Hailey Still’s ability to score at any moment makes her own teammates nervous.

“Where’s Hailey?!” her fellow Thomas Jefferson defenders hollered to one another during the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmage Monday.

It’s a reputation the Raiders’ freshman striker earned after breaking the school record for goals scored in a single game. Still netted seven in the team’s 11-1 season-opening win on Sept. 13 over Auburn — her first game as a member of the Thomas Jefferson soccer program.

Still passes Thomas Jefferson’s all-time leading scorer Chelsea Hunt, who previously held the Raiders’ record for most goals in a game with six.

Thomas Jefferson coach Josh Hauck said the freshman’s performance was no fluke, and a performance of this magnitude won’t be Still’s last.

“She’s very talented,” Hauck said. “I saw it when we first started summer practices. She’s just so dominant in a lot of facets of her game. She just wants to score, and trust me – she will. Thing is, she’s just a hard worker.”

Still has to work hard. She doesn’t have a choice.

She has her older sister Madison, a junior defender, staring her down from the the Thomas Jefferson back line.

But Hailey Still said she credits her drive on the soccer pitch to her older sister.

“Don’t mess this up, Hailey!” Madison Still barked.

“Don’t worry – I got this!” her sister shot back.

“This is how it goes,” Hailey Still said. “I know she’s doing it because she knows what I can do. I know she always wants me to be my best.”

Still didn’t take a unique route to high school soccer. The difference, Hauck said, is that she was always a step above the competition.

She started out in youth soccer, earning a spot with the Seattle Reign Academy. From there she joined the Pacific Northwest Soccer Club before moving on to Thomas Jefferson.

“When she came in this summer, she hit the ground running,” Hauck said. “She was scoring goals in practice almost immediately. You just knew she was going to be a special player.”

On the day of her Raider debut, Still said she was nervous for most of the day before the game. She attributed it to the Raiders not getting their preseason game after Highline had to cancel.

It wasn’t until she got off the bus and stood on the Federal Way Memorial Stadium turf for the first time that Still said her nerves exploded into a rush of energy.

In the 10th minute of the game, she cracked open the record books.

Still found the ball at her feet when Raider midfielder Lizette Carpenter crossed the ball into the box right to her. She put a near perfect touch on the ball, putting it past the Auburn goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.

“You couldn’t write that game any better,” Jefferson athletic director Mike Grady said. “It’s amazing to have a player, with her talent, break that record in her very first game with the program. I could not be happier for her or the program.

“We have a truly special player for the next four years.”

Still said her trepidation evaporated completely after getting that first goal. She added three more before the end of the first half.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, Still’s on-pitch vision was different. She said the pitch appeared wider, and seeing how to stay one step ahead of her opponents was clear.

“In the second half it really felt like that,” Still said. “The nerves were there a little, but I was seeing things differently out there and I think it really helped.”

It was evident in the opening minutes. Once again, the Raider midfield crossed a perfect ball deep into the box, again, right to Still’s feet.

Being one of the smaller strikers in the league, Still had to work for it. She lunged forward in a diving attempt to make contact with the ball.

Still was able to get her head on it and put it past the Auburn keeper for her fifth goal of the game. She added her sixth a few minutes later.

In all, it took Still 65 minutes to get to seven.

“I think it might be the best games she’s ever played,” Madison Still said.

Hauck said one of the most critical pieces of Still’s talent is her “dominance factor.” He said Still has no problem getting close and challenging opponents, particularly opposing goalkeepers.

“Shy” is not a good adjective for describing the freshman holding down the starting striker position while surrounded by upperclassmen.

Hauck said the team has tried a standard 4-4-2 formation in order to pair another striker with Still, but they’re usually unable to keep up with her. The Raiders go with the 4-2-3-1 formation to give Still free rein to score.

Jefferson’s motto, “family first,” is ingrained, Still said. Now the team has its eyes on another prize in the North Puget Sound Olympic division.

“Our goal is family first,” Still said. “I feel like we’ve done that. So now that we have that and it’s growing, the only thing left to do is win NPSL.

“We just want to to win. And we will.”