Eddie McCusker

Classroom

Eddie McCusker is a secondary education and history double major who has qualified for the SJU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every year, also making the 2017-18 Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. McCusker is on track to graduate in May 2019 and will begin his student-teaching assignment in the spring. Following graduation, he aspires to attend graduate school in pursuit of his Masters in Administration and to coach soccer.

Character

“Since becoming a student-athlete at SJU, Eddie McCusker has been an exceptional leader both on and off the field. On the field, he has been a four-year starter for the men’s soccer program. He is one of our most fierce and consistent competitors who demands the respect of his teammates and coaches through his actions. He always gives 100 percent effort on the field. He goes over and beyond his leadership role by holding his teammates accountable, but he helps create a positive culture in the locker room. His high character attributes and how he positively impacts the people around him are what make him such an integral part of our program and an excellent representative of Saint Joseph’s University.” - Saint Joseph’s Head Coach Don D’Ambra

McCusker is a two-year team captain (2017, 2018). In 2017, he was awarded the team’s Jack Dunn Award for Leadership, and he was awarded the squad’s Best Teammate Award in 2016.

Community

In conjunction with Saint Joseph’s Make-A-Wish Foundation, McCusker helped to organize a large, school-wide event for a young 13-year-old boy named Gabriel, surprising him with a trip to England to meet professional soccer goalkeeper Tim Howard, and providing him with a day of playing soccer with the SJU men’s soccer team. McCusker also has been involved with Go4TheGoal, a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children battling pediatric cancer, since high school, and during a college spring match in 2016, SJU collected donations from supporters and fans and wore yellow laces to highlight support for the foundation.

McCusker participated in SJU’s Martin Luther King Day of Service for four consecutive years, working alongside the team to help make the community a cleaner and better place, and with his family, he has participated in the Get Your Rear in Gear Colon Cancer Coalition run/walk for numerous years.

McCusker worked as a camp counselor at Total Turf Experience in Pitman, N.J., where his primary responsibility was taking charge of kids at the day camp. Most recently, he worked at an accredited day camp, Tall Pines Day Camp for two years, where he served as a senior camp counselor and a member of the athletics staff. He has also worked with his SJU coaches at numerous soccer camps and is a volunteer summer-league coach for his former high school, Washington Township.

Competition

A three-year starting defenseman for Saint Joseph’s, McCusker entered his senior season with 48 starts in 51 appearances and a whopping 4,665 minutes played and is the absolute backbone of SJU’s defensive unit in 2018. McCusker played every minute of the 2017 season (1,709) and anchored SJU’s defense in wins over Temple, Manhattan and George Mason and draws vs. Hartford, VMI, Central Connecticut and UMass.

As of nomination time, McCusker owns a goal and three assists in his career, scoring his first collegiate goal against Dayton (’17) and dishing out the match-winning assist against George Mason (’17). McCusker earned Philadelphia Soccer Six Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2017 and was tabbed to the organization’s All-Rookie Team in 2015. Saint Joseph’s men’s soccer team awards he has received include 2017 Defensive Player of the Year and 2015 Rookie of the Year.

As of September 5, 2018, McCusker had played all 270 minutes on the back line and anchored SJU’s defense to a 2-1-0 record with just five goals allowed. As of October 11, 2018, McCusker has played 1,177 minutes on the back line and anchored SJU’s defense to a 7-4-2 record (1-1-2 A-10). He’s the anchor of the defensive unit and added the match-winning assist against Sacred Heart and a goal against VMI.