When the men's soccer team lost to Duke University in the second round of the NCAA tournament this fall, Andrew Daniels '07 thought his soccer career was over. "Obviously, we had a bitter taste in our mouths from the loss," he said. "But I was completely content with the way my four years (at Brown) went playing college soccer."
But on Jan. 12, Daniels was given an opportunity to continue his playing career when he was selected 18th overall in the 2007 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by FC Dallas.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Head Coach Mike Noonan notified Daniels that he would be one of the players invited to the MLS combine January 4-7 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It took a little while for the news to settle in.
"Honestly, I didn't really think about the combine all that much when I first heard about it," he said. "When I got home for Thanksgiving, I was sending out my resume and trying to make contacts to get another job."
When Daniels arrived at the combine, he was loose and focused. "I wasn't really nervous when I got there," he said. "I just made sure to have fun and play my game."
Part of "playing his game" meant that Daniels would display his versatility. Daniels played forward his entire career at Brown and for most of his soccer life. However, in one of the games at the combine, a midfielder went down with an injury which forced a center back to play in the midfield. The injury left a void in the defense and Daniels' coach asked him if he could fill that position.
"When the coach first asked me to play center back, I was a little reluctant," he said. "I played there during the spring season two years ago, so I had a little experience there, but I wasn't overly thrilled about playing there again."
Daniels' strong performance on the backline raised eyebrows by showing he could help prevent goals as well as he could score them.
Daniels is the third player in three years that Noonan has seen drafted. FC Dallas also drafted goalkeeper Chris Gomez '05 in 2005 and Keith Caldwell '06 was chosen by the Colorado Rapids in last year's MLS Supplemental Draft. Daniels credits Noonan's system in preparing him for MLS, especially his emphasis on instruction.
"(Noonan) really does a good job teaching all the aspects of the game," he said. "He teaches all the mental and physical aspects of soccer. He really does a good job teaching versatility which is a big reason why players develop under him."
Even after a strong showing at the combine, Daniels was still unsure if he would get drafted. However, right before the draft, he got a call from Noonan that changed his mind.
"Coach called me and told me that the (Los Angeles) Galaxy was looking at me and they were picking 20th," he said. "That was right after they signed David Beckham, so there was a lot (of coverage) surrounding them."
Although Daniels watched the draft in New York City with forward Jamie Granger '07 and Granger's brother, only the first round of the draft was televised, so the three raced to Granger's brother's apartment in order to find the second round results.
"We watched the first round at this bar in Manhattan," Daniels said. "But after the first round was over, we took the subway all the way back to Brooklyn to find out where or if I got drafted."
Daniels discovered that he had been drafted in a very unorthodox manner. After arriving back at the apartment, he logged onto a computer and scrolled down all the picks to see if he found his name.
"I looked at all the picks and saw my name at 18th," Daniels said. "At that moment I was very overwhelmed. It was like everything that I had been working for had finally paid off."
Soon after Daniels found out the good news, Dallas' head coach and general manager called to congratulate him. Now, Daniels is back on campus for the start of the semester, but in two weeks he will travel to Dallas to begin training with the team. The team has exhibitions in Puerto Rico and Brazil that Daniels wants to take part in.
Amid the excitement of being drafted, Daniels is still focused on graduating.
"I have come this far, and graduating is very important to me," he said. "The MLS is weird. Once you get drafted, they expect you to drop everything and alter your life for them. This is a great opportunity for me, but graduating is still a top priority."
Daniels will be in Dallas from February until late March. While he is there, he plans on taking classes at a neighboring university in order to fulfill the requirements he needs to graduate. Despite having so many obligations, Daniels is very excited for the opportunity to play professionally.
"To play soccer as a job is a dream come true," he said. "I have been playing soccer for a large portion of my life, so to be able to continue that is excellent."
