Soccer has always been a big part of Beth Morgan’s life.

She couldn’t imagine one without it.

The Palmerton senior secured her future in the sport, recently announcing she will further her academic and athletic careers at Division I Rider University follow her passion.

“I’ve played competitive soccer like my whole life, so it was kind of my dream to play Division I soccer,” Morgan said. “So just being able to do it, and have a day to celebrate it is pretty awesome. And of course doing it with Cole (Serfass) and Emma (Martinez) is really cool, too, because I’ve grown up with them.”

The Signing Day ceremony for the trio of Palmerton athletes was a full circle moment for Morgan.

“My first memory with soccer was playing at Towamensing Soccer Club with Mr. (Michael) Martinez, Emma’s dad. He was actually my coach,” Morgan smiled. “I was around six years old, and after about two years, I decided to go to club soccer, which was a little more competitive, and I was there for about four years before I decided to go to another level, and I actually play for a club in New Jersey. So it was the next step to play Division I soccer.”

Morgan started with Match Fit Academy in New Jersey when she was in sixth grade, furthering her growth and development as an already talented soccer player.

“Playing for six years almost, driving an hour-and-a-half one way, really put into perspective how much I wanted to go play soccer at the next level,” Morgan said. “I think starting from a young age, I knew I wanted to, so that’s why I took the jump so early. But it was a lot of commitment to get here, and just a lot of sacrifices.”

Morgan credited her parents, Amy and Brian, for their support throughout her career.

She has continued her evolution as a player over the past two seasons with the Bombers, who played for a District 11 Class 2A title last fall, advanced to the semis this season and also captured the Colonial League championship this year.

“She’s been absolutely huge for the program,” said Palmerton coach Dave O’Brien. “She came to us already a pretty accomplished club player, so we were just able to reap the benefits of that. But she’s a complete player. She’s a lock-down defender; she’s an excellent ball-handler; excellent distributor; and she can score goals. She’s really a complete player, and she’s been incredibly valuable for us these last two years, and a huge part of our success.

“She’s also been a captain, and a leader, and someone that is really taken this team on her shoulders and given the younger girls somebody to look to. It’s been absolutely wonderful to have her as part of the program for the last two years, and to see her continue to develop individually as a player and as a leader, particularly, these last couple years.”

As a team captain this past season, Morgan - who played largely in the defensive midfield spot - recorded 18 goals with 11 assists. For her career, Morgan scored 30 goals with 23 assists.

The transition from club to high school soccer was one Morgan initially worried about. Her fears were quickly alleviated.

“Joining my junior year, I was a little skeptical because I thought, ‘Oh, I’m joining as a junior. I hope they accept me,’” said Morgan. “But this team is just something special, and I am so grateful that I got to play with them, and adding a league championship just was icing on the cake and being able to play with my best friends that I grew up with.”

Morgan took her time with deciding her future. But in the end, Rider was the obvious choice for its athletics and academics. “My junior year, when colleges were able to talk to me, I talked to a couple other mid-Division I schools, but it took me a while to decide which one was best for me,” said Morgan. “But overall, Rider was just the best fit. I made a list, and it checked all the boxes.”

Morgan will study health sciences at Rider, another major reason she chose the New Jersey school for her future. “Since like sixth grade I was always like, ‘I want to be a physician’s assistant,’” said Morgan. “But for a little while, I changed between nursing and physician’s assistant. When I saw that Rider had the health sciences program that you can later transfer to a physician’s assistant program, it was just perfect.”