It isn’t every day that a student-athlete makes team history.
That’s why it’s especially noteworthy that St. Joseph’s University, New York men’s lacrosse goalie Andrew Brust did so when he earned U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American Honorable Mention accolades last season — one year after tearing his meniscus during a game.
“I had to have surgery,” Brust, a senior business administration major with a minor in Marketing at the Long Island Campus, said of his injury. “During the time after the surgery and while in recovery, I worked really hard to strengthen my knee to make sure I was in the best possible health for the next season. I really took that extended time off to work even harder, and it paid off.”
Brust said he hopes his accomplishment inspires prospective Golden Eagles.
“It’s awesome and an honor to receive the All-American award, and being the first person in program history makes it that much greater,” said Brust, 21, who was also named the Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. “I hope it shows my current teammates and future St.Joseph’s student-athletes that something like this can be accomplished at a small, local school like ours.”
Becoming a Golden Eagle
As someone who had been playing lacrosse since middle school, Brust knew he wanted to attend a college that allowed him to continue pursuing his passion for the sport.
And with a relatively new men’s lacrosse program with a few student-athletes from Brust’s alma mater, William Floyd High School, St. Joseph’s University seemed like a no-brainer.
“I knew that I wanted to stay close to home, and I was able to get a really good academic scholarship to St. Joseph’s, so it worked out really well,” he said.
His favorite part of being a student-athlete at the University is the proximity of everything, Brust said.
“If I want to go to the Danzi gym, go to the library to do work, or go to the outdoor field complex, everything is close,” the Shirley resident said.
Even after his injury set him back temporarily on the field, Brust was inspired to push forward by his older brother Eric, who played lacrosse when he was in high school.
“About six years ago, he was in a bad car accident that set him back in a lot of ways,” Brust explained. “Seeing how far he has come physically to be even better than he was before the accident pushes me to be better and work at everything that I do.”
For the Love of Lacrosse
His favorite thing about the sport itself is watching how the practice pays off in the games.
“We spend hours of practice perfecting things on the defensive and offensive side of the ball, and when they work out, it’s awesome to watch and be a part of,” Brust said.
As a senior, Brust can recall many top moments he’s enjoyed as a Golden Eagle.
“The first one would be in my first collegiate game I made a game-winning save at the last second,” Brust said of a game he played as a freshman in March 2019 against Western Connecticut State University. “Another memory would be at the end of my freshman year, when we had to win a game to go to the playoffs.
“We ended up winning the game, and it was the first time our men’s lacrosse program made it to the playoffs” Brust continued. “Lastly, after last season, when I was with a majority of my teammates when our coach told me that I received All-American honors. It was an awesome moment. We put our coach on FaceTime, and we all celebrated when we heard the news.”
Brust is considering pursuing a master’s in Business Administration after graduating from St. Joseph’s.
“In terms of lacrosse, I’m always looking to help out and possibly coach at William Floyd,” he said.
*This article was updated to reflect St. Joseph’s new designation as a university.
