspired by the persistence of others. When asked who inspires her, she said her boyfriend.

Away from the field, DeSaverio can be found playing poker or testing her self-professed mediocre cooking skills.

Yet according to Tobias, she has shown up with the mentality to be a No. 1 scorer not only for the Wildcats, but among all the competition.