Three hundred and thirteen miles north of Portland is the small town of Tsawwassen, British Columbia. The quiet community is about a half-hour drive from the heart of downtown Vancouver. Best known as a retirement destination, Tsawwassen is home to sophomore soccer player Erik Edwardson.
As a young child, Edwardson’s first dream was to become a marine biologist. But he also has early memories of being on the soccer pitch at six years old. Since the days of nine-goal games, what was once a little itch of interest, has grown into a full fledged passion that has come to a peak in the form of playing in front of the home crowd on Merlo Field.
After scoring two goals and recording two assists this season, Edwardson has become an irreplaceable weapon on the field.
“Erik takes more pride in wearing the Portland jersey than anyone I’ve ever seen,” sophomore goalkeeper Kienan Weekes said. “He’s so proud everyday to go out to training and games to put on his purple uniform.”
As a pre-teen, an invite to join the prospects team for Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps set the stage for Edwardson’s soccer success. The offer was extended only to top-ranked players in lower British Columbia. He soon began traveling abroad as a member of the team.
At age 16, Edwardson’s soccer skills took him to Germany. A representative of Fusion FC, where Edwardson played at the club level, took a few stand-out players in the program to Germany every few summers to learn from European coaches. Edwardson and two of his friends were invited on the trip in 2012. After impressing a scout, they were asked to come back overseas for a longer stint the following year. So for a six-month period in 2013, Edwardson and his buddies lived in Germany with the scout and his family.
“I missed my parents and sister so much [in Germany],” Edwardson said. “But I was doing it for a reason. Soccer is what I was focused on.”
And focus he did. Edwardson’s training included working with Bayern Munich, one of Europe’s top professional soccer clubs, twice a week.
Despite living in other countries for soccer, Edwardson has maintained constant communication with his loved ones through text and Skype. His family has made it a point to catch some of his games on The Bluff.
“Living in Germany to learn and play soccer was a huge step for Erik in Grades 11 and 12,” Erik’s father, Chris Edwardson, said. “He’s made a lot of sacrifices.”
Off the field, Edwardson is shy. He walks around campus in his signature all black, self described “slim, sleek and modern” outfits. In many ways, his unique fashion sense speaks louder than his voice.
“Once you get Erik to open up, he is one of the most caring and likeable people you’ll ever meet,” Weekes said.
Edwardson has never been much of talker, but he leads by example. This makes the Canadian’s presence invaluable for the Pilots.
He is committed to helping the Pilots get back to the post-season in 2015. They have struggled through eight games, but says the key to a turnaround is taking momentum from the Sept. 17 victory over No. 8 Oregon State.
Head coach Bill Irwin has noticed the growth and maturity in the sophomore striker. “He has started to read the game better,” Irwin said. “He has worked around the fact that [opposing teams] have a scouting report on him from his first year.”
Edwardson simply wants to win.
“I want to make sure I do what I can for the team,” Edwardson said. “If that means scoring goals or even playing a more defensive role when I have to, that’s what I want to do.”
He is confident he has what it takes to play professionally.
“With the work I’m putting in, and the improvement that I’m seeing year-by-year, day-by-day, [a professional soccer career] is something I believe that I can achieve,” Edwardson said.
Ben Arthur is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He reached be reached by email at arthur17@up.edu or on Twitter @KingArthur_425.
