Mael Corboz’s path to professional soccer appeared built off an analysis of a half-decade’s worth of high Major League Soccer draft picks.

Step 1: Graduate from an MLS academy. Step 2: play for Sasho Cirovski at the University of Maryland. Step 3: Profit either from a high draft pick selection, or through the parent club of the aforementioned academy offering a Homegrown Player contract.

The New York Red Bulls stepped up and offered the latter as they signed Corboz and five other young up-and-comers to HGP status this offseason. Unfortunately, due to factors such as a strong core in the midfield and the need for defensive depth, Corboz and two others were released only a couple of months into their pro careers.

“My first few months after college were a bumpy road,” Corboz said to USLSoccer.com this week. “I think overall it was a growing experience. With the Red Bulls, I played in their academy and went to college, so I did get better through them. Everything happens for a reason. Everything that happened over the past few months is a growing experience.”

Thus began the longest short offseason for Corboz. His professional dream of playing with his hometown Red Bulls – where he had grown his game between 2011 and 2014 – shattered, at least for the time being, Corboz looked elsewhere for his chance to build a career. Wilmington Hammerheads FC provided such an opportunity to Corboz.

“Here at Wilmington I’m growing every day and I get to play,” Corboz said.

The creative midfielder found himself unknowingly stepping into the same Manchester City FC family as his sister, Daphne, who signed for the English club’s women’s team in the summer of 2015. Corboz didn’t even realize the connection, nor the one between the Hammerheads and New York City FC, until after he signed with Wilmington.

“Not at all. It was a big coincidence,” Corboz said of the Hammerheads’ partnership with NYRB rival NYCFC. “The opportunity presented itself in Wilmington. At first I had no clue about the NYCFC connection. The NYC affiliation had nothing to do with it. I’m not looking into that part of it. I had already explored the Wilmington option [when I found out], and the Hammerheads already made sense in so many ways.”

“It’s pretty distant,” Corboz said of his team’s relationship with the parent club of his sister’s own squad. “[Manchester] City, NYC and Wilmington. I guess we’re connected in some way. Afterwards I’m not sure I made the connection immediately. We’re on our own separate paths.”

For Corboz, that path has taken him from a central attacking midfield role to playing in deeper positions with Wilmington so far, but the contributions to his team have remained.

“I think I’m playing more of a No. 8 role, and at times a No. 6 role,” said Corboz, who has already provided two assists on the young season. “I think it shows some of my qualities. I think of myself as good at set pieces and as a pretty good passer. … The statistics don’t really indicate performance on the field. At the end of the day if the team wins that’s what matters.”

The Hammerheads and Red Bulls II meet for the first time this season on Friday night at Legion Stadium. After two wins against Orlando and Montreal, and with the two teams in the top three in the USL’s Eastern Conference, Corboz sees the game as a potential turning point for his club after its struggles a season ago.

“The Red Bulls are a young, talented team,” he said. “They may be the most talented team we’ve played yet this season. Regardless of my history with them, when you play against a direct rival getting those three points is always great.

“I want the Wilmington name back at the top after last season,” he added. “It’s important for us to make a statement early.”