Cassidy Corcione, a student and soccer player at Freehold Township High School, has missed her junior season after tearing her ACL. Even though the star forward will not be available on the pitch this season, Corcione has already made her commitment to continue her academic and athletic career at Clemson University once she graduates high school.
Cassidy Corcione (Photo by Michael Franco - JSN)
From Howell to PDA
Corcione started her soccer career at the age of three at a local team that nicknamed her team the Peanuts. She then decided go play at Howell United which was considered a travel team. After spending some time at Howell, Corcione decided she wanted to find a more competitive team to play with.
"[Howell] was more for fun, and I wanted to be more competitive so that's when I decided to stop playing there," she said.
Her competitive nature allowed her to find a home with a Red Bulls Summer Select team. She stated that she knew a lot of the guys because they trained together at a Red Bulls training on Wednesday nights at Monroe Sports Center. A coach that trained her group thought that making a girls program for the select team was a good idea.
"I joined [Red Bulls] just to play over the summer so that I can see what team I wanted to join," Corcione said. PDA coach, Nick Heinemann, approached Corcione after her first Red Bulls game asking her to join the organization. After a little bit of thinking, she decided to go along with Heinemann and make PDA her new home.
Even as a young soccer player, the people around her knew she had what it took to be successful. Upon joining PDA, Corcione was placed in the 2004/2005 team even though she was born in 2006. When the players on her team started entering high school, the team split into two separate rosters specific to the age group. When this occurred, Corcione was placed with the '05 team, playing with girls a year older. As a younger player, playing with the older girls helped her improve her game.
"I feel like they were just more mature body wise and they're more physical. When I would play with that team, I would be passing the ball under two seconds, and then I would go back to my own age and then [the game speed] would feel a little bit slower," she said.
Corcione mentioned that even though the game was slower, playing with her age compared to the older girls, she felt that she helped the people around her. "Then I would help the people around me, but at the same time I feel like I was just a little step ahead with the speed of play, how strong I was and I got to play 11 v 11 before everyone else did," she said.
High School and All-American
Going into high school, Corcione thought the season would be similar to what she experienced in middle school. She realized quickly that it was not the case. There was a lot more technology, but she liked the fact that she had the opportunity to watch her games back.
"There's a lot more sports media and technology in it," she said about high school soccer. She recalls a game during her freshman year where she scored the winning goal with a couple seconds left in the game. She remembered her first interview right after that game. "I remember picking my nails and I didn't know what to say," Corcione said. "It's just really cool to see that it's not just the soccer people, but it's for all sports."
As she started her high school career, Corcione would receive small awards, but as her team became more successful, she started to see the big accolades flow in. As only one of two sophomores that year, Corcione was a part of the 2021 All-American Team.
"I got the All-American, and I didn't really know what it meant. When I actually went to the ceremony in Kansas City, I saw everyone around me and was like, 'so these are all the people that are like legit'," she said.
She mentioned that earning this award also motivated her to be better than she already was.
As a freshman and sophomore, Corcione received the honors of First Team All-Shore and All-Conference. In her previous season as a sophomore, she added First Team All-State and New Jersey Player of the Year.
"I feel like as you get more awards, people think that you need to get it every single year," she said. "For me, I just want to win. I want to win A North Shore conference in states every single year."
When preparing for her games, Corcione likes to have fun. She doesn't like to take it too seriously because the pressure on herself intensifies.
"If I focus on taking the game too seriously, then I put more pressure on myself and I start to overthink," she said. She did mention over her high school years that she has had some superstitions for upcoming games. During her sophomore year, she insisted on wearing a pair of socks that had a really big hole in the ankle. If those weren't the socks out of the washer, she would have to find those exact socks. Freshman year, she made sure to have a Celsius before each of her games - before it became the popular drink it is today.
Of course, Corcione plans to recover from her ACL injury and return for her senior season at Freehold Township and for PDA. One main goal remains the same - winning. She wants to win another state title and get her second ring of her high school career.
Cassidy Corcione Called Up to the U16 USWNT
Like when she was informed she was on the All-American team, Corcione did not fully understand at first what she was about to do. Once she got to camp, she realized that the people around her were just as good or better than her. When she was younger, Corcione went to training camps with people that are around her area. As she got older, she started traveling the country with the team. She recalled that last year she went to Oregon to train.
Playing with people from all over the country brought many different styles of play together. It allowed for the players to expand their knowledge of the game from each other. Corcione admitted that being in an environment like the national team helped her get better.
"It is tough [to mesh the styles together], but I feel like the best players are able to adapt to hard situations like that. Everyone's best ability will mesh together and we learn off of each other," she said.
For me, I just want to win. I want to win A North Shore conference in states every single year.
One of the changes Corcione has to endure while playing with the national team is that instead of playing as a forward, she plays outside back. "At first I was like, I would play anywhere because I want to be on the field. Then I was like, if I can help the team win and stay more quiet and laid back and save goals instead of scoring them," she said. "If there's a breakaway on the other team and I save a goal and I win the game for the team by not scoring, I feel like that made me feel better about myself."
Earlier this year, in May, Corcione was set to travel to Sweden with the U16 National Team. The unimaginable happened when she tore her ACL a few days before she was set to leave. She arrived to her makeup game a few minutes late because she had a call with the national team before hand. Her pregame routine wasn't her usual, and when she went to step for the ball, she felt the pop in her knee.
"As soon as I felt it, I knew I was not going [to Sweden] because I'm the person that slide tackles and gets right up," she said.
Corcione is now four and a half months post-op from her ACL surgery. Now is the most difficult part of her recovery because it's focused on building back the strength that was lost. "Right now I'm just constantly lifting and kind of just getting my fitness back because I'm starting to jog faster and with more body percentage," she said.
Clemson is Home
Even though Corcione remains out of her high school and club season this year, she committed to play at Clemson University when she graduates. Tearing her ACL is definitely unfortunate, but it allows her to strive to get better, so when she enters college, she'll be prepared for the higher level of play.
She mentions that when college became a topic in her mind, she didn't really know what she wanted. "A lot of the girls I'm around with in New Jersey are all New Jersey schools or Ivy League, and I'm always surrounded by those type of people, but I knew I was a little different," she said.
She focused on finding a school that fit her academic and athletic goals. After she got injured, she figured out she wanted to study physical therapy. Corcione narrowed her list down to a few schools, and decided to go on four out of her five official visits.
"You just have this feeling that you can't really explain. Every school I went to, I just kept thinking about Clemson," she said.
Current Season
Even though Corcione won't be taking the pitch the rest of the year, her teammates at Freehold Township High School are getting closer and closer to their next title. After defeating New Brunswick, 9-0, in the first round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 Tournament, Freehold Township will host Hillsborough in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 29.
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