After practice, Kelly Isleib walked right past the reporter and headed for the exit from the soccer field.

Didn't she know she had an interview? Was she trying to escape without talking?

Yes, she knew about the interview and, no, she wasn't trying to get out of it. She was actually getting a drink of water. But you can bet she would have gladly skipped the interview if she could.

Isleib, Utah's outstanding midfielder, would prefer to do her talking on the soccer field rather than spend time talking about her exploits as a soccer player. That might seem strange for a communication major, but that's just the way Isleib is.

She not only prefers to shun the limelight off the field, she's the same way on the soccer field. Isleib is content to play the midfield and set up teammates for goals, and she couldn't care less if she ever scores herself. She's unselfish almost to a fault.

"That's genuinely who she is," said Ute coach Rich Manning. "For a person with her ability and her flair, she has the least ego of anybody I've worked with. As a coach, it's great."

Last year, Isleib set a Ute season record for assists with 13, but this year has been forced to change her game due to a couple of injuries to Ute starters in the front line and the unexpected exit of last year's leading scorer, Adele Letro.

Now she's expected to be a scorer for a young, short-handed Ute squad. After getting just one goal each of the past two years, Isleib already has five goals for the Utes this year, nearly as many as the rest of the team combined.

"I'm looking for the goal a little bit more," she said. "I think I am more of an assister, if that's a word, than a goal-scorer. I like to be in the midfield and be a passer than to go myself."

Originally from Connecticut, Isleib moved to Utah with her family when she was 7. She attended Park City High School, where she was All-American and highly recruited by most of the top soccer schools in the country, including UCLA, Santa Clara, Notre Dame, Pepperdine and Arizona State.

She decided to stay close to home because she liked the atmosphere at the U. and the players on the team and wanted to be coached by Manning, who was thrilled to land her.

Also, she added, "I'm a family kid and wanted to stay close to my family."

The spring before her freshman year, Isleib suffered a torn ACL in her knee, which hobbled her but didn't keep her from starting all 22 games.

Because of the injury, Manning said she wasn't confident enough with her leg to try and be a scorer. And last year, with one of the top scorers in the nation in Letro, she concentrated on passing.

Manning calls Isleib "the best passer I've ever worked with," even better than Olympian Allie Wagner, who was the national player of the year at Santa Clara where Manning was an assistant coach.

"She'd legitimately rather be known for the assists than for the goals," Manning said. "She doesn't want the credit and be known as a goal-scorer. But Kelly definitely has to look to score more for herself, which is something I've been trying to get her to do for two years anyway. I think it's helping her round out her game."

The Utes have had a tough season so far, going 4-7-2, including a home loss to BYU on Saturday night. They hope to turn things around starting tonight when San Diego pays a visit to Ute Field at 7. They'll also play UNLV on Saturday night before going on the road for a pair of games next week.

It's going to be tough for the Utes to make their sixth NCAA tournament in seven years. But with an unselfish, talented player like Isleib, the Utes have a chance to win any game they play.

"She's been everything we hoped for and more," Manning said.

Kelly Isleib

Midfielder, junior

• Starred for Park City High, where she was two-time 3A MVP

• Set a Utah record for most assists in a season with 13 in 2007

• Leads Utes with five goals in 2008

Utes soccer

San Diego State at Utah

Tonight, 7 p.m.

Ute field

E-mail: sor@desnews.com