CEDAR RAPIDS -- Abi Roberts sports the captain's armband.
That's not all she keeps up her sleeve.
Linn-Mar senior Roberts pulled out her sixth hat trick of the season Tuesday in a 3-0 win over Class 2A No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier (5-2-3) in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' soccer match.
"It shows all the hard work I've been putting in, especially this winter," Roberts said. "And I couldn't have done it without my teammates."
Roberts, a North Dakota State soccer commit, chased down a blocked shot and launched a missile over the keeper's head for her first goal of the night.
"She does a really good job of beating players one-to-one and she's got a good shot," Linn-Mar Coach Hannah Clark said. "She's got crazy ambition and love for the game. Her determination helps her get far."
Roberts's first goal tied her with Des Moines Lincoln's Evelyn Soto-Contreras for the scoring lead in Class 3A.
"I think I read the game well," Roberts said. "I like to watch soccer and have been playing for so long that I really understand where to be."
With 2:57 left in the first half, Roberts struck again -- this time on a pretty pass from sophomore Eden Hofer.
"Eden's a really good dribbler," Roberts said. "She gets us into these dangerous positions from midfield and has the ability to get the pass off. She's been working on that, too."
Her final goal came late in the second half, padding both the lead and her 3A scoring cushion, now at 32 goals.
All in all, it's just part of the job for Roberts.
"Being the top goal scorer, like, stats don't all matter in soccer," Roberts said. "I know some of those Des Moines girls are amazing ... we knew this game was really important for our conference, so I just wanted to help my team as much as I could."
Roberts has earned second-team all-state honors the past two seasons.
"She's a team captain, so a lot of players look up to her," Clark said. "And not just her game, but how she responds to adversity. There are a lot of young players looking up to her, so it's a crucial role.
"She has great qualities as a player and as a person."
Roberts became Linn-Mar's all-time leading scorer when she tallied her 75th goal in an April 24 match against Cedar Rapids Washington -- a night where, surprise, she had another hat trick.
"Honestly, I had no idea I was even going to break the record," Roberts said. "They did an ice bath on me that was very surprising ... it was really special. I just thank my teammates for it."
Roberts has 10 multi-goal games this season, including a six-score performance against Dubuque Senior on April 29.
"She's got goals ... I mean, she's going to go be a Division I player," Clark said. "We get her the ball and she does the work."
Her scoring prowess is just one component of what's made the Class 3A eighth-ranked Lions (12-3-0) so dangerous this season.
Junior Aubrey Luck is another key contributor -- second on the team with 14 goals. Hofer is third with nine.
Defensively, the Lions have allowed just 13 goals through 15 games.
"Our team has a lot of athleticism -- it definitely sets us apart," Clark said. "We've had a lot of underclassmen come in and step up and earn their roles. They all play well together and it's easy for them to adjust to different tactics and formations."
After making the state quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons, Roberts and the Lions want more.
"We definitely don't want to look too far ahead, but our goal is to make it to state first and then focus on trying to get that first win at state," Roberts said. "We've gone the last two years and it's just devastating losing both times after going so far. It'd mean a lot to win, especially with this group."