Ella Baumgardt is used to making a 90-minute trip to New Jersey.

Soon, however, any trip she makes will be from the Garden State.

The Palmerton senior was part of a signing ceremony at the high school on Wednesday where she confirmed she will be attending Division 1 Rider University to continue her academic and soccer careers.

“This is very exciting having my friends and family here getting to experience all the festivities of signing day,” said Baumgardt. “So, it’s super nice to be able to spend it with everybody.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old ... I started at Towamensing Soccer Club, and then I played for Lehigh Valley United — which is based out of Allentown — and now I currently play for Match Fit Academy, which is a club in New Jersey. So, I’m kind of driving an hour-and-a-half both ways to get to practices and games. That kind of puts it into perspective ... how much soccer means to me.”

While the sport means a lot to Baumgardt, she meant quite a lot to the Blue Bombers program.

This past season, she scored 13 goals and had a team-high 15 assists, all while playing on defense a good chunk of the year.

“This is exciting,” said Palmerton head coach Jon Perloni. “Seeing her grow as a player ... she’s been one of the most important players here that I’ve seen. She’s very versatile, and I know that Rider is going to be getting a great addition to their team. She’s a very good leader.

“She probably could have (scored) more, I’m sure. But she definitely wasn’t one to complain; wherever she had to play she put her whole heart into it.”

Baumgardt’s heart is on the defensive side. While she did see time at attacking center midfield in high school, she eventually was needed on defense. It was an easy transition, though, for Baumgardt, as she plays outside back for her club team and was recruited by the Broncs for that position.

While the jump from high school to the D-1 level is massive, Baumgardt’s coach has no reservations that her talents will bring her success.

“One hundred percent (she will be able to excel at the next level),” said Perloni. “She will be one of their most important players, I have no doubt.

“She’s a defensive-minded player. She knows how to position herself for almost every situation, and her technical ability going forward is going to help them a lot, I believe.”

Baumgardt, herself, received help in choosing Rider. Former Blue Bomber Bethie Morgan, (-) who just finished her sophomore season with the Broncs, (-) aided the current Palmerton athlete through the recruitment procedure.

“It’s definitely a little scary going and playing with girls that are one, two, three maybe even four years older than you,” said Baumgardt, who will be majoring in health sciences. “It may be hard to keep up at first, but I think knowing Bethie Morgan who’s already on the team (will help). She’s been a mentor to me. So having her on the team at Rider is definitely going to help me kind of fit into everything and learn to play with college girls.

“Through this whole process, she was kind of my No. 1 person I would look for to check in with ... and she was one of the main reasons I decided to go with Rider with all the advice she’s given me and the guidance that she’s provided me throughout this whole process.”

Rider wasn’t the only option for Baumgardt, as she was interested in other schools and other schools were interested in her.

But in the end, playing for a Division 1 school where a former teammate is at and the chance to see immediate playing time, made the choice an easy one.

“I was interested in a bunch,” said the daughter of Matthew and Jeana Baumgardt, who will be receiving a significant athletic and academic scholarship. “I went to ID camps at Villanova and the University of Penn ... Rider definitely showed a lot of interest in me, and they told me I could come in as a freshman and basically start playing, which was a big positive for me.

“In club soccer, which is mostly what I get recruited through, I go to showcases. I travel throughout the country. I’ve been to Florida, Texas, California, Seattle, just to try and get recruited by colleges all over the country in all division levels, but my main goal was Division 1, since I’ve been playing soccer for so long ... (Rider) watched me play, and had me come on a few visits, and after the visits I just kind of knew it was the right fit for me.”