Markhus ‘Duke’ Lacroix is many things. Athlete. Leader. Advocate. Champion. 

The New Jersey native, Penn graduate, and former Nor’easter, has gone on to have a noteworthy career, both on and off the field. 

Lacroix has built up an impressive resume, all in the second level of US soccer. The former Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year has totaled 251 appearances and 19,041 minutes in his professional career. In those appearances he has scored 14 goals and assisted 24 times. He has never been sent off.

Duke has worn the badge of several clubs, but it is with his current team, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, that he was finally able to win a trophy. 

Since signing with Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, Lacroix has become a vital player for the Switchbacks. Always a versatile player, he started his career as a forward but has since converted to the defensive unit. Duke is able to play Center Back or Full Back with acuity. It’s his play along the back line that has been an asset for Colorado. In the two season’s he’s been with the team, he has played in 58 games, starting 48. 

Duke celebrating a goal for the Nor'easters in the 2013 season

 

After only managing a one and done post-season appearance last season, Lacroix and the Switchbacks came back for business in 2024.

Lacroix was something of an Iron Man for the Switchbacks this season. He saw the field in every game he was available for, making 30 starts on the year. He was never injured but did occasionally miss games for international duty. 

Lacroix represents the Haitian national team. First called up in 2023, he began regularly seeing the field for Les Grenadiers in 2024. 

He played in 5 games for Les Rouge et Bleu last year. 2 World Cup Qualifiers, where he scored his first goal for Haiti versus Barbados, and 3 Nations League matches. Lacroix went the full 90 at Left Back in each game he played. He was a big reason why Les Bicolores had a perfect 2024, winning all of their competitive fixtures.

Although Lacroix and Colorado's season would end with a trophy, that outcome was far from a certainty. 

The Switchbacks started 2024 with 5 straight losses, which saw them sitting at the bottom of the league table. 

However, their fortunes would soon change. 

After earning their first point against Indy Eleven on April 20th, the Switchbacks ripped off a 5 game winning streak. They remained undefeated until June 22nd, dropping a 1-0 result to New Mexico United. 

Colorado’s form yo-yo’d until September. The Switchbacks won 5 of their last 9 games, with Lacroix scoring a spectacular goal in a September 1st matchup with Tulsa. 

 

With the regular season coming to a close, Duke and Colorado occupied 2nd place in the West. 

Duke, again, featured heavily in the playoffs, starting the first two games for the Switchbacks. In the Quarter-Finals, he played all 120 minutes as the game went to extra time. He recorded 2 tackles and 2 interceptions, while completing 59 passes in the 2-1 win. 

However, Lacroix would miss the Conference-Final, as he was with the Haitian national team. It was an important game too. Duke scored in the 8-0 win over Sint Maarten, which qualified Haiti to the 2025 Gold Cup. 

Lacroix battling for the ball in a USL match against New Mexico United

 

Colorado advanced over Las Vegas, winning 1-0 with Delentz Pierre filling in admirably for Lacroix. Between the timing of Duke’s travel and Pierre’s performance, Head Coach James Chamber’s decided to stick with Pierre for the final.

Although Duke was only watching from the bench when Colorado took an early lead against Rhode Island FC, he soon got into the action. 

In the 36th minute Pierre went down after a clash of heads, suffering a concussion. Chambers turned to Lacroix and the Ocean City alum stepped onto the field in the 41st minute. 

Some players may have been caught off-guard in that moment. Not Duke. From there, he said. “[It] felt like business as usual. The adage is to make sure you’re always ready. I wanted to contribute 100% to whatever role I had to play on the day.”

The Switchbacks scored another goal before half-time and quickly got a third after the break, “From the first half onward the match was never in any doubt. We went up pretty early and felt very comfortable and in control of the match.”

Finally, after a little over 4 minutes of added time, the final whistle blew. Duke Lacroix and all of Colorado Springs were champions for the first time, “I was excited to celebrate with my teammates. I had a sense of satisfaction accomplishing what every team in the league set out to do, but we were the ones to do it.”

The usual celebrations followed: Medals were handed out, the team lifted the trophy, confetti was blasted everywhere. 

It was a wonderful moment for Duke, the team, and the whole city.

With a contract extension signed for next season, Lacroix is ready to run it back with the Switchbacks for 2025. While it will be hard to top that massive achievement on the field, Lacroix hasn’t limited his accomplishments solely to the soccer pitch. 

He has worked hard to make his mark felt off the field, both through community work, and his roles within the United Black Players (UBP) and USL-Players Association (USL PA) organizations.

Following an injury imposed spell on the sidelines during the 2017 season, Lacroix realized that he wanted to be a force of positive change in the world around him. 

Since that moment, he has become an advocate for growing the game, particularly when it comes to expanding the opportunities soccer can provide to minority and underserved communities.

Lacroix posing with the Dream In Color scarf he helped design, all proceeds were donated to the UBP to fund their initiatives

 

While in Colorado, he partnered with the Girls and Boys Club of the Pikes Peak Region to organize and lead a free soccer clinic. When he was with Sacramento Republic he visited after school programs in the Natomas School District and organized the installation of four futsal courts at the Del Paso Sports Complex.

As the President of the USL-PA, he represents his fellow professionals in all matters with the league such as Collective Bargaining negotiations, and generally makes their voices heard with league executives. 

In 2022, Lacroix became the Vice President of United Black Players. With UBP, Duke addresses inequity within US soccer and seeks to create more inclusive soccer settings and improve access to the sport: 

“Diversity of perspectives is a part of what makes the game interesting. If people believe that sports have the power to provide a field to play out values we prioritize as a society like: strength, commitment, perseverance, accomplishment, or grit, then the athletes should also reflect the diversity of the society sports are a part of.”

The UBP have created several initiatives to broaden the availability of soccer to minority and underserved communities. 

They help build Mini Pitches to create more safe areas in communities for kids to play and learn.

They host and run Free Soccer Clinics across the USL market. 

Lacroix has organized and led several such clinics in Colorado and Sacramento and described such moments as, “The most rewarding part about (UBP) is getting involved at the grassroots level of the game and bringing soccer to underserved communities across the country. Being able to use soccer and the platform we have as professional athletes as a vehicle to bring joy to people of all ages is a very rewarding experience.”

Lacroix helping lead one of the UBP's free clinics in Colorado Springs

 

The UBP also offers several initiatives for Collegiate and Professional players such as HBCU support and Coaching Subsidies.

Volunteering for UBP is not without its challenges however, “Given that we are an organization run by athletes who are also full-time professionals, we very much operate on sweat equity. [It’s difficult to] maintain momentum with players moving teams, leagues, and into different phases of life. For most non-profits fundraising and donations always provide a challenge to be navigated as well.”

Lacroix also lends his advice to help athletes who may be struggling with their mental health. Duke is an Athlete Mental Health Specialist with Onrise, a service that specializes in this important but oft neglected area for athletes. He is currently pursuing his Sport and Performance Psychology Masters at the University of Western States (UWS). 

Duke might have become a USL champion when he lifted the USL trophy last season, but he has been a champion of growth and progress for much longer.