Milwaukie’s ‘ghost’ may turn pro
Oregon 6A soccer MVP Dustin Corea says he may turn down a college scholarship to play professional soccer in Europe
MILWAUKIE – Milwaukie High School senior Dustin Corea has had a passion for the sport of soccer since he first took up the sport at age 4, and that passion is paying huge dividends.
He spent his junior year of high school in Florida, participating in the U.S. Soccer residency program, as one of the top 40 male soccer players in the nation in his age division.
A full-ride scholarship to attend Oregon State University soon followed.
Corea returned to Milwaukie High this fall, where midway through the season he was approached by professional agents from Europe. They told him he’ll make $100,000 to $200,000 a year playing in Europe, if he signs a contract with them on his 18th birthday, which is March 21 of next year.
And last weekend the state’s Class 6A high school boys soccer coaches named Corea their 2009 “Player of the Year.”
“I was kind of shocked when I heard [that I was named the 6A Player of the Year] – coming from a team that didn’t even make the playoffs,” said Corea. “It means a lot. Coming back from the national team, it was something I was hoping for. It feels really good.”
Corea says he is seriously considering turning professional.
“I love soccer and I'm probably going to turn professional, instead of going to OSU,” he said.
He says that his decision to possibly forgo a scholarship that would pay for four years of college education has not been an easy one.
“Everyone’s been telling me to go to college first and then turn pro,” he said. “They say, ‘what it you get injured [playing professional soccer], then what will you do?’
“But comparing college-level soccer to pro, it’s not even close. I don’t want to waste four years playing soccer in college, when I could be playing as a professional in another country.”
“I went with Dustin to watch Oregon State play and he said that it’s no better than high school,” said Aguilar. “It wouldn’t make him any better, and there’s the possibility he could get hurt playing in college. Then he wouldn’t have a professional career.”
Corea says the agents tell him that he’d most likely end up playing in the Netherlands, Germany or Italy.
Although his high school team hasn’t done great, Corea has had a stellar career playing soccer at Milwaukie High School. He holds Milwaukie High School career and single season scoring records, and he only played for the Mustangs for three seasons.
Corea scored 46 goals and made 21 assists in three seasons as a Mustang, for a career total of 113 points (2 points per goal and one point per assist). The old career marks were 33 goals and 93 points, set by Michael Parker (2007).
Corea scored a school single season record of 26 goals this fall, breaking the old mark of 14 goals, which he set as a sophomore.
“Playing with the best players and best coaches improved my game 100 percent,” Corea says of his experience in the residency program.
“He could be playing Division I (college) soccer right now, said Aguilar. “He’s that good.”
Corea has had plenty of success in Oregon club soccer. He moved to the state as an eighth grader and he played for Eastside United FC teams that won the State Cup in 2007 and 2009.
“Although he’s not really a product of Oregon, Dustin is the best player I have seen in Oregon since moving here in 2001,” said Clackamas High coach Chad Crosby, who is a staff coach with the Oregon Youth Soccer Association and is a past Olympic Development program coordinator for the association.
“He is better than Chad Barrett or Alex Nimo, who were probably some of the more exciting players to come out of Oregon this past decade,” Crosby said. “Dustin is the ultimate competitor and he is incredibly fun to watch. His vision and understanding of the game are wonderful, and his speed on the ball is phenomenal….
“He elevates the play of players around him and gets people excited about the game. At this level, when describing him, I think a former player of mine said it best, ‘It is like watching a ghost play soccer.’”
“I think what [Crosby] means is there isn’t a defender in the league that can stop me,” said Corea. “You can’t stop a ghost. It’s like air.”
Corea said he developed his ghost-like persona while training in the residency program.
“That’s probably the biggest thing I picked up in Florida,” said Corea. “The coaches told us we had to have our own style – a way we would stand out on the field. My style is I’m going to run hard at a defender and then I’m going to cut at the last moment – use my speed and my quick feet to my advantage.”
“What makes Dustin an amazing player?” said Aguilar. “His skill, his speed and his competitiveness. After a game most [high school] players move on. Dustin reviews the game in his mind over-and-over again. I believe he was the only person [associated with Milwaukie’s team] besides me who did not sleep after a loss. He hates to lose.”
Corea’s soccer career almost didn’t happen.
He grew up in a tough neighborhood in south central Los Angeles, after his parents moved from El Salvador to escape the civil war in that country.
“If I was in California, I probably would not be a soccer player,” Corea said. “I would be in a gang, or dead. I had friends that were affiliated with gangs and got shot and stabbed….
“The year before we left, there was a drive-by [shooting] just two houses from where we lived.”
Corea said he started playing soccer at age 4, but his California club teams played games on weekends and they didn’t practice, because there was no place where it was safe to practice in his neighborhood.
“I was afraid to go out of the house,” he says.
Corea’s soccer skills got noticed and he did advance to premier and Olympic Development teams that were outside of his neighborhood.
His skill and the U.S. residency program have meant travel to Spain, France and Central and South America.
“I would like to end up in Spain if I could,” said Corea. “Soccer is a big deal for them. I watch it on TV all the time. They have a great passion for the game….
“In Spain and in a lot of other countries, soccer comes first, then school.”
Corea thinks his turning professional right out of high school will do a lot for getting other players from Oregon noticed.
“It’s been my goal since coming to Oregon to be better than anybody – knowing I’m good, and wanting to be the best player coming out of Oregon….,” he said. “There are a lot of good players in the state and [my turning pro] could put Oregon on the map. This could be one of the top soccer states in the country.”