Junior Anna Pierce has started all 13 games for the women’s soccer team this season. Photo by Jonathan Wang.

DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | STAFF REPORTER | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu

During her freshman year of high school, senior goalkeeper Anna Pierce had to choose between dance and soccer — the two extracurriculars that had been prominent parts of her life since she was six years old. 

Pierce’s decision to stick with soccer came down to one thing: competition.. 

“It’s not that dance isn’t at all athletic, but I needed to do something where I could be aggressive,” Pierce said. “I needed to do something more gritty and competitive because I have always been an ultra-competitive person. Soccer allowed me to really show that toughness.”

Now in her fourth season at Butler, Pierce’s aggressive spirit is still evident on the field, accumulating a career total of 129 saves.

Pierce achieved a career-high 10 saves in the Oct. 6 loss against Xavier and currently holds a season total of 43 saves — earning her two Big East Weekly Honor Roll selections this season.

Despite these accomplishments, Pierce wants to continue pushing herself to work harder. 

“It is nice to be proud of myself, but I use my accomplishments as motivation to be an even better player,” Pierce said. “I am very intrinsically motivated, and I always want to be the best. I might have set a career-high of 10 saves, but now I want to aim to make 11 saves in the next game.”

However, her consistent drive is not solely showcased through her accolades. Co-head coach Rob Alman notes that Pierce does more than what is included on the stat sheets.

“There is an accumulation of little plays that she consistently makes for the team that goes unnoticed by the stats,” Alman said. “The way that she sweeps and covers behind our back line and puts out fires that the defense doesn’t have to deal with because she’s so proactively dealing with it, that is what the coaching staff really values about her. That is elite-level goalkeeping.” 

The beginning of Pierce’s goalkeeping career can be traced back to a specific moment on her middle school club team. In eighth grade, when Pierce heard that her teammate was invited to extra training with the Olympic Development Program, she was fueled by competitive spirit. This new motivation caused Pierce to seek out her own opportunities.

“I remember how mad I was that my teammate got invited to the training and I didn’t,” Pierce said. “But that jealousy ignited a competitive side in me and pushed me to work even harder. I got connected with my own personal trainers — who encouraged me to go into the goalkeeping aspect of the game — and that is when I really began seeing myself pursuing soccer at a higher level.”

After middle school, Pierce moved on to play for an Elite Clubs National League team where she became set on playing for a Division 1 school.

Butler came into the picture when Pierce received a detailed email from Alman expressing his interest in having her on the team.

“Just by his email I could tell that he really cared about me as a player,” Pierce said. “Then when I came on my visit, I was drawn to the entire team and the overall environment of the school. I remember getting into the car after the visit and immediately telling my mom, ‘I want to go to Butler.’”

Throughout her four years on the team, Alman points out the tremendous growth he has observed from Pierce as a player and as a person. 

“Her tactical understanding to make the best plays on the field and the build-up involved in attacking those plays has grown so much,” Alman said. “She has always been a very athletic and aggressive goalkeeper, so it was all about building confidence in the consistency of the little game aspects, which has evolved to affect her overall confidence off the field as well. She has become so mentally strong in how she approaches training, the game and the way she carries herself.”  

Along with her training, Pierce’s confidence is also built off of overcoming adversity. During her sophomore year, Pierce was hospitalized for an eating disorder that took a toll on her mental health, forcing her to miss out on many classes and practices. 

Pierce finds that the time she took to focus on herself greatly impacts the person she is today. 

“That moment gave me the ability to stop, breathe and actually seek out the help I needed,” Pierce said. “It is really special when people recognize how much I have changed since then because I can’t even recognize myself freshman year. I have grown so much, and that allows me to exert my energy into what makes me happy.”

Whether Pierce is cracking a joke at practice or encouraging her teammates on the field, junior goalkeeper Addie Marshall consistently observes the positive energy that Pierce sparks for the rest of the team.

“She brings all the hype on game day and is always boosting everyone’s energy up with her own energy,” Marshall said. “Even when we are at practice, she really pushes everyone to be better through her own hard work, but also just as a friend. When we see [Pierce]’s accomplishments, it is always so fun to celebrate with her because she is such a kind, fiery and even funny person to be around. Her energy fuels everybody else to keep doing better.”

Along with being an athlete, Pierce is a psychology and criminology double major. She plans on pursuing her clinical psychology Ph.D. and is looking into forensic-focused programs. Her ultimate goal is to become an FBI agent. 

Pierce’s high-level work ethic in the classroom and on the field is what Alman deems to be the epitome of a student-athlete. 

“She is what a Butler student-athlete should aspire to be,” Alman said. “If you need a role model on either the athletic or academic side of things, just look at Anna and follow in her footsteps. Her ability to work through adversity and be so intelligent, hardworking, disciplined and on top of her academics is incredible. She is going to go on and do some pretty spectacular things in her life after hanging up the goalkeeping gloves.”