Gering’s Allison Herbel has been playing soccer since she was five-years-old will her soccer playing at the collegiate level after inking with Western Nebraska Community College on Wednesday afternoon at Gering High School.
                Herbel, a standout forward for the Bulldogs the past four years, said she at first wasn’t planning on playing in college, but then the opportunity came up to play for Todd Rasnic and the Lady Cougars. It was something she couldn’t turn down.
                “I wasn’t really planning on playing soccer in college at first, but then after those camps, it just hit me that I want to play,” Herbel said. “And having to play with a team like WNCC and having the girls’ support, I am excited to continue with them.”
                A lot of her decision also comes from being with WNCC coaches Todd Rasnic and Eseah Ingram.
                “I chose WNCC because after going to their soccer camps over the summers, both Coach (Todd) Rasnic and Eseah (Ingram) showed interest in me and said I could have a lot of potential if I keep putting in the work,” Herbel said. “So to continue playing with coaches like that like the coaches I had in high school it is super blessed for me.”
                First and foremost for Herbel is she has to finish her senior year at Gering and the Gering girls soccer season opens Friday when they travel to Cheyenne Central and then host Cheyenne East on Saturday.
                Herbel believes this team has all the potential to do great things this year.
                “With this team, we have really built up and our girls have really showed that we are capable of doing anything and improving over any amount of time,” she said. “The season is exciting for the potential that we are having.”
                This season, Herbel has goals and the first one is to continue getting better while helping her team. If the past two seasons are indication of what Herbel is capable of, her senior season will be fun to watch.
                Herbel had five goals and four assists in her sophomore season and then last year, she finished with eight goals and seven assists.
                “I think I am fairly good at communicating on the soccer field. I think I can get the ball to where it needs to go in the right place,” she said. “Our goals are to have a better winning record and we definitely have the potential and talent to be better and I know we are capable of doing that. Some of my personal goals is getting some records.”
                Gering coach Krista Wiedeman said Herbel is definitely a leader on the field and one of those athletes that knows the game and loves to find her open players for goals.
                “I would definitely say assists and goal scoring. She has been the leader in those categories the last couple of years of the program. I think those are your strengths,” Wiedeman said. “She is a great wing so she will get the ball in the air a lot of times and into the area so people can finish. She also can finish, though. Making goal-scoring opportunities happen is her strength.”
                While she has been playing soccer since she was five and being coached by her mom, Jenn Seiler, her goal is to continue playing soccer in college after her two years at WNCC. Her goals are WNCC are simple, she wants to be a leader while being a part of a Cougar team that she has gotten to know the women’s players already.
                “I definitely want to go and play some soccer after WNCC,” she said. “I want to bring some leadership to the team even though I will be a freshman. I know the girls up at WNCC have a lot of talent and I know I will fit in pretty good there.”
                So, for the next two months, she is going to enjoy her time at Gering before she takes off the Gering uniform for the final time.
                “It definitely will be hard for me (to take off the Gering blue and gold),” the elementary education major in college said. “This program has done a lot for me as a player and as an individual. It has shown me what this sport is all about and it just brought that spark back to me, especially with my coaches. My team has been so uplifting, and I couldn’t imagine not playing for them.”