GBN Student-Athlete Named Illinois Girls Soccer Player Of Year

NORTHBROOK, IL — To be excellent in both the classroom and on the playing field is the ultimate double achievement for high school student-athletes. For the 2020-2021 school year, no one balanced these things better than Glenbrook North High School senior Riley Philbin.

As a result, she was named the Gatorade Illinois Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The University of Wisconsin-bound Philbin is the first Spartan to ever receive the honor.

The 5-foot-7 senior forward scored a school-record 23 goals and passed for nine assists this past season, leading the Spartans (14-2-3) to the Class 3A sectional semifinals, according to a news release from Gatorade. Philbin recorded eight multi-goal games, including three hat tricks, to set a school record in her only year playing high school soccer due to previous club soccer commitments. She was a First Team All-State selection.

Philbin has maintained a weighted 4.06 GPA in the classroom. She has also volunteered locally with Feed My Starving Children and as a youth soccer coach, according to the news release.

"Riley is a phenomenal talent, simply put," said Seong Ha, head coach of Mundelein High. "She is dynamic in many aspects and can be an absolute game changer. She can post up as a target player while setting up others, turning on a dime for a blistering shot, or beat you off the dribble dynamically taking on players through a maze for a quality finish."

This marks the 36th year Gatorade has honored the nation's best high school athletes. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Philbin as Illinois’ best high school girls soccer player, according to the news release.

Philbin joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook High School, Mich.), Steve Cherundolo (1996-97, Mt. Carmel High School, Calif.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02 & 2002-03, East Brunswick High School, N.J.), Matt Besler (2004- 05, Blue Valley West High School, Kans.), Jack Harrison (2013-14, Berkshire High School, Mass.) and Mallory Pugh (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.).

The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Philbin joins recent Gatorade Illinois Girls Soccer Players of the Year Emma Weaver (2019-20 & 2018-19, New Trier High School), Hailey Rydberg (2017-18, St. Charles North High School), and Emma Thomson (2016-17, Maine South High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Philbin has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of their choosing, according to the news release. Philbin is also eligible to submit a 30-second video explaining why the organization they chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade