To Canon-McMillan girls' soccer coach Dave Derrico, the secret to what makes his star striker, Taylor Schram, such a gifted goal-scorer is simple.

"She's a finisher," Derrico said. "A lot of kids can shoot ... she finishes."

A junior, Schram has "finished" quite a bit over the course of her career. So much so that she's done it more than anyone else to ever wear a Big Macs uniform. And she still has more than a season's worth of games left to add to it.

After a five-goal performance Monday night in an 8-0 victory at West Mifflin, Schram added her 89th -- and 32nd for this season -- Wednesday in a 2-1 loss to section co-leader Upper St. Clair. That is three more than Bridget Durken had while playing for the Big Macs from 1990-92.

"That's something that will always be with me," she said. "I worked really hard for it, and my teammates really supported me to help me reach the goal I had set for myself."

Durken played at Mt. Lebanon for her senior season and ultimately ended up with 116 goals, counting her year with the Blue Devils. Schram has a year-plus left to score that many or more.

According to Derrico, Schram had 21 goals as a freshman and 37 last season. She ranked among the top five in goals scored this season among all players in the WPIAL and City League heading into the week.

"I've been pushing her the last couple of weeks to go for the record," Derrico said. "Her teammates all knew it, too. They were trying to set her up. I would have rather seen her pass [the record] this year than wait until next season."

Only about 5 feet 5, Schram uses a combination of speed, instincts and smarts to rack up the goals.

"Mostly, she just finds the net," Derrico said. "She's very fast; she's not only fast, but she's quick. Her first couple steps are very quick.

"She has the ability to move the ball back and forth between her feet and get around the defender. She also has a great vertical leap for such a small girl. She gets up above bigger girls, and gets a lot of goals on heading balls in.

"Her technical skills are outstanding."

The goals come so natural to Schram that she can't even fully articulate how she's able to score so many.

"I guess just composure in front of the net," Schram said, "and being in the right place at the right time."

One thing that helps is having quality teammates. And Schram has been blessed to have co-strikers that almost match her talent and can run and play with her.

The previous two seasons, Stephanie Austin was Schram's scoring partner. Austin now plays at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson. This season, sophomore Taylor Parisse has been just as solid a complement to Schram. Parisse has 15 goals this season with one regular-season match left to play tomorrow night at Trinity.

"She's the strength and speed up there," Schram said, "She draws defenders and makes lanes for me, gives me crosses. It's awesome working with her."

"They know each other and each other's mind-set," Derrico said. "They read each other real well, and that helps with [Schram's] success that she has [Parisse] backing her up."

Just last week, Schram made a verbal commitment to Penn State, for a variety of reasons, if you ask her.

"Just everything," Schram said. "The campus is amazing, the coach, the team ... It's the perfect fit for me."

Penn State has one of the top women's soccer programs in the country and is a regular Big Ten title contender. But Schram still has two more chances at a WPIAL or PIAA title before she moves on to college.

The Big Macs (10-6-1, 7-4) are assured a third-place finish in Section 5-AAA regardless of the result in tomorrow's season finale at Trinity.

Canon-McMillan also took third in the section last season and won a preliminary-round WPIAL playoff game before losing to Hampton in the first round.

"Everyone is thrilled with how our season is going this year," Schram said. "We're looking forward to ending it better than we did last year and going further."