Freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz and senior midfielder Daphne Corboz, who both excelled on the Georgetown women’s soccer team this season, have been selected to train with the U.S. national team at the U-20 and U-23 levels, respectively.

Both sisters will travel to Spain in late February to participate in a national team camp that will last about 12 days before rejoining the Georgetown squad in early March on their training tour of Spain, which will include stops in Barcelona and Madrid.

Georgetown Head Coach Dave Nolan said that both players read the game at a very high level and have technical skill uncommon in most U.S. players.

“First and foremost, it’s a reflection on their form over the last year,” Nolan said of the sisters’ selection to the team. “Daphne had a stellar senior season of her collegiate career, and Rachel turned a few heads as a freshman playing in a team that was pretty much dominated by her sister’s play. … More importantly, these two are not typical American soccer players. Their game is based on far more than just athletic ability. … Both of them are the type of player who have been lacking in U.S. Soccer.”

At the same time, however, Nolan cautions extensive comparison of the two sisters.

“It’s a little bit unfair to compare them because I think they are two different types of players,” Nolan said. “They play the same position – and they look alike to an extent – but they play the position differently. I would feel Rachel still has a lot of potential that she can reach. There’s a very big upside for Rachel. But the reality is, if Rachel finishes her career at the same level or close to what Daphne did, that’s an incredible career.”

Rachel said that despite having experience with three previous U.S. national team camps, she still gets nervous in advance of such an event. She hopes to take one major idea back with her from training with the country’s best and from facing tough international competition from players hailing from countries such as Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

“When you go into camps, there’s not a bad player,” Rachel Corboz said. “Everyone’s at the top level; everyone’s really good. I’ve realized how much the girls really want it, and they work so hard. [I’m] trying to reciprocate that with having our whole [Georgetown] team want it and want to be out there on the field playing.”

In the middle of a typical Georgetown day, the freshman was surprised when she received the news from the camp’s coordinator that she would be heading to Spain with the U-20 team.

“I was actually eating lunch in Leo’s by myself when I got the email,” Rachel Corboz said. “I was very excited, but I couldn’t share my excitement with anyone. I texted my family right away, and it was super exciting.”

On the Hoyas’ team, Rachel Corboz is hoping to help mitigate the loss of her senior sister, who set a Georgetown single-season record for assists with 18 in 2014 and claimed the titles of Big East Midfielder of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.

Daphne Corboz will travel to play in a U-23 tournament in La Manga; she has already played in five U.S. camps. She sees the camp as the developing ground for the full national team and relishes the opportunity to improve her game against some of the world’s best players.

“Going to camps at the U-23 [level] has helped me exponentially, to play with such amazing players,” Daphne Corboz said. “I learn so much from them; I learn so much from the coaches and from the environment. I definitely think I’ve grown a lot in terms of speed of play, in watching other people play. … It will be really beneficial because we’ll have to face different styles of play and different perspectives on the game.”

Nolan believes that the camp will provide Daphne with the chance to solidify her place in the national picture despite significant American competition in the attacking midfield.

But for the younger Corboz sister, Nolan sees a different kind of opportunity.

“It’ll give Rachel great confidence,” Nolan said. “Everyone that’s been around Rachel has a lot of confidence in her. I think sometimes she needs to realize how good she is and step up a little bit. It’ll help next year maybe not having Daphne there because the focus will be more on her. … It’s her time to step out of her sister’s shadow, and the national chance helps forge her identity as ‘Rachel’ rather than as ‘Daphne’s younger sister.’”