MetroFanatic: Dan, let's go back a few years. Were you ever offered to sign an academy deal out of college?
Dan Metzger: Not really, not at all. I took my options elsewhere, with going into the draft.

MF: Why?
DM: Just because I thought it would open up more opportunities for me. I knew there were a bunch of guys they were looking at at my position, so I figured it would give me more options to play right away. Unfortunately, it didn't work out with DC.

MF: Unfortunately?
DM: Yeah, unfortunately.

MF: You signed with the league before the draft, and then they cut you. That was probably not very good.
DM: Yeah, that's unfortunate, but it's part of the business. Luckily, I didn't burn any of my bridges here, I had a good relationship with Wolyniec and all the coaching staff here, so really didn't skip a beat when I came back and worked my way up.

MF: When you got cut my DC, did you look elsewhere?
DM: It sucked when it happened. When that happened, it was late in the process of trying to find a team. I went through the waiver list like anyone else would, waited out, nothing really happened. I knew I'd probably have a spot here, so I talked to Wolyniec, and it worked out. Two good years under my belt, and now I'm here.

MF: Let's talk about winning the championship with the USL team last year.
DM: Yeah, that was great. We had a really great squad, and the staff did a really good job of bringing down the first team guys and making it easy for us to transition to games, because we both try to play the same style. We had a great group and it was a really fun year.

MF: When did the first team become on the table for you?
DM: When I tore my ACL, before that it was maybe in the thoughts, but we're not too sure about that. Once I torn my ACL, I knew I had another year with my option. Towards the end of the year, once we finished and we won, I started to talk more and more with Jesse and the coaches and my agent, and we finally got it settled.

MF: Overall, it took a long time, but are you happy with how it went?
DM: I wouldn't say happy, obviously I would have liked to be in the league the whole time, but that's how these things work out sometimes, and I think it made me a stronger player and a better person. So I'm happy where I'm at now.