Defender led Skyview boys soccer to new heights. Now he’s the state player of the year.
Soccer player of the year awards typically go to forwards racking up jaw-dropping goal totals or midfielders who put on dazzling displays.
But not this year.
Jordan Sykes so dominated the backline for Skyview that the junior defender was named the 2019-20 Idaho Gatorade boys soccer player of the year Monday, making him the first player in program history to win the state’s all-classification player of the year award.
He is also the first defender to win the award in eight years.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound defender anchored a defense that carried the Hawks (9-8-3) to their first 5A state championship game appearance in program history, where they fell in double overtime to Eagle.
“Skyview played in a three-back (formation) because of how much they trusted Jordan,” Meridian coach Josh Dalmas said in a news release. “Nothing was going to get past him. His defensive skills, dribbling out of the back and all-around knowledge of the game is incredible.”
Sykes was also chosen as the 5A all-state player of the year by the state’s coaches in November.
Sykes has played in Spain as a member of the 2019 U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development team and has trained with the Portland Timbers. He volunteers at a local Young Life camp and maintains a 3.0 GPA.
He joins other recent winners like Rocky Mountain’s Kristian Quiros (2018-19), Borah’s Ahmed Ibrahimovic (2017-18), Rocky Mountain’s Jonah Dalmas (2016-17) and Timberline’s Alain Murhula (2015-16).
Gatorade plans to announce the girls soccer player of the year next week. Idaho plays its soccer season in the fall, but Gatorade announces state winners in the spring to align with other states’ schedules.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
