Blink and you might miss Bison midfielder Nicole Davis. 

The rookie — who will also compete for the track and field team once the soccer season is over — has already scored a team-leading three goals this year, utilizing her speed to break away from opposing defenders.

Both sports run in the family. Davis began playing soccer when she was four years old and grew up watching her family play as well. She has appeared on two provincial teams and represented Bonivital Soccer Club three times at the national stage, along with being named a Western Canadian All-Star in 2013-14.

"I've made some amazing friends, that's what kept me in [soccer]," she says with a smile. "The friends I made in soccer and the competition, I also like that aspect of it."

The graduate of J.H. Bruns Collegiate didn't take up track until she was 15, mainly due to the fact that it interfered with her soccer schedule in middle school. Her uncle ran for the U of M in the 1990s and her brother Michael captured a bronze medal in the 60 metre at last year's Canada West Track and Field Championships for Manitoba.

It didn't take long for Davis to succeed on the track. A month in, the sprinter who runs distances of 60-200 metres, made the national team at the midget level. She capped off a tremendous debut by winning a silver medal in the medley relay. Since then, Davis has captured multiple provincial titles in indoor and outdoor tournaments.

"I always knew I was quick. I've been told during soccer game that 'oh you're so fast,' so I was like okay, I'll try track," she says. "I didn't think I'd do as well as I have."

Davis trains with Winnipeg Optimist Athletics and was quick to credit Bison alumnus Gee-ef Nkwonta and current track athlete Oyinko Akinola for her development as a sprinter. The positive relationship she has with her coaches, as well as Manitoba's head coach Claude Berube helped her choose to stay home for university, despite being offered a scholarship for track from Trinity Western.

In terms of the pitch, Davis thought that her career would be over after high school, until women's soccer head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas got in contact with her.

"[Vanessa] told me about the program and I was just like, you know what, I can't not do this amazing opportunity," she says. "There's more people that I get to meet and more friends to make, and I love the game and didn't want my career to end so I decided to try it out."

Davis feels that her physical fitness entering the track and field season will be a strength, as she'll already have the cardio from soccer.

"Soccer really helps with stamina and track helps more with speed and endurance," she says.

"So when I transition from soccer to track, I'll have good stamina from my soccer season and will be able to run laps around the track for a longer amount of time because of soccer."

Despite Davis's immediate success with Manitoba, she was quick to credit her teammates.

"They make me look good," she says. 

"They give me awesome passes and we just work so well together. There's great chemistry and everyone wants each other to do well so there's no ball hogs or selfishness among the team, which is why I think we do so well. It's really exciting to be part of that."