Former Terps Earn Caps With United States Men's Soccer National Team
6/9/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
June 9, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Former Maryland men's soccer standouts Dan Califf and Maurice Edu earned caps with the United States National Team in recent friendlies against England, Spain, and Argentina. Edu earned time in all three matches with a start against Spain while Califf was in the starting 11 versus Argentina.
In addition to Califf and Edu on the rosters, Robbie Rogers and Chris Seitz were named to the 33-man player pool by head coach Bob Bradley on May 15. The United States played these three matches in preparation for its opening match of FIFA World Cup qualifying. The stars and stripes will take on Barbados in a Second Round series beginning June 15 at Home Depot Center in California. The game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT and will be aired live on ESPN2. The second leg of the series will be played on June 22 in Barbados.
Califf, who plays professionally with FC Midtjylland in Denmark, earned his 17th career cap with a start on defense against Argentina on June 8 at Giants Stadium. The teams played to a scoreless draw in front of a Giants Stadium record crowd of 78,682.
Edu appeared in all three games and improved his cap total to seven. He played the entire second half against Argentina, which is the No. 1 team in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings.
Edu earned a start against Spain, ranked No. 4 in the world, on June 4 at Estadio El Sardinero. Edu played the entire 90 minutes in the match as the US tested Spain in a 1-0 loss. Xavi Hernandez scored in the 79th minute for the Spaniards while Eddie Johnson had a goal called back on an offsides call. Spain extended its unbeated streak to 18 matches with the win.
The United States opened the three-game swing in London with a 2-0 setback against England on May 28. Edu entered the friendly in the 78th minute against the No. 9 team in the world. The game was played at famed Wembley Stadium in front of 71,233 spectators. It was the second time in history that the US played in London.
Edu has played in five of the United States' six international matches this year. He is one of six players to play in five games which is a team best. The list also includes Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Eddie Lewis, and Oguchi Onyewu.
Edu, the reigning MLS Rookie of the Year after being drafted No. 1 overall by Toronto FC, has started 10 games in the midfield and has contributed a goal on the offensive end. Toronto is currently 5-4-2 and sits in fourth place in the East.
