When we originally started Obscure Metro Files, our goal was to profile the fleeting player, one who Metro career was just a blip on the radar. The scope has expanded over the years, as we moved into discussing players who might have had a larger role, but are now destined to be forgotten. Such is the case today with Matt Knowles and Jeff Zaun.

When MLS was created, its ten teams had to be stacked with players. Each team got four (later increased to five) allocations, and a 16-round draft was instituted for the initial load. This is how Metro ended up with Giovanni Savarese... and Knowles, and Zaun.

Brian McBride, Robin Fraser, Mark Chung, Paul Bravo, Raul Diaz Arce... those were half of your first-round selections. With the ninth overall pick, Metro went with Knowles. And don't get us wrong, Knowles was a great player. Great INDOOR player" the self-titled "Pele of indoor soccer".

From 1993 to 1996, Knowles played for the Milwaukee Wave of the NPSL. He was an indoor terror, winning Defender of the Year honors at will and scoring goals left and right (during the 1995-96 season, an astonishing(?) 47 of them). Somehow, the crack Metro staff decided that indoor prowess will translate to outdoor, so Knowles was nabbed, one pick before Diaz Arce. He made his debut as a substitute in the inaugural opener.

Was Knowles a good OUTDOOR player? He certainly wasn't as terrible as some of his teammates. Playing mostly at left back and some in the middle, he appeared in 24 matches in 1996. He never did find the back of the net... except in the shootout, where his indoor skills paid off, as Knowles went a perfect 3-for-3. But then the offseason came, and he returned to his first love... indoor.

Injured during the 1996-97 indoor season, Knowles would appear in only four games for Metro in 1997. More indoor play followed, and then another four games in 1998, before Metro finally gave up, shipping him to Miami for a third round draft pick. Knowles would end his MLS career after playing out the string with the Fusion, and then -- you guessed it -- went back indoors. Cleveland Crunch, Philadelphia KiXX, Detroit Rockers, Harrisburg Heat, Kansas City Comets... well, some players are not just suited for the big leagues.

Zaun was taken in the inaugural draft's fourth round: one pick after San Jose took Rhett Harty and one pick before DC took Richie Williams. A local star at Rutgers who spent time with the minor league North Jersey Imperials, Zaun looked to be a decent draft pick. But when time came to play, he really did not distinguish himself. Zaun spent most of his time at right back, but also appeared at center back and at defensive midfield. Like Knowles, he never found the back of the net for Metro (or recorded an assist), and he didn't even have the distinction of shootout success. Zaun did last a little longer than his earlier-drafted teammate, continuing through the end of the 1998 season.

In February of 1999, Zaun was waived. He would join another less-than-successful Metro, Kerry Zavagnin, in playing during the lone season of the A-League's Lehigh Valley Steam. Unlike Zavagnin, he did not find MLS success elsewhere. Zaun's return to the league consisted of a solitary game in 1999 for Chicago. He retired as a player soon after, and joined the staff at Rutgers. Since 2010, he has coached the U-14 team at Red Bull's academy.

Alright, so maybe that last part makes him a tad less obscure. Just a tad.