It wasn’t a lifelong dream for Asia Le to be a goalie. It was more like a process of elimination.

Le had played field hockey in the Augusta school system for three years before she became a goalie as a freshman, in part because she had tried out every other position on the field. As a senior, Le was an all-state goalie for Cony High School, and will be representing the East in the McNally Senior All-Star Field Hockey Game at noon, Saturday at Colby College in Waterville.

“I played field hockey all up into high school,” Le said. “I was literally all over the field. I never really had a position. Freshman year, we didn’t have a goalie for the freshman team, so I just went with that, I guess.”

It took Le a little time to get comfortable in the cage, but like many other goalies, what she enjoyed is that goalie is not a comfortable position. Le said she savored the adrenaline rush that came with the pressure of being the last line of defense.

“It was nerve-wracking,” she said, “but at the same time, I was excited to play the only position I’ve never played. I fell in love with it.”

Cony coach Holly Daigle said Le is very approachable off the field and has a wonderful sense of humor. Those qualities translate to the field as well.

“She’s a great communicator. She works really well with her defense,” Daigle said. “Her teammates respect her a lot. She has really great instincts, and can make those split-second decisions that a goalie needs to be able to do.”

Last fall, Le saved 89 percents of the shots she faced and made 13.5 saves per game as Cony advanced to the Eastern A quarterfinals. She was pretty close to unflappable no matter what the situation. She not only made a difference in Cony’s one-goal wins, but stood out in the losses. Even in a 6-0 loss to Messalonskee, Le still had some nice stops in one-on-one breakaways.

“She doesn’t get too rattled,” Daigle said. “It’s tough to lose a game 6-0, but she’s relentless, and she doesn’t let up.”

This fall, Le will enter the pre-physician’s assistant program at the University of New England.

“I decided (on UNE) like three years ago,” Le said. “I wanted to stay in Maine. It was the first school I visited. I fell in love with it right away.”

Le, who didn’t play any other sports at Cony, will continue playing field hockey at UNE. Her former sweeper at Cony, Jessica Brox, is also on the Nor’easters field hockey team.

“We’ll miss her for sure, but I’m looking forward to seeing what she’ll do in college,” Daigle said. “I definitely think that she’ll be a big impact player.”

“I couldn’t imagine not playing next year,” Le said. “I look forward to every fall, just because I’m playing field hockey.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com