Niko Pierce, a crafty and dynamic midfielder on the soccer team, announced his commitment to play Division III soccer at Kings College on November 14 via Instagram.
King’s men’s soccer plays in the Middle Atlantic Conference and ended its past season with a winning record, led by head coach Brandon Raynor. Kings College is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with an undergraduate class of 2700. Pierce said, “I really liked the chemistry between the guys on the team and I was looking for a smaller school so it was the perfect fit for me.”
Pierce began his soccer career at age four and began taking the sport seriously at eleven when he joined MLS Next, his first club team. He grew up watching soccer, specifically Chelsea, which expanded his love for the game and helped him master his game knowledge.
Pierce sees his coach from his TSF team as the most impactful figure in his soccer career because he got Pierce recognized by the US Youth National team. He practiced with this elite team for two years, which “developed [him] tremendously as a player because of the high level and playing speed of the other kids on the team.” Pierce explained that these training sessions helped him improve very quickly and the experience made him the player he is today because he was coached by semi-professional coaches and surrounded by top-level athletes.
Pierce has played on the varsity soccer team since his sophomore year and has been a pivotal player ever since. Although he was injured for the majority of his senior season, he was still valued as an impact player whenever Pierce stepped on the field. Pierce spent most of this past season in a defensive-midfield position, however throughout his years he has played all over the field making him a very versatile and reliable teammate.
He was a captain for the Blue Devils during his recent senior season and was respected and looked up to by his teammates. Junior teammate Sam Judka said, “He cares about everyone on the team equally and is always pushing us harder to be better, even in ugly times when we don’t want to hear it, but it does make us perform better.”
Senior co-captain Ethan Wade said that off the field, Pierce is “super caring, always trying to bring the energy up and always looking to include everybody to create a strong team dynamic.”
He filled his leadership role flawlessly and also has taken away a lot from the experience. Looking forward to the future, Pierce said, “I’ve had the responsibility of leading others and showing them the right way, especially during our long season it is difficult to keep everyone’s minds focused. It also taught me a lot about discipline which will help me in college.”
“We will miss the energy that Niko always brought to the team, whether it was in the locker room or on the field. He was always making people laugh and cared deeply for his teammates, and we all respected his work ethic and focus so much” said Judka, “Next year will feel so weird without him.”
