Markhus "Duke" Lacroix (born October 14, 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a full-back for

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The fra ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

. Born in the United States, he plays for the Haiti national team.

Career

Youth

Lacroix grew up in the New Egypt section of

Plumsted Township, New Jersey Plumsted Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,072, a decrease of 349 (−4.1%) from the 2010 census count of 8,421, which in turn reflecte ...

. He attended the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

, where he played soccer and ran track. The native of New Egypt, N.J., attended The Lawrenceville School, where he played four years of soccer and ran three years of track his high school, his tenure as a runner including a 4x400 relay win at the prestigious Penn Relays. He was a member of the U.S. Under-14 and Under-15 Boys National Teams and was also a member of the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team player pool following his time in New Jersey's Olympic Development Program. He played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

between 2011 and 2014. While at the University of Pennsylvania, the two-time captain served as one of only three players in school history to receive four All-Ivy League honors (First-team honoree in 2013 & 2014, Second-team in 2012 and Honorable Mention in 2011). He was also the only Quakers player ever to be named both the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year (2011) and an Ivy League Player of the Year (Offensive POY in 2013). Lacroix graduated with the third most appearances in Penn history with 68, during which he racked up the fifth most points with 65, coming from 25 goals and 15 assists – including seven goals and an Ivy League-best six assists as a senior in 2014. While in college, Lacroix also appeared for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side Ocean City Nor'easters in 2012 and 2013.

Professional

Lacroix signed for

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

side

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

on May 21, 2015. He made his first appearance for the club in a 0–2 loss to

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

in the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

on May 27, 2015. His first goal for the club was the game-winning goal in a 3–0 victory over

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

on June 13, 2015. He would go on to play a total of 34 games and score three goals across two seasons with the Eleven, including the 2016 NASL Goal of the Year. The following season, Lacroix signed to the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

Orange County Soccer Club Orange County Soccer Club was a Greater Los Angeles team active in the mid 1960s in a league called the Continental League. One of the highlights of its existence included an international match with Bayern Munich of Germany played on June 10, 1 ...

on March 15, 2017. The following April, he signed for

Reno 1868 FC Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

in the United Soccer League. Lacroix played two seasons in Reno as a left back. He started 34 games in his second season, amassing 3,060 minutes played for the club. For the 2020 season, Lacroix signed to the United Soccer League side

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

as a left back. On December 8, 2020, Lacroix signed with

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. Following the 2022 season, it was announced Lacroix would join USL Championship side

for the 2023 season.

International career

Born in the United States, Lacroix is of Haitian descent. He was called up to the

Haiti national football team The Haiti national football team (, Haitian Creole: ''Ekip foutbòl Ayiti'') represents Haiti in international Association football, football. Haiti is administered by the Haitian Football Federation, Fédération Haïtienne de Football (FHF), ...

for a set of

2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League The 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League was the third season of the CONCACAF Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The group stage was held in ...

matches in September 2023.

References

External links

Indy Eleven Profile
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacroix, Duke 1993 births Living people Haitian men's footballers Haiti men's international footballers American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Haitian descent Penn Quakers men's soccer players Ocean City Nor'easters players Indy Eleven players Orange County SC players Reno 1868 FC players Charlotte Independence players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Ocean County, New Jersey North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL League Two players People from Plumsted Township, New Jersey Sacramento Republic FC players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Haitian sportsmen