In 2024, Sycamore’s Aiden Sears stepped up when leading scorer Jameson Carl got hurt. Sears earned player of the year honors for his performance.

This season, Sears was hurt early. This time around, senior midfielder Gavin Crouch stepped up and scored 29 goals to help the Spartans earn a share of the Interstate 8 title.

“We have a bunch of guys who have the talent to step up,” said Crouch, the Daily Chronicle 2025 Boys Soccer Player of the Year, the third Spartan in the last four years to win the award. “We switched up the lineup this year and even last year. People you wouldn’t expect to step up and fill the job would, and we still end up with winning seasons and win conference like we have been.”

Last season, Sears finished with 20 goals and 12 assists and was expected to make a big leap for the Spartans. Crouch had 18 goals and eight assists in 2024.

Crouch also had eight assists this year, and likely would have crossed the 30-goal mark had he not missed the first four games of the year. He had a pinched nerve in his back. He thought it was a fracture but said he was lucky it was less serious.

He said the work of physical therapist Jason Hiatt at Northwestern Medicine was pivotal to his recovery. He came back at full strength against Auburn after a 1-3 start for the Spartans, notching a hat trick in a 6-0 win.

Sycamore won its next six and finished 16-8-1.

“I thought we played well in most of our games with the injuries that we had,” Crouch said. “I feel like we did well as a team and even though we lost in the first round of the playoffs, I don’t think that defines us. I think we played a very good season.”

Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said Crouch is a natural goal scorer. Some of his best performances came in big games, including two goals in a win over DeKalb and all three in a 3-2 win against Belvidere North.

“There are times in games where I’m like, how did he get out of that?” Bickley said. “Aiden is kind of similar as well. He just kind of reads the defense, the ball seems to stick to his foot. The way he shoots, the way he strikes the ball, it almost kind of knuckles a little bit, dips a little bit. I think it’s harder for the goalkeepers to read coming off his foot.”

Crouch said the Spartan midfielders had a big hand in his success this year. Noah Daykin had 14 assists this year and Maddux McLaughlin added six. Sears had four while he was healthy.

“Whenever a team was moving the ball around I could kind of chill around up top and wait for our midfielders to just slot me that ball in,” said Crouch, who is still figuring out his college plans. “Noah Daykin assisted me a lot this year. I know that he’ll always find me over the top and wait to make that run. When the team’s playing well they can just feed me and we win games.”

Crouch said he’s enjoyed his career with the Spartans, starting the last two years and on varsity for three. He also enjoyed the last two seasons playing with his brother, Andre Crouch, a sophomore defender.

“I’ve been really happy with it even though at times it’s been hard,” Crouch said. “I’m going to miss it. It’s been some of the most happy moments of my life and great with all the guys. It was awesome.”