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Every day this past summer before 7 a.m., Andre Cutler-DeJesus forced his twin brother, Sebastian, to get out of bed to prepare for three grueling training sessions. Following a weight lifting session, they worked on their technical abilities. At night, they trained with Manhattan FC, a United Soccer League Two team.

Cutler-DeJesus did everything he could to push his brother. There were days when Sebastian questioned working out that day. Cutler-DeJesus always looked Sebastian dead in the eye, telling him the doubt that crept into his head was the main reason for their work.

For Cutler-DeJesus, he needed someone to put the work in with. He was coming off a season where he appeared in just one game with Syracuse, and yearned for an expanded role.

Following a grueling summer, Cutler-DeJesus has established himself as one of the key figures in Syracuse’s backline. Cutler-DeJesus sat behind experienced defenders like Olu Oyegunle, Buster Sjöberg, Josh Belluz and Gabriel Mikina in his junior season. Following their departures, SU was left with an inexperienced backline, prompting Cutler-DeJesus to step up, playing at least 79 minutes in all 13 of Syracuse’s matches and 10 full games.

“He deserves every minute that he’s on the field,” Sebastian said. “He’s worked his butt off.”

After spending his first two seasons at Marist University, Cutler-DeJesus transferred to Syracuse in 2022. With the Red Foxes, Cutler-DeJesus broke out as a freshman, starting all but one of their final 18 games. He helped Marist to the second-lowest goals against average (1.14) in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, leading it to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

After limited playing time in 2023, Andre Cutler-DeJesus has started all 12 games for SU in 2024. Lars Jendruschewitz | Photo Editor

Cutler-DeJesus continued to build off a strong freshman season, with 13 starts in 2022 before deciding to move upstate to Syracuse following its 2022 National Championship. But when he arrived at SU, it was tough to break through ahead of older defenders. Sjöberg and Oyegunle played integral roles in Syracuse’s title run while Mikina and Belluz came in as graduate students.

With 181 combined appearances between the four of them, Cutler-DeJesus’ experience paled in comparison. As a result, he totaled just 13 minutes last season in a single match against Binghamton.

On a couple of occasions when Syracuse traveled to road games, Cutler-DeJesus didn’t make the trip.

Cutler-DeJesus had been in a similar position with New York Soccer Club, or NYCFC Academy, he constantly clawed his way into the starting lineup. That didn’t change at Marist and continued at SU.

“He’s always had that mentality of wanting to prove coaches wrong, and wanting to prove why he should be starting,” Sebastian said. “Having built up over the years, his mentality has just always been to control what you can control.”

Despite lacking individual milestones in games, Cutler-DeJesus was voted the most improved player by the team last fall per Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre. That momentum carried into the spring when Cutler-DeJesus became an integral piece of Syracuse’s defense throughout the offseason.

“It was more on me to get better and raise my game. So I took it personally to raise my level,” DeJesus said.

The work continued into the summer with Sebastian. After lifting at the gym, they met around five of their friends at the local field in Queens, New York. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were typically reserved for technical work. They worked on ball striking and precision passing.

Before Cutler-DeJesus departed for the summer, SU’s coaches gave him a routine to increase his speed and agility among other things needed as a center back. Before his technical work, Cutler-DeJesus went through the workouts with Sebastian daily.

Typically, their second training session ended at noon before heading home for a few hours. The two rested for most of the afternoon, stretching and eating well before heading back out to train with Manhattan FC at 8:30 p.m. The process repeated the next day.

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Playing every day helped drastically improve Cutler-DeJesus’ fitness levels. When he got to Syracuse for summer practice, there wasn’t a drop-off.

“All of a sudden I came into the preseason. I realized, this is the best I’ve ever felt,” Cutler-DeJesus said.

Even with limited experience, Cutler-DeJesus was thrust into a starting role with Syracuse in 2024. Initially last season, the work rate and physicality required from defenders in McIntyre’s system along with the tactics was a learning curve. Cutler-DeJesus says he now knows it like the back of his hand.

“He’s taken his opportunity with both hands and has been very important to us on the field, and has probably been even more important to us off the field,” McIntyre said.

With Cutler-DeJesus at the back, Syracuse was undefeated through its first three games. He’s often paired with Sam Layton and Chimere Omeze in Syracuse’s back three. Though Layton is a graduate student as well, he transferred to SU this season, while Omeze is a freshman.

The Orange defense has had its fair share of ups and downs. Playing in big games down the stretch of the season is why Cutler-DeJesus came to Syracuse. So, sitting on the bench last season was a blow. He said the thought of transferring is always in the back of your head. But talks with the coaching staff confirmed that he wanted to stay. Cutler-DeJesus believed he was good enough and now he gets to show it.

“I was ready for the opportunity,” Cutler-DeJesus said. “And when you give it, I’m gonna take it. And I’ve always had that belief that I could do well.”

Published on October 9, 2024 at 9:27 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22