DENVER – Reigna Banks (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) had just turned 17 when her freshman soccer season started at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She broke into the lineup, but maybe didn't understand the full magnitude of it.
 
She was really trying to stay on the field as a sophomore, playing after coming back ahead of schedule from an injury.
 
And she knew she was in the lineup as a junior, an All-RMAC player who over the course of three seasons racked up 20 goals.
 
"I knew no one would take my spot," Banks said. "I knew I would score, because I just get in those positions. But I wasn't trying to create. And I wasn't trying to dominate.
 
"That's one thing I'm trying to do this year. There's no reason I can't be the best player on the field at all times. That's my mindset."
 
Banks has been the best player on the field pretty much at all times this season.
 
In fact, with nine goals in just six games, she's been the best player in NCAA Division II.
 
"I remember telling after that first spring (2017) after I had taken the job, that with her heart and her head and her passion for the game, and her God-given talent … she could be a dominating player, not only in the RMAC but in Division II nationally," MSU Denver coach Tracy Chao said. "There are very few players who come in your program like a Reigna Banks (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield). She certainly had the potential, and give her all the credit for tapping into that."
 
Banks and her 11^th-ranked MSU Denver teammates are back in action at the Regency Athletic Complex this weekend, playing host to Colorado Mesa at 7 p.m. Friday and to Western State Colorado at 1 p.m. Sunday. Colorado Mesa is 3-2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while Western State is 1-5 and 1-1.
 
Chao said, and Banks agreed, that it maybe took the player just a little while to make that shift from solid all-conference player to dominating potential All-American.
 
"What's the saying?" Chao asked. "'You can lead a horse to water? … I can set standards and pave a path, but ultimately those players who are going to thrive are the ones who take ownership in doing it. And Reigna certainly has. Shocked (by her fast start)? Not really."
 
Having led Banks to the water, when did Chao see her drink?
 
It was during a "beep" test.
 
"If I never have to do a beep test again, I will not be upset about it," Banks said, shaking her head at the thought of the conditioning drill.
 
But, over the course of last spring, Banks improved her performance in the drill – which is as much mentally challenging as it is physically -- from one of the worst on the team to one of the best.
 
"She went from stopping because she thought she was tired to stopping because she had physically given everything she had and dove across the finish line," Chao said. "And it wasn't that she wasn't fit before. She's one of the fittest on the team.
 
"I remember that moment."
 
And now Banks is having a season that won't be forgotten.
 
She has already surpassed her career high in goals (and is tied for ninth in program history with 29 for her career). She has scored at least once in every game and has three two-goal games, including both games last weekend as the Roadrunners (4-1-1 overall) opened RMAC play at 2-0.
 
Besides leading the country in goals, she's third in points (18), seventh in points per game (3.0), fourth in goals per game (1.5) and 16^th in game-winning goals (two).
 
"My goal for this year was to be an All-American and have 10 goals and 10 assists," Banks said. "I bumped up my goals to 15, and I should probably bump it up to 20. But I have zero assists, and that's terrible. I've got to get that together."
 
Does that mean Banks will stop shooting to add to her assist total?
 
"Of course not," she said, laughing.
 
Banks reflects on the 20 goals she scored in her first three seasons with MSU Denver and remembers all the effort that went into them.
 
It was hard work.
 
So how much harder is she having to work now?
 
It might surprise you.
 
"It feels like it's coming so easily," Banks said. "These nine goals have been easier than all my other goals combined. I mean I had to work. Now I have time, and if I don't want to shoot, I have three other players I can pass to."
 
That's because, led by Banks, MSU Denver is 15th nationally with 17 goals and is 28^th in goals per game (2.8). There are multiple weapons, multiple options.
 
"Reigna is like the lead actor getting all the accolades right now, but it's the cast and crew around her that are helping make the whole performance happen," Chao said. "She has the same qualities that she's had in the past. Now we've got the depth and we've got the pieces to match how I want to play, and everybody has bought in – and it's easy to buy in when you're winning."
 
And despite being a dominating goal-scorer, Banks is all-in on the team concept.
 
When I first got here, I didn't realize how hard it would be to win a national championship," she said. "But I said then I came here for one reason, to win a national championship. That's still my goal now."
 
All-Americans and national championships often go hand-in-hand. Chao pointed to one wall in her office with team championship plaques, and another with All-American honors.
 
"If you want to get on this (All-American) wall, we have to put the team on this (championship) wall," Chao said. "To be successful individually, you have to be successful as a team."