While the men’s side had four of its players head to the pros at the end of a landmark 2012 season for the Georgetown soccer programs, it was sophomore midfielder Daphne Corboz who made the biggest individual mark.
Despite playing out of position on the wing as a freshman,Corboz received both Big East all-rookie team and third team all-Big East honors. The thought of what she could do if allowed to roam the middle of the pitch — as she prefers — had become scary.
As it turned out, that nightmare for opponents became a reality in her second season, with Corboz given the offensive keys in Head Coach Dave Nolan’s adjusted 4-3-3 formation starting the next spring.
“I just got out of her way,” Nolan told The Hoya in August.
She registered 12 goals and 27 points in conference action, as well as 18 goals overall, good for 10thin the country. Almost as impressive as goal totals was her ability to adapt under increased scrutiny from opponents.
“I think she has started to figure out a little better how to deal with the special attention,” Nolan said late in the season.
Five of Corboz’s tallies came in an 8-0 romp Sept. 30 at Pittsburgh, with her 11 points against the Panthers marking an all-time Big East record. With highlight-reel worthy performances like that one, her Big East offensive player of the year nod was no shock to any who followed the conference closely. The honor marked the second time in five years that a Georgetown player had brought home the coveted award, with Class of 2009 forward Sara Jordan the last Hoya to win it in her senior year.
But Corboz’s recognition was hardly limited to the scope of the Big East, as she was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference offensive player of the year, a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy and a first-team All-American. With the last honor, Corboz was again continuing a tradition, as Class of 2012 forward Ingrid Wells had been named an All-American in both her junior and senior years.
Corboz was also more recently named the only sophomore on Soccer America’s First Team Most Valuable Player squad, and she accepted her first invitation to a U.S. Under-23 women’s national team training camp in April.
Add to that the fact that, following the graduation of senior starting defenders Claire Magliola and Christina O’Tousa, Corboz will be relied upon on the Hilltop even more for her leadership in addition to her offense.
Just one more thing to which Corboz will need to adapt.
