BY TODD DYBAS / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM NEWS

It was just there.

At four years old, Veronica Perez started batting the soccer ball around. Dribbling, juggling, the art of the nutmeg, it all just seemed to be there.

It was off to recreation leagues, then organized competition in the first two years of high school, then, as is the way these days, the club tour took over.

Never mind the occasional tears, her dad, Bernardo, was able to convince Veronica out of the car and on to the field. A move she's thankful for.

It's a move the Huskies are thankful for, too. Now a junior at Washington, Perez has 10 goals in 15 games as Washington grinds to get back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.

These are the good times for Perez as a Husky. Washington was a sub-.500 club in each of Perez's first two seasons. Along with the middling record, Perez was hesitant and, according to her and her coach, lacked conditioning. No longer.

Perez leads the team in goals, points (24) and shots (51). Her 10 goals tie her for second in a talent-laden Pac-10. Perez ranks fourth in the conference in points.

Simplistic truths, like you can't score if you don't shoot, are now embraced. As is the importance of being in shape at the end of the game in order to convert.

"Veronica is a very talented player, I think sometimes (forward is) a pressure position and she put a little too much pressure on herself," Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore said. "She tends to beat up on herself if things don't go well. We learned in the first year and a half encouraging her was the only way to go. That making mistakes was going to happen, but not trying was never going to get her a goal."

When Gallimore says "not trying" it's not a lack of effort, rather hesitation to attack. The coaches have tried to deter Perez from being deterred. New aggressiveness, and using her innate ability to dance with the ball -- her "Mexican flair" as Perez put it -- have resulted in the scoring surge. Perez now attacks in the penalty box.

"Before I would be kind of tentative, if I should turn and dribble," Perez said. "They're just telling me to take them on. I'm taking more risks in the box and making more runs."

The prior two seasons, Perez scored two total goals. Her changes in approach and a teamwide increase in confidence helped push the Huskies into the national rankings for a time this year. They currently sit just outside the master list, ranked 28th in the country.

Perez is moving up lists herself, the 10 goals already good for fifth all-time in a single-season for Washington. She's only the fifth player in Washington history to crack double-digits in goals. Half of her goals have been game-winners.

Perhaps the greatest example of Perez's uptick in fitness, and the team's turnaround, came last Sunday. The 5-foot-2 junior scored twice late in the second game of the weekend, a matinee against then-No. 13 California. Perez tied it in the 75th minute, then put the Huskies ahead in the 83rd when she dribbled around two defenders before scoring.

"Veronica's found the right combination of being able to play significant minutes, be sharp enough to finish and be able to late in the games," Gallimore said. "It's very difficult to defend someone who plays like she does."

The win snapped a four-match losing streak, significant in that this may not have happened the past two seasons. The Huskies started all right in 2006 and 2007, but when a rough patch came, they found it difficult to resurface.

"(The losses) had a toll on some people, some people would just give up and the love of the game, it went away for some of them," Perez said of the last two seasons. "It was hard for the other people who were trying really hard to come together. But this year we're all into it, we all want to win."

At 10-5, and through the portion of the schedule that would make the football team thankful they've had it so easy, a tournament berth can change from possible to likely in the final five games. Trips to Oregon State (5-6-2) and Oregon (7-5-2) come this weekend, followed by a journey out to Pullman to face a ranked Cougars team. Washington finishes the season at home against the Arizona schools, both currently over .500.

Whatever wins remain this season can be traced back to the first one, on the road against Montana. After consecutive disappointing seasons, Washington started this one with new direction and ambition.

"Our whole thing this offseason, is no more," Gallimore said. "Someone has to change it from within the team. You have to start believing you can win. Once you win a couple of games, you're going to figure out you're capable, and that's what early-season confidence gave us this year. Starting out with one win was key to our whole season.

"Our team looks up after three weeks and they're 6-0, and they're like, 'Oh my gosh, look what we did.' "

Now they, and Perez, have a chance for the same thought at the end of the year.

Todd Dybas is the editor of Seattlesportsonline.com. He can be reached via e-mail at tdybas@seattlesportsonline.com