2024 Daily Chronicle Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Sycamore’s Aiden Sears

Aiden Sears was supposed to be a complementary piece for the Sycamore boys soccer team in 2024.

With Jameson Carl and his scoring prowess back for his senior year, Sears was expected to feed him the ball and present another option if other teams tried to take Carl away.

But Carl ended up missing half of the season with an ankle injury, and Sears had no trouble stepping in, scoring 20 goals, dishing out 12 assists and helping the Spartans (16-7-1) win the Interstate 8 Conference title.

Because of his accomplishments and ability to rise to the occasion Sears was named the 2024 Daily Chronicle Boys Soccer Player of the Year. He had 10 assists and three goals in 2023 and was on the all-area first team.

“I really expected to play games and just do the best I could. Probably get a lot of assists to Jameson,” Sears said. “Then obviously, he got hurt in the ninth or 10th game in and it changed our team around a little bit. It was hard to score I feel like the first few games, but then we started to get rolling.”

Carl was hurt against Hononegah in the 12th game of the Spartans’ 24-game season. Sears stayed at midfield and didn’t move to striker, but a lot of Carl’s scoring load fell to him.

Sears said the mental aspect was the biggest hurdle to get over.

“I knew, I feel like everyone knew, I kind of had to step up a little bit,” Sears said. “We weren’t just going to win automatically. We had to work harder and focus in a little bit more on the mental side.”

Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said Sears responded well to the situation. Carl was hurt on a Thursday, and Bickley was out of town that weekend.

The Spartans played that Monday at Ottawa, so Bickley said he never really got a chance to discuss the situation with Sears or the Spartans. Bickley said there may have been some nerves at the start, but it was short-lived.

“We knew once we lost him we needed someone to step up,” Bickley said. “Aiden definitely was that person. Not just goals, but assists. Creating penalties because he’s so good off the ball. He was hard to defend and a lot of times ended up drawing fouls.”

The Spartans went 9-3 without Carl, losing on penalty kicks to Burlington Central in the Class 2A Sycamore Regional semifinal.

Next year Sycamore returns Sears and Gavin Crouch, who scored 18 goals and was an all-conference pick. Bickley said he’s optimistic about next season thanks to the experience Crouch, Sears and the 14 first-year varsity players got this season.

“It definitely does help going into next year,” Sears said. “I feel like Gavin, he stepped up, too. He did really well. He almost got as many goals as me. I feel like our team next year will be a tough one to beat.”

Even with the excitement for next season, Sears said he was pleased with how this season turned out for him and the Spartans.

“I think it went really well for our squad,” Sears said. “Our record was way better than last year, and like our coach said, our biggest loss was only a 2-0 loss. So it’s not like we were beaten badly by any team.”