Midfielder Dan Metzger settles the ball in the Terps’ 2-1 loss to Notre Dame during the championship match of the College Cup on Dec. 15, 2013 at PPL Park.
D.C. United selected Terrapins men’s soccer defensive midfielder Dan Metzger with the 42nd overall pick in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
Though TopDrawerSoccer.com listed Metzger as the fifth-best prospect entering the draft, Metzger dropped to the final pick of the second round, marking the first time since 2010 that a Terp wasn’t selected in the first round.
“Guess they saved the best for last,” Metzger said on stage after he was drafted.
Metzger, who led the Terps with 2,026 minutes played in 2014, capped his four-year career with a selection to the All-Big Ten First Team. He scored three goals and added two assists while anchoring a defense that turned in nine shutouts.
Metzger participated in the first day of the 2015 MLS Combine earlier this month before sustaining an injury that kept him out for the rest of the event.
The Holmdel, New Jersey, native opted to shed his Homegrown Player tag with the New York Red Bulls, citing their reliance on older players.
“With the Red Bulls, for me, they bring in all these top players, which is fine and everything,” Metzger told SBISoccer.com. “They want to win and everything, but it makes you realize how you’re going to fit in there when you’re playing with players like Thierry Henry, obviously, and Tim Cahill.”
Metzger will join another former Terp, Taylor Kemp, with D.C. United.
