He graduated from Poway High as a junior so he could enter college a year early, and he went to Notre Dame because he wanted, in his words, “to get out of my comfort zone” and “play where people don't know me and I have to prove myself.”

He graduated from Notre Dame a semester early and passed on a sure Major League Soccer contract for the uncertainties of Europe, for a place and teams and general managers where a résumé filled with American trophies and awards and honors meant nothing.

Dalby was named national high school player of the year by both Gatorade and Parade magazine. He was a three-time prep All-American and a two-time collegiate All-American. He played on the U.S. youth national teams at the under-16, under-17, under-18, under-20 and under-23 levels, captaining the U-20 team at the 2005 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands. He still was the 17th overall pick of the 2007 MLS Superdraft even though he made it clear he planned to play in Europe.

All that got him were trials at clubs in four countries and a seat on the bench at a mid-table team in the Juliper League, as the Belgian first division is called.

“Accolades from previous years are great,” says Dalby, who has spent most of his career as a defensive midfielder or central defender, “but it doesn't add up to a whole lot once you make that leap to a professional.”

He's not complaining, mind you, merely stating what every young professional soccer player quickly learns. That there are no free lunches, no free passes. That you start over when you are being paid to play.

“I've always wanted to do this, to go to Europe and play, so I went ahead and did it,” Dalby says. “It didn't work out the way I wanted. It was a pretty tough situation. But I learned a lot, and it was still a great life experience.”

One lesson is that sometimes the known is better than the unknown, and accordingly Dalby is back playing in the States, signing a three-year deal with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He's making $33,000 this season, a pay cut from what he would have commanded in Europe, but he's also at a place that, as he puts it, “might be the best environment to encourage a young pro to develop, an environment to set myself up to do well.”

Dalby's European odyssey began shortly after the MLS players combine in January 2007. He trained with Preston North End in England's first division (a notch below the Premiership) and was soon offered a contract.

Since the winter transfer window had closed and he was essentially ineligible to join a foreign club until the summer, he figured he'd go on trial elsewhere across Europe. So he did. Scotland's Celtic. Germany's FC Nuremberg. Italy's AS Siena. England's Sheffield United.

Preston North End seemed to be the best situation. He needed a British work permit, but he was given a fair chance considering his regular presence on U.S. youth national teams.

Assuming, that is, the application was actually filed. It wasn't.

Dalby and Preston realized the work permit snafu in mid-August, two weeks before the summer transfer window closed and too late to rectify. He scrambled to find another club, signing a one-year deal with Charleroi SC. Within days he was living in a French-speaking region of southern Belgium.

Dalby learned French. He took side trips to European capitals on off days. He made new friends.

But the coach got fired shortly after he arrived, and Dalby never gained favor with his replacement, appearing in a handful of reserve games and first-team exhibitions. There are 34 matches in the Belgian regular season. He played zero minutes.

He has this going for him, though: He's 22, younger than many college seniors.

In July he signed with the Rapids, which still held his rights from the 2007 MLS draft. He began getting minutes, only to badly sprain an ankle. He's getting healthy again and was on the substitute list for Sunday's 3-2 loss against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Rapids (10-14-4) travel to The Home Depot Center in Carson again this weekend, facing Chivas USA Sunday in their penultimate match of the regular season. If Dalby plays, it would be his first match in Southern California since his sophomore year of college.

“I felt it was important to be somewhere where I had a chance to play,” Dalby says, “and that was here.”

Mark Zeigler: (619) 293-2205; mark.zeigler@uniontrib.com