NA's Pierner signs with Francis Marion

North Augusta High School soccer player Arianna Pierner, front right, is joined by her family as she signs a letter of intent to play at Francis Marion next year. Along with her is her sister Camille, left, father Tracy and mother LaVara. Staff photo by By Noah Feit.

NORTH AUGUSTA -- Francis Marion University is the perfect place for Arianna Pierner to go to college. The North Augusta High School soccer player said as much on Tuesday. That's when she was joined by family and friends in the lobby of the gymnasium at North Augusta High School as she signed a letter of intent to join the Patriots.

"I went to the campus, and it was really pretty," said Pierner, who chose Francis Marion over other colleges including Georgia Southern and Lander. "I really like the coach and I liked the players, the girls were cool. ... I saw them at practice and stayed in the dorm during my visit. You know how girls can be and they didn't seem cliquey at all. They were really welcoming."

Another major factor influencing Pierner's decision was academics. She plans on pursuing a specific course of study, one which Francis Marion offers.

"They had my major," said Pierner, who's planning to get a degree in Health Physics, which could lead to jobs in places like SRS. "I would work with nuclear engineers. I would make sure that everything is safe in their environment."

Such a specialized academic focus will require a significant time commitment from Pierner. She's undaunted by the challenge of budgeting time for academics, athletics and her personal life, saying she's had a head start in that area.

"I play for a club team three nights a week in Columbia now," said Pierner who's applying to Francis Marion's honors college and expects to go over her class schedule with coaches to maximize her time. "It's something I had to learn, balancing school and soccer."

The spectre of having to work hard doesn't faze Pierner. She knows it will be required in order to achieve her goal of playing significant time for the Patriots as a freshman.

"She'll do well, because she knows nothing will be handed to her," said North Augusta coach Matt Sawicz. "She's going to have to fight for everything she'll get. She's really competitive and wants to win, and that's why she'll translate well (to college)."

Pierner was recruited to play attacking center midfielder and should have every opportunity to capture the position. Pierner her chances to play should be boosted because she said one of the Patriots who played attacking center midfielder last season tore her ACL. Besides, the coaching staff likes what she has to offer.

"The coach told me he likes my approach," said Pierner, who wants to improve in her goal scoring and ability to cover ground defensively at Francis Marion. "He wants me to lead the offense and try to score goals. He told me in my first season, if I work hard I'll have a chance to be a starter. ... I want to make an impact right away. I don't want to be just a freshman."

In analyzing her own game, Pierner said that her technical ability on the ball is one of her greatest strengths. She's a playmaker, using good vision and passing skills to spur the offense. That was the case last year, when she led North Augusta in scoring - and was second on the team in goals scored - in spite of only playing a partial season.

"She's very athletically gifted," said Sawicz. "She put an amazing amount of time in her technical ability, and that has paid off."

Noah Feit is a reporter for the Aiken Standard and will celebrate the Giants' victory in the Super Bowl for years to come and welcomes everyone to join him.