Former Prince Edward County High School soccer standout Bryce Deitrich worked hard at Richard Bland College (RBC) and to help make his dream of playing NCAA Division I soccer a reality.

“I went there and my dad was always like, ‘You have to go here and really grind it out for two years and try to get to the D1 level,’ and that was the goal,” Deitrich said.

After drawing the interest of two D1 schools, he is starting his first season with Liberty University this fall.

“I feel very blessed and just thankful that I get the opportunity, and I hope I can make the best of it and really play my best and leave everything out on the field here,” he said.

Deitrich noted it has been a goal of his to play D1 soccer since he was playing middle school soccer.

“I started playing when I was about 4 years old,” he said, as his father coached him and his brother on a youth league team while they lived in Northern Virginia.

Deitrich continued playing when he and his family moved to Farmville when he was about 7 years old.

He played in a recreational league before playing in school.

When he was in sixth grade, he began playing for a team called FC Richmond.

“I played for them for about six years, and that really, I think, grew me as a player,” he said.

Deitrich played varsity soccer all four years of his high school career. He competed for Prince Edward as an underclassman, then transferred for a year to Carlisle School, a private institution in Martinsville.

For his senior year, he transferred back to Prince Edward and played for Eagles Head Coach Devin Pierce, who noted that Deitrich ended up scoring 34 goals and was runner up for James River District Player of the Year.

“With so much raw talent and athleticism, it was evident that he had the potential to take his game to the next level,” Pierce said. “At Richard Bland he made the transition from forward/winger into the center midfield position. His coaches were impressed by his work ethic and coach-ability.”

In his two years at Richard Bland, Deitrich started 29 of 41 matches. Playing primarily as a defensive midfielder, he contributed four goals with three assists for 11 points.

The Statesmen went 22-15-4 across both of his seasons, in 2016, they went 12-7-2, a school record, and won the program’s first NJCAA Region X Tournament Championship.

“Bryce has improved exponentially as a player from his time at RBC,” said Statesmen Head Coach Eduardo de Souza. “When Bryce arrived at RBC there was only one position that he felt comfortable playing, as a left winger. By the time he graduated, Bryce had played as a winger, central midfielder, forward and then ultimately as a central defender. It was this ability to play in a multitude of positions that attracted Liberty University to Bryce’s skillset and his intangibles (size, strength, speed) on the field.”

Evaluating Deitrich’s potential moving forward, Pierce said, “I believe that with his size, athleticism and IQ, he will be a valuable asset to Liberty University and will be a utility player for them, able to play in multiple positions and roles.”

Deitrich aims to become a starter in his first year with the Flames and expressed gratitude to RBC for helping him grow and be able to reach this level of play.

Thinking back on his time as an Eagle, he said he is thankful for the support system in place there.

“I feel like I’ll always have that, and that’s what I really take from high school soccer,” he said.