For Paige Bissell, there is no specific reason why she started playing soccer.

Neither of her parents were soccer players, but at age five Bissell found herself out on the field learning the game that would stick with her all through her school years.

Starting at such an early age, Bissell had plenty of time to develop her skills and eventually turn into the player that she has been the past four seasons for Northwestern Lehigh.

“My parents played different sports, and my mom played field hockey in college, so soccer was completely new to me, but it was something I enjoyed from the get-go, and I still enjoy playing,” said Bissell of how she developed her love for the game.

Her senior season was the kind that student-athletes dream about having. She finished the year with 35 goals and 38 assists and in the state championship game against Cathedral Prep, scored both goals including the winning tally in overtime for a 2-1 win over the Ramblers.

Cathedral Prep gave the Tigers all they could manage in the PIAA championship game, but Northwestern’s players simply stayed calm — even as the game turned slightly more physical — and looked for their chances.

“That whole game was amazing,” Bissell remembers. “It was back and forth, and their defense was really good. We never really got nervous or anything, and we just all thought that there was no way we were going to lose that game, and we kept battling.”

After taking last winter off from playing basketball, Bissell is back on the court for her senior season as well. It also gives her some final time playing with a couple of soccer teammates like Brook Balliet, Emily Kistler and Olivia Reinhart.

To keep herself busy in the spring, Bissell is considering trying out for track and field.

“It’s been a long four years, but it’s something that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’ve had an amazing time with all of my teammates that I have had over my four years, and I will definitely look back on these times and think about it a lot during my time at Virginia Wesleyan,” said Bissell, who will continue her playing career while attending college in Virginia Beach, where she is excited both about the academics and competing in soccer at the next level.

“I loved everything about Virginia Wesleyan. The coaches have so much experience and the girls all connect together so well and are a close knit group. Their academics are really good, and it’s right next to the beach, so that’s really nice.”

The whole situation sounds much like the experience that Bissell and her teammates had this past season at Northwestern Lehigh; except there’s no beach in New Tripoli.

Watching the team throughout the season you could see the attitudes of the players change. They were loose and having fun up until they started warm-ups on the field and the atmosphere started to change a little.

Then, during the game the team was all business. Once the game was in the win column, the sidelines became a recording studio for social media videos, with Balliet often serving as the choreographer and Bissell as one of the actors.

“We were definitely serious about the game and throughout the season, but we had to have fun and laugh when we could. I think it helped the season go on and kept us positive through any adversity that we might have faced,” said Bissell.

“This team was a lot of fun. They were so coachable and just a fun group of players to be around,” said head coach Jordan Smith. “The seniors were the first group of freshmen that I had as coach, so that group is always special. We had four great seasons together and Paige was definitely a big part of that.

“She was one of our captains, and she definitely earned that title by what she did on the field and how she kept the team together and having fun away from the field.”

Bissell admits she was a little surprised about being chosen as the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Player of the Year because she realizes that other teams have high quality players and there are other talented players on her team.

With the quality of players on the Northwestern roster, the fact that there were no players named to the All-State Team is surprising, but at least Smith was chosen as Coach of the Year.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened there; I’m not sure. I’m glad that coach Smith got the recognition because he definitely led us through all 28 games and was a big contributor to our success, so I’m glad that he got recognized,” noted Bissell.

“There’s really nothing to be sad about though because we had a great year and we all have gold medals from the state championship. We did that as a team, and that’s better than being on an All-State Team.”