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AU’s Defender a Head Above the Rest
Senior Defender Larry McDonald Steadies the Team for the Road Ahead

Larry McDonald is an All-America candidate in 2002 for the AU men's soccer team.

October 18, 2002

By Nadia Harmsen

WASHINGTON — Larry McDonald has being playing soccer longer than some of his younger teammates have been alive. He started when he was six years old, like any younger sibling, following the footsteps of his older brothers.

“I was really bad,” he says of his younger days. Few knew the six -year old chasing after his brothers would be considered one of the best defensive players in Division I soccer.

McDonald is the starting center back for the American University men's soccer team and co-captain, but he came to AU in a very unorthodox manner. While scores of American high school seniors spent countless hours researching and traveling to schools, McDonald was one of the rare few who were sought out by the school. During high school he played for a club team called the San Fernando Giants. Practices were intense for three months and then the team traveled to Venezuela for a three-week tournament. It was his coach who encouraged him to take soccer to a higher level. AU coaches had traveled to Trinidad to recruit players before, so his coach arranged for a meeting.

“I just wanted to play soccer,” McDonald says about his desires to go to college. “College is not the natural step after high school in Trinidad, it’s not that people don’t go but it isn’t like it is here.”

McDonald, from Waddel Village, Trinidad, is one of five children. He has two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister who is still in high school. His mother, Judy a retired nurse, was both excited and anxious about him coming to America. His father, Edgar a retired safety engineer, had his reservations.

“He wanted me to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Getting the full scholarship was like gaining some independence,” says McDonald.

Coming to America had its obstacles, the winters being one of them. McDonald in the past three years has developed into a strong defensive player. His freshman year he started in 9 of 11 games. After a solid freshman year he earned himself a starting position in all 18 games sophomore season and led the defense in shots. McDonald and the Eagles had a stellar season last year. While difficult to quantify an individual defender’s contribution to the game; the Eagles had 10 shutouts and a 1.14 goals against average last season. The Eagles were Patriot League Champions and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. McDonald was named to the All-Patriot League First Team and to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

“Larry is one of the best center backs in the Patriot League and for that matter NCAA Division 1” says head coach Todd West.

“I have had really good coaches, really good teams and really good time here,” says McDonald about his time at AU. It is something his parents will have to take his word on. Distance and culture have kept his parents from seeing him play at AU.

“Parents don’t follow their kids around in Trinidad, I was shocked to see how far parents traveled to watch their kids play” says McDonald unbothered by the fact.

McDonald was an accomplished soccer player and athlete before coming to AU. In high school he was a member of the Trinidad Senior National Team Under –23 Olympic team pool.

“It was after playing on the national team and for the club team that I started to believe in myself," said McDonald. "It was a great experience”

If he hadn’t come to AU McDonald was going to pursue a professional career in Trinidad. “A professional career isn’t a sure thing,” McDonald says was a large reason for coming to AU.

His teammates like to give him a hard time about being a track star in high school. From middle school on he was the captain of the track team and was a National Under- 21 silver medalist in the high jump when he lost to the would be gold medalist of the Regional Championships which consisted of the Caribbean Islands and Latin America. He had the opportunity to continue competing in track, but decided against it for soccer reasons.

“I didn’t understand the value of a college education until come here (AU).” McDonald has taken advantage of AU, earning a 3.6 grade point average. He received his undergraduate degree in Information Technology and is currently working on a Masters of Arts and Science in Information Systems. “Being abroad helped me develop in different ways academically and as a soccer player.”

The AU soccer team is glad Larry decided to further his education. McDonald’s performance last year earned him All America candidacy. The Eagles were ranked 11th in the NSCAA/adidas national ranking this past week, one of their highest ranking for the season. McDonald was the 2002 D.C. College Cup MVP and was named to the Soccer America Team for the Week of August 30-Septemeber 2. In addition he was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for September 9th and named to the Penn State/Nike Classic All Tournament team.

“Larry is unbeatable, he can beat anybody off the ball,” says senior co-captain Kris Kuykendall. McDonald, standing at 6-2, is a dominating force in the air.

After graduation McDonald knows he wants to try and play professional soccer. “It is hard for foreigners because there is a limit for each team,” says McDonald. If that doesn’t work out he would like to use his expertise to coach at the college level or go into business.

Listening to him speak about the team’s potential to go to the Final Four, its apparent his love for the game has kept him playing. “There are times in practice when you don’t want to be there, but you go a few days or a week without playing and you feel like something is missing,” says McDonald.

West understands the important role his senior co-captain has on his team. “Larry will be a key factor for us as we try to defend our Patriot League title and make another run in the NCAA tournament,” says Coach West.

McDonald and the Eagles have their work cut out for them. Things are looking good for the Eagles and hopefully with an improvement on last year’s tournament performance, all of the McDonald's will get to see Larry play.