Soccer Phenom Corboz Chooses Georgetown

Watchung Hills senior midfielder Daphne Corboz brought the Watchung Hills girls soccer team to new heights. And she’s hoping to have a similar impact at Georgetown.

Corboz, the all-time leading scorer in Warriors’ history, accepted a scholarship to play for the Hoyas starting in the fall of 2011. She signed her letter of intent on Feb. 4.

Corboz also considered Princeton, Dartmouth and Rutgers, but felt Georgetown was the best fit for her.

“They had the best balance of academics and athletics and that’s what I was ultimately looking for, to be in Washington, DC, with the culture and everything, is going to be a great experience,” said Corboz, who garnered a 2010 first-team all-state selection.

As soon as she stepped on the field at Watchung Hills, Corboz knew there was a chance she could play at the next level.

“Freshman year was when I first got interest from colleges, but it wasn’t anything serious.  At the end of sophomore year, it becomes a little bit more,” Corboz, who holds Watchung Hills’ career records for goals, assists and points, said.  “Then once junior year started, it was actually when I began trying to find the place that I wanted to go to.  Since I was looking at good academic schools, they had to wait until January and by February [2010] I had committed verbally.”

During her decorated four-year varsity career at Watchung Hills, Corboz excelled while playing both forward and midfield. And her former coach, Peter Lubrecht, believes that she’ll be able to meet any future challenges that come her way.

“Nothing she does is an accident.  She’ll work every single aspect of the game and if you ask her to do something, she’ll take it very seriously,” said Lubrecht, who completed his 12th season at Watchung Hills in the fall. “That was the last challenge. ‘Can you lead?  Can you make others better?’  And she did.”

Corboz, whose creativity, joy and passion for the game are unparalleled, said playing for Watchung Hills was special because of her affinity toward the area. 

“Playing with your friends, the interaction with the community… it’s important to identify yourself, and to compete and fight for your team and your school,” she said.

Corboz’s senior season couldn’t have been written any better if a Hollywood director scripted it.  The Warriors’ soccer team not only won the county title, but also captured North Jersey II Group IV state sectional title as well, beating bitter foe Bridgewater-Raritan in the final.

“It was definitely something I never expected and I couldn’t have dreamed of a better senior season.  It’s such a hard county that that tournament is a really big deal,” said Corboz, who was named All-Conference in each of her four years with the Warriors. “I had lost on the state finals in my sophomore year.  I told myself, ‘I can’t make my sophomore year the farthest I get in states.’  Fortunately, we won and it was awesome because it was against Bridgewater, our rivals and it was at home.”

Lubrecht agreed.

“I know it was everything. She accomplished so much as a player [individually], pretty much everything you could want,” Lubrecht said. “We made the state sectional finals when she was a sophomore and I know being there and not winning that day, really left something with her. I know it was really important to her.”

Outside of high school soccer, Corboz is a captain of her club team, the PDA Tsunami, which recently won the U17 national championship.  She’s participated in tournaments all over the country, including Las Vegas, Orlando, and North Carolina.

Other soccer achievements for Corboz include being a NSCAA High School All-American 2010, two-time All Group IV, three-time All Area and three-time All County while playing for the Warriors.

Off the field, Corboz serves as a volunteer coach of the U11 PDA Gunners girl’s soccer team. This past summer, Corboz worked at the PDA Team Camp and the Pingry Soccer Camp.

Corboz also excels in the classroom. She is an AP Scholar, and is part of the National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, and English National Honors Society. She has plans to major in pre-med, which should prove to be an admirable profession if her soccer career beyond college doesn’t go as far as she hopes.

“I’m personally really excited to get to college and play at that high level and continue to develop as a player, because I know that’s the next level.  Hopefully, I can keep going after that,” said Corboz, who began playing organized soccer at the age seven.

“Obviously, every girl’s dream is to play in the Olympics of the US National team and the World Cup but I hope after college I’ll be able to spend a few years in the women’s professional soccer league,” Corboz added.

Lubrecht is confident she’ll be able to make all her dreams become a reality at Georgetown.

“It’s fantastic.  I want all our student athletes to be successful, not just my own.  It is nice that somebody can carry the tradition of our program to the next level.  I know she will…. I know she’ll represent herself really well,” said Lubrecht.  “Anything that Daphne accomplishes is not by accident.  She will succeed at Georgetown…there’s no question.”