From UC to America - Will Pierce’s D1 Student Athlete Experience

Pierce playing for Fairfield in 2023. Source: Supplied. 

The USA feels worlds away from us, with A-list celebrities, metropolis cities, and more fast-food restaurants than you can imagine. America is about as opposite to New Zealand as you can get, however, there are an estimated 20,000 Kiwi citizens living in America, and former UC student Will Pierce is one of them.    

12 months ago, Pierce packed his bags and left New Zealand to head to the United States in pursuit of his footballing dreams. Attending the University of Fairfield, located in Connecticut, Pierce joined a program that had produced a host of professional players including current Nottingham Forest and USA men’s national team goalkeeper, Matt Turner.  

When talking about his decision to head stateside Pierce said, “I obviously wanted to keep playing football at a high level with the goal of one day going pro, but I also wanted to keep working towards getting a degree as well. I think that’s really important.”   

“A lot of the time when people pursue a professional football career, they can get stuck in the phase of just focusing on that and not having a back-up option. So my main goal was to pursue both those things and also experience a new country,” Pierce said.  

The opportunity to experience a new country was a big factor for Pierce. The state of Connecticut is roughly 3 times smaller than Canterbury but has a population of over 3.5 million. The state is also in close proximity to a host of major cities including, New York City, which is just a 2-hour drive away.  

“The place is so vast … New Zealand and Canterbury in general is such a close-knit group, everyone is connected. When you come over to America it’s so different, when I was driving to Fairfield from New York there was never any space between suburban areas and housing, it just kept going,” he said.  

The other main factor in Pierce’s decision to head to America was so that he could continue his accounting and finance studies and also keep developing as a footballer. “It’s handy because my class schedule revolves around my practice schedule. When I was back in NZ, it was the opposite.”  

“Fairfield is a small private school so it’s pretty different to your usual idea of what a US college is. My courses are almost run as classes at high school [would]. Usually, there are around 30 people in each class, and everyone contributes.” 

Despite Pierce’s success both on and off the field, there have been a lot of sacrifices made for Pierce to be where he is. “I miss my friends and family a lot, that’s definitely been a big challenge to be away from them,” he said.  

“I’m missing out on 21st birthdays and things like that which is tough, also not having my family as part of my day-to-day life is hard at times. I miss Aotearoa as a whole too. It’s such a beautiful place and I feel like most people don’t appreciate how lucky we are to live in NZ until we go overseas and live elsewhere.”  

Before leaving New Zealand, Pierce had been playing at both Southern League and National League levels for Christchurch United and had even been called up to the New Zealand U20s squad for their warm-up games prior to the U20 World Cup later in the year.  

Pierce representing the NZ U20s during their pre-world cup tour of Indonesia. 

“I’d say the level between National League in NZ and D1 over in America has got some similarities and some differences. The game in America is played at a higher pace, they’re really physical and quick - it’s a lot more direct. While in NZ, it’s more tactical and players rely on their technical skill more. But to be honest, I think D1 football isn’t given the credit it deserves - the level is really good.”  

In the coming months, the college season will start back up with Pierce hoping to push on from an impressive freshman season where he scored six goals and one assist, after standout performances in USL League 2 with Florida side, Sarasota Paradise. 

Pierce hopes this good form will continue into the collegiate season that starts in late August and over the coming years, he hopes to continue his journey of one day playing football professionally, with the US being a great possible avenue to do so.  

The United States offers 3 different pathways of professional football, USL League 1, the USL championship and the top division, the MLS, which is where fellow Cantabrian and good friend of Pierce’s, Finn Surman currently plays.   

But for now, Pierce hopes that he can continue to manage the student-athlete life in America and hopes that his story will encourage others to look at the United States as a place to help others pursue their academic and sporting dreams.