BRISTOL — St. Paul Catholic senior Grace Peterson has been playing soccer since she was a little girl, and has held aspirations of playing at the next level for a long time.

All of her hard work has paid off, as she’s earned that opportunity at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, where she will continue her academic and athletic journey.

“I’ve been playing soccer forever,” Peterson said. “I’ve had this goal for a long time. I tore my ACL and meniscus in my junior year, so that was tough.”

What wasn’t tough was her choice to become a Blue Jay. In fact, she called it “an easy decision.”

Playing for head coach Flavio Pereira at St. Paul, Peterson was one of the team captains for the Falcons this past season. She helped lead them to a 10-5-1 record and a berth in both the Naugatuck Valley League and CIAC state tournaments.

At USJ, she’ll be playing for head coach Jenna Kalwa and assistant coach Megan Ricci. There was already a connection there, which made things an even better fit for Peterson.

“I chose it because I was close to home and I had a good connection with the coach,” she said. “The coach there knows my high school coach, so that was a really good connection to have.”

Getting hurt in her junior year, Peterson had to learn all about overcoming adversity. She did so and then some in her senior season. She acknowledged that it wasn’t easy at times, but the support she had helped her along the way.

“It was definitely hard, but I had a lot of help from my high school coach supporting me and pushing me,” she said.

She is joining a Blue Jay program that is coming off a 6-11-1 season, but has enjoyed success under Kalwa, including multiple winning seasons in her four-year tenure.

Peterson is looking forward to competing at the next level, as well as the opportunities that college will present.

“I’m just really looking forward to playing soccer and making new friends,” she said. “Also, just meeting new people and getting more involved in the world.”

In the classroom, she plans to major in Elementary Education. Like soccer, it’s something she’s very passionate about.

“I’ve wanted to be a teacher my whole life, and I just really want to help kids,” she said.

One thing is for certain — USJ is getting a great one, both on the field and in the classroom.