KENNEBUNK — Pretty much every high school athlete in the country would love to get a chance to play at the next level. For Kennebunk senior Alyssa Weigle, that dream has become a reality.

Weigle signed her National Letter of Intent on Friday morning to continue to soccer career at Division II New York Institute of Technology ”“ and like most athletes, it was something she has been thinking about for a long time.

“It’s really weird because when you’re a kid you grow up thinking you want to be a professional soccer player or ”˜I want to play in college,’ so you don’t actually fathom that it will actually happen of course, so then when you are older you just kind of go through this process and it’s just expected that it’s the next step,” said Weigle, who found out how tough a decision it really is. “It’s really a long, hard process actually and you don’t realize it. You just think, ”˜oh, I’m going to be committed,’ and it’s really humbling when it takes a while. Now, it’s just really exciting and I’m just so relieved.”

The decision to head to Long Island for her collegiate career was something that even surprised Weigle a little bit.

“Originally, I was like, ”˜oh, I definitely want to go south,’ because I have been in Maine for a while, but I would just love to be in the city and it’s only four hours away from home and I have my uncle and aunt in the city,” said Weigle, who was also looking at schools in South Carolina and Florida. “So, as soon as I went there, I kind of fell in love with it and I fell in love with the coaches and their style of play.”

The chance to not only play soccer at the next level, but take classes and eventually work in New York City was definitely a draw for Weigle.

“I just think it will be the best of both worlds because they have the Old Westbury (Long Island) campus and the Manhattan campus,” said Weigle. “I want to major in hospitality management so I would be taking my hotel hospitality management classes in Manhattan, so there are ample opportunities for internships.”

Kennebunk girls soccer coach John Dolan is thrilled for Weigle.

“It’s massive. She’s the first player that I’ve had in my three years here that has gone on to play at the next level. It really speaks to the quality of her as a player, her as an individual ”“ and as a student-athlete she’s done a really nice job on the field as a player and off the field as a leader. It’s big and it gives the kids behind her something to shoot for,” said Dolan.

Dolan believes Weigle has all the tools to compete at the next level.

“She has an incredible sense of tactical awareness. Obviously, she’s got all the foot skills, all the technical ability in the world but she sees and reads the game very well and makes the right decision the overwhelming majority of the time and that’s what sets her apart, she can see and think through the game at a really high rate and at a really high level,” said Dolan, who said her knowledge of the game will really be key at NYIT. “It’s a bigger game, smarter game and faster paced and that ability to think things through quickly and make the right decisions and execute them will really help her at the next level.”

For Weigle, the journey from her first year on the soccer field to signing her letter of intent has been long and full of support from her family, teammates and the Kennebunk community.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was five and all my coaches and teammates from throughout my whole life (have helped) … and I’m from New Jersey, so growing up there, the soccer life there and coming to Maine when I was like 11 was completely different,” said Weigle. “Maine soccer kind of transformed and my teams here really helped me. Even playing in this community just helped a ton and all the coaches, I just had so much support here and it was just nice and helpful.”

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow the Journal Tribune sports department on Twitter @JournalTsports.