Seven years ago, Alyssa Kelly wasn't even a lacrosse player. Today, she is a record-setting member of the Mount Ida women's squad.

Less than a week ago, the junior from Lee tied her school record for most points in a game when Mount Ida beat Rivier 20-9. The 12 points came from eight goals and four assists.

Kelly is already the No. 2 career scorer at Mount Ida and is one of the top lacrosse scorers in all of Division III.

"It's pretty surprising with all that I've accomplished," said Kelly. "My coach in high school [Dave Galisa] was always working with me, and Coach [Nicole] Polli here always worked with me and always wanted to make me better. It's not surprising how much I've [improved] because they're both great coaches.

"It is pretty amazing."

Kelly and the Mustangs are 6-1 heading into Thursday's home match with Wheelock College. Mount Ida started the season 1-1 before running off five consecutive wins. The Mustangs haven't scored fewer than 15 goals this year and in this current winning streak, the Mustang defense has not given up double figures in goals.

While Kelly was a bit of a late-comer to the sport, the former three-sport athlete at Lee High School said that once she got a stick in her hand, lacrosse took over.

"I played [youth] soccer and I played AAU basketball in the spring for the longest time, and before that, I played softball," Kelly said. "My brother started playing lacrosse ... that's what got me into it, and I tried it my freshman year. I really got the hang of it and fell in love with the sport.

"I can't see myself playing any other sport. I played basketball and volleyball in high school. I can't even picture myself getting back to [another sport]."

Lacrosse in Berkshire County doesn't have the deep roots of baseball, basketball or football. For many of the athletes, when they play in high school, it's the first time they play the sport. Kelly was one of those athletes, and when she started playing, accomplishing what she has was not on the radar screen.

"My freshman year in high school is when I started, and it took me a while to get the hang of it," Kelly said. "When I did, I was right there with everyone else.

"After all my accomplishments in high school, I just liked lacrosse the most, and I wanted to continue it in college."

Mount Ida hasn't had a lacrosse program for much longer than Kelly has been playing the sport. The first varsity season for the women was 2010, and the Mustangs won 14 games in 2017. That set a record for wins in a season.

Since the start of 2017, Mount Ida has gone 20-6.

And at 3-0 this year, Mount Ida is tied for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Lead with St. Joseph's (Maine) and Johnson & Wales.

After four years at Lee, Kelly took the GNAC by storm. She was a first-team All-GNAC selection as a freshman and was named the New England Women's Lacrosse Division III rookie of the year. She led Mount Ida with 56 goals and 23 points in her freshman year.

She has been a two-time, All-Conference first teamer.

Kelly has 38 goals so far this season and 24 assists. She is second nationally in points per game at 8.86 and third in assists at 3.43.

She currently has 173 goals, which puts her No. 2 behind Amanda Bowen. Kelly also has 246 points, also second behind Bowen.

Kelly's 107 points in 2017 are No. 1 on the single-season list at Mount Ida, and her 79 points from freshman year is good for fourth-best.

Kelly netted 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points, to go along with 15 ground balls and 13 draw controls in a 3-0 week for the Mustangs. After contributing six markers and four helpers in a 22-8 triumph at Albertus Magnus, she hat tricked to go with two assists in a 15-3 win over Becker. She capped the week by tying a program record with 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in a 20-9 victory over Rivier.

"Sophomore year, I scored my 100th point. Even then, I thought that was kind of crazy to think about," she said. "At the time, I was just playing [at Mount Ida] for a year and a half, which is pretty crazy. It's amazing how far I've come."

Howard Herman can be reached at hherman@berkshireeagle.com, at @howardherman on Twitter, or 413-496-6253.