Bobby Edwards (born August 11, 1995) is a retired former American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, Edwards played prep soccer at St. Benedict's Preparatory School.

Career

College

Edwards began his college career at

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

, and subsequently spent time at

Monmouth University Monmouth University is a private university in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956 and Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter. There are about 4,400 full- ...

and

Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, ...

. He made a total of 62 appearances in his college career. Edwards played in the Player Development Summer League with the New York Red Bulls U-23 in 2016 and 2017 and with the SC United Bantams in 2018 and 2019. Edwards was named to the Team of the Year for the USL2 2019 season.

Professional

In June 2019, Edwards signed his first professional contract with

Portadown F.C. Portadown Football Club is a professional, Northern Irish football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was formed in 1887 as a junior team seeking to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup, eventually joining the Irish League with t ...

of the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

, where he would make 23 appearances at goalkeeper leading the team to a first place finish. Edwards was pivotal to The Ports’ title run, registering a 16W-3L-4D record and finishing with a sparkling 0.78 goals against average and 12 shutouts.While playing for Portadown FC Edwards went on trials with the Blackburn Rovers in the English Football Championship League as well as with Burnley FC in the English Premier League. Edwards signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

on January 20, 2020 playing two games in goal, including the only game since joining the MLS that FC Cincinnati has been victorious over their arch rivals, the Columbus Crew. He was released by Cincinnati at the end of their 2020 season. On February 12, 2021, Edwards signed with USL Championship side Indy Eleven. Following the 2021 season, Edwards re-signed with Indy ahead of the 2022 season. On February 11, 2022, Edwards announced his retirement from playing professional soccer, citing personal reasons for his decision. Edwards took up a new role as Indy Eleven's assistant goalkeeper coach and Director of Goalkeeping for Indiana Fire Juniors' MLS NEXT Academy.

Personal

Through his friendship with the Cordrey Family of Cincinnati, Edwards has been an outspoken advocate of *Brain Aneurysm Awareness", "NRC Foundation" and "Donate Life" as a way of honoring the legacy of the life of young Nick Cordrey.

References

External links

*
Saint Joseph's Hawks bioMount St. Mary's Mountaineers bioNew York Red Bulls U-23's bioSC United Bantams's bio
1995 births American soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Portadown F.C. players FC Cincinnati players Indy Eleven players Living people Major League Soccer players Soccer players from New Jersey People from Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey Saint Joseph's Hawks men's soccer players Monmouth Hawks men's soccer players Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's soccer players Expatriate association footballers in Northern Ireland American expatriate soccer players {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub