The University of Maryland announced Friday that goalkeeper Zack Steffen has signed with Bundesliga club Freiburg, ending his college career after two exceptional seasons.

Steffen, a member of the U.S. under-20 national team, is widely regarded as one of the top young goalkeeping prospects in American soccer.

“My time at Maryland has been nothing short of spectacular,” Steffen said. “I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for an amazing two years in College Park. While at Maryland, I’ve had a chance to develop both on the field and off and I am excited to take the next step in my soccer career. I’d also like to thank the fans – the best in all of college soccer – for their incredible support.”

His destination was first reported by the Insider early this week. Goal.com first reported he was going overseas.

Steffen, 19, was part of the Philadelphia Union’s youth program but chose to go abroad instead of signing with MLS as a homegrown player.

With Steffen manning the net, the Terrapins reached the College Cup championship game in 2013 and entered this year’s tournament as the No. 4 seed before being upset by UMBC in the second round. This year, he played every minute in 22 matches and posted a 0.84 goals against average with nine shutouts. As a freshman, he started all 26 games and was the defensive MVP of the College Cup.

Steffen is the first Terrapin to leave school early and sign directly with a European club since Robbie Rogers in 2005. Rogers, now with the Los Angeles Galaxy, played one season at Maryland before signing with Dutch club Heerenveen.

Freiburg is 16th in the 18-team Bundesliga through 14 matches. Roman Buerki, a 24-year-old from the Swiss national team, has started every game. Freiburg’s other two goalkeepers are German, ages 25 and 23.

Terrapins Coach Sasho Cirovski had braced for Steffen’s early departure.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Zack and we could not be more proud of him,” Cirovski said. “Zack is going to have a long and prosperous soccer career and we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to help Zack in his growth both as a player and as a person. On behalf of all of Terp Nation, we wish Zack nothing but the absolute best.”

Maryland had two other goalkeepers this year: senior Jordan Tatum and junior Cody Niedermeier, a D.C. United academy recruit with no NCAA appearances.