Hulcer attended St. Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1975 to 1978.

In December 1979, the Aztecs traded Hulcer and Angelo DiBernardo to the New York Cosmos in exchange for Gary Etherington and Santiago Formoso.

On December 8, 1981, the St. Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League purchased Hulcer's contract from the Cosmos.

Hulcer then spent the next three indoor seasons with the Steamers, the first year as a forward, the next two as a midfielder.

Hulcer earned his first cap with the U.S. national team on February 3, 1979, in a 3–1 loss to the Soviet Union.