Guiborat powers I8 championship season for Sycamore, erans Chronicle POY honor

Like many other athletes on many other teams, the lack of a postseason left the Sycamore boys soccer team and Miles Guiborat wondering what if.

The Spartans, after all, went 15 straight matches without a loss to close the year, including capping the season with a win over Kaneland to win the Interstate 8 after falling to the Knights in the tourney last year.

And Guiborat was a big part of that surge, scoring 21 goals and adding 11 assists. He was named the Daily Chronicle 2021 Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

“Obviously we were a little bit disappointed we couldn’t have our state tournament or whatever,” Guiborat said. “But we just wanted to play any games. Going 14-1-1 obviously wasn’t the worst and we took that conference championship as the close to the regular season and that was our make-shift state title. I feel like we could have gone for if we had that opportunity. But with the circumstances, we had to take what was given to us.”

And the Spartans did what they could under those circumstances, causing the season to be played in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They had originally set a goal to go undefeated this season, but lost the opener 3-1 to Huntley.

“That first game was kind of a wake-up game for us,” Guiborat said. “We obviously felt like we should have won, so for the rest of the season we played with a chip on our shoulder. We took that loss personally made sure we didn’t make any mistakes like that again.”

It was their last loss, and the only other blemish was a tie with Kaneland in the regular season, in which they came back in the closing minutes to secure the draw.

They avenged that a few weeks later with the conference title over the Knights.

“Them beating us last year in the conference championship kind of hit us hard,” Guiborat said. “We were able to come back this year and beat them with what I thought was one of our strongest teams in at least the four years I’ve been here. I felt we should have beat them the first time, so we came out hard and got the win. It was a good last win with the boys.”

Sycamore coach Dave Bachta said the team learned a lot out of that loss, working on their fitness moving forward. He said when it comes to learning, no one is faster than Guiborat.

When he came up to the varsity level as a sophomore, Bachta said Guiborat was a strict scorer. But he expanded his game and finished with 29 assists in his career to go with 48 goals.

“He’s the kind of kid who does a lot on the ball,” Bachta said. “And I think that’s where he improved the most. He was kind of one-dimensional coming in as a sophomore. He was a true striker. If he got the ball, he was either going to score or get stuck. As he got a little bit older not only could he score, he found his and teammates and got them involved as well.”

Bachta said both he and the team lamneted the lack of a playoff this year.

“This is probably the first team I’ve had since I’ve got to Sycamore that when they got to that last little bit of the season, they just got it,” Bachta said. “Something clicked. I would have like to see this team compete at the ned like we did against Kaneland. That was a game that proved these kids were ready for the next level.”

Guiborat will continue his soccer career at Wisconsin-Whitewater in the fall, saying he was drawn by the size of the school, the quality of both the campus and the coaching staff, and the success the program has had in recent years.

And although his last year in Sycamore didn’t result in the playoff run he and his coach think the Spartans were capable of, he said he was just glad for the chance to even play one last season.

“It was a great year,” Guiborat said. “We went 14-1-1, so it was a solid season for us and a great closing senior season for me, I would say.”