Earl William Edwards Jr. (born January 24, 1992) is an 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 ...

player who currently plays for

MLS 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

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

College and amateur

Edwards spent his entire college career at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, including a red-shirted year in 2010. He made a total of 61 appearances for the Bruins and finished with 19 shutouts and a 1.07 Goals Against Average. He was named first team All-Pac-12 in 2013 and 2014. Edwards also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

for

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

and

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced int ...

Professional career

Orlando City

On January 20, 2015, Edwards was selected in the third round (43rd overall) of the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

by Orlando City and signed a professional contract with the club a month later. He made his professional debut on June 17 in a

2015 U.S. Open Cup The 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 102nd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. The tournament had teams from all three tiers of men's professional soccer, plus teams from the top amateur leagues in the United State ...

match against

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. Orlando went on to advance on penalties. He was loaned to

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osce ...

in March 2016 before becoming the first-choice keeper in the

2017 USL season Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

. He made his first MLS start on October 23, 2017 away at

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

on the final day of the season when regular starter

Joe Bendik Joseph T. Bendik (born April 25, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Club career Clemson Bendik grew up in Marietta, Georgia and attended Clemson Un ...

was ruled out with concussion. Orlando lost 6–1. On July 14, 2018, following James O'Connor's appointment as manager, he was given the start over a healthy Bendik in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. Orlando won 2–1 with Edwards registering 3 saves. Edwards would retain the starting job for five games, conceding 13 goals. He was released by the club at the end of the 2018 season when his contract expired.

D.C. United

On December 19, 2018, Edwards was acquired by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

in exchange for a second-round pick in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

. On January 8, 2020, Edwards was re-signed by D.C. United for the 2020 season. He was released by D.C. United on November 30, 2020.

Loudoun United

Edwards has appeared in games for D.C. United's affiliate club,

Loudoun United Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History On July 18, 2018, the team was offi ...

. He appeared the first time for Loudoun United in a game against the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

on March 31, 2019. He was able to keep a clean sheet in his debut as the game ended 0-0.

New England Revolution

On December 19, 2020, Edwards joined MLS side

ahead of their 2021 season.

International

Edwards was a member of the United States under-17 squad that competed at the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...

in Nigeria.

Honours

New England Revolution *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

*
UCLA Bruins bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Earl 1992 births Living people American soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Ventura County Fusion players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players D.C. United players Loudoun United FC players New England Revolution players New England Revolution II players Association football goalkeepers Soccer players from San Diego Orlando City SC draft picks USL League Two players USL Championship players USL League One players United States men's youth international soccer players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players