Two years ago Maurice Edu was entering the final season of his career with the Terrapins men’s soccer team. Now, after being named Major League Soccer’s 2007 Rookie of the Year and earning seven international appearances with the U.S. National Team, Edu looks back at his collegiate soccer days as an essential part of his development.

The 22-year-old midfielder is an example of a college player who has succeeded early in his post-college career, despite the common notion that the college system does a poor job of preparing players for the professional game.

“I got so much better from my freshman year to when I left,” Edu said. “Maryland is the closest to being professional as you’re going to find in college soccer.”Judging by the number of Terps involved with the U.S. National Team recently, Edu might be right.

Besides Edu, who appeared in all three of the team’s recent friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina, former Terp defender Dan Califf received playing time for the USA, starting June 8 against Argentina. Forward Robbie Rogers and goalkeeper Chris Seitz were part of the team’s 33-man player pool for the World Cup qualifying team.

The Terps coaching staff, which Edu called “first rate,” is a big reason why so many former Terps are succeeding at the national level.

Edu has one memory of Terps coach Sasho Cirovski that stands out, even if it isn’t particularly flattering.

“We were in the locker room n the trailer at halftime of a game we were down and playing terrible in,” Edu said. “Coach comes in, and he’s yelling and screaming. He kicked the door of the trailer so hard that it came back and hit him. It was hard not to laugh.”

Despite his exuberance in that situation, Cirovski’s coaching worked, and in 2005 Edu was a key player on the Terps national championship squad.

Working mainly out of the midfield, Edu tallied 10 goals and 11 assists in his three-year college career. He was named a first team NSCAA All-American in 2006, after scoring five game-winning goals that season.

Toronto FC selected him with the first pick of the 2007 MLS Draft and he won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award. Edu has become an important young player in the U.S. Soccer system. He earned his first cap (appearance in international competition) against Switzerland in October of 2007.

“It’s definitely great any time you go out there and represent your country,” said Edu, who was named to the national team’s World Cup qualifying roster on June 11.

Edu was put in the spotlight early this month when he started against Spain, the No. 4-ranked team in the world according to FIFA, then played the entire second half against No. 1 Argentina four days later.

“It’s definitely a good experience, learning against the best players in the world,” he said. “You try to measure yourself against them and see where you’re at and where you have to get better.”

The game against Argentina ended in a scoreless draw in front of a crowd of 78,682 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Now Edu is back with Toronto and in the middle of his second MLS season.

But despite his early professional success and the recent opportunity to play against some of the best players in the world, Edu said he remembers where he was just two years ago – developing his skills as a Terp, right here in College Park.

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