Wagner College Athletics

Gimale Essacu embarks on his second year at Wagner College, where he works as an Academics and Compliance Assistant.

A native of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Essacu attended Western Illinois University, where he played two seasons for the Leathernecks as member of the men’s soccer program.

In 2019, he appeared in 12 games, tying for the team lead in assists with three. He notched back-to-back Summit League games with an assist against Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 19) and Eastern Illinois (Oct. 26). He also assisted on the game-winning goal at Oral Robert (Nov. 9) as Western Illinois went on to win a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Summit League Championships.

Prior to his arrival at Western Illinois, Essacu was a standout soccer player at Otero Junior College in La Junta, CO. In 2016-17, he was named to the All-Region IX team after posting five goals and five assists. The following season, he notched ten goals and eight assists en route to guiding the team to a Region IX Championship. At season’s end, he was named to the First Team All-Region IX and First Team All-West District.

Essacu plans to purse a Master’s Degree at Wagner.