Lately, wherever you see the ball at an Ohio soccer game, you see forward/midfielder Jayme Keener. Although she hasn't scored a goal this season, the team wouldn't be as good without her.

A junior stay-over from the Bobcats club team, Keener has played a key role in Ohio's recent 4-1 stretch with her best performance coming against rival Miami. She ran down a ball headed out-of -bounds with time running out that set up Ohio's goal in a 1-0 double-overtime win.

But the beginning of the season was a lot different for Keener, who was getting very little playing time in the first few games. One of five girls from Ohio's club team, she constantly looked over her shoulder, worrying about proving herself again.

"In the spring she got frustrated really easily," Ohio coach Wendy Logan said. "She was trying to play above herself."

She was determined to become a major player and started going to practice early, watching films to learn from her mistakes. It didn't take long for her to turn things around.

"I'm just playing my game and relaxing," she said. "I'm playing hard when I'm out on field and not worrying about being taken out when I make a mistake."

Mistakes have been a rarity as of late, and Logan has had the confidence to keep Keener in at crunch time, which has paid off twice already this season Ñ the Miami game and a 4-3 double-overtime win against Denison, which Keener said was the turning point of the team's season.

"One of the things that she has brought to our team is a desire to do well and excel," Logan said. "She has waited her turn and she's made a difference when she's gone into games. We always think that she can provide a spark for us because she creates havoc for other team's defenses.

"She understands her limits, but what she lacks in tactics, she makes up for in athletic ability. She has definitely been an overachiever for us."

Keener's next shot at providing that spark is today at 4 p.m. as Ohio travels to Otterbein for a non-conference game with the 0-10 Cardinals at Clements Field.

Otterbein is lead by forward Stacey Whitt's four goals and midfielder Summer Lawson's two. Defensively, goalie Tonia Beacom has allowed 47 goals this season, averaging just more than four per game.

Conversely, Ohio goalies have only given up an average of about one goal per game, while the offense averages more than two per game.

"The way our defense has played the last couple of games has given us more chances to create opportunities on offense," Logan said. "We just have to make better use of those opportunities. We're working on trying to create the best scoring opportunity we can."

Offensively, Ohio's Mindy Boggs had a scoring streak snapped against Northern Illinois on Sunday, but still leads the team in points with 17 points, while Adrian Hogel is next in line with 15 points.

But the real story on Ohio is the play of the defense, which held the Mid-American Conference's number one scoring team, Northern Illinois, to two goals and the MAC's number three offense, Miami, to zero.

"We've worked hard since the beginning of the season to establish a set defense," defenseman Erin McCoy said. "Right now our defense is communicating very well and getting stronger and stronger every game."

And the stronger the defense gets, the more opportunities Keener will have to score her first goal, making her path from club to varsity come full circle.