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Gatorade 2021 - 2022: Player of the Year

Boys Soccer - North Carolina

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BOYS SOCCER

Aidan Payne

Forward
NEW HANOVER HS
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA
SENIOR
Height: 6-FOOT-3
Press Release

Peak Performance

54

Goals (Season)

11

Assists (Season)
“Aidan was, in a word, phenomenal. To me, he was a true striker in every sense of the word. When he got the ball, I worried he was going to make something happen.”
David Smith
Head Coach - head coach of Hough High
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The 6-foot-3, 165-pound senior forward led the Wildcats to a 27-0-1 record and the Class 4A state championship this past season. Payne tallied 54 goals and 11 assists, including two goals and an assist in New Hanover’s 3-0 win over Hough High in the state title game. He also scored all four goals in his team’s 4-2 victory over Cardinal Gibbons High in the state semifinals. The North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year, he is also a United Soccer Coaches All-American selection.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

Payne has maintained a weighted 4.48 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at North Carolina State University this fall.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

Payne has volunteered locally with his school’s Beta Club, and he has donated his time at a local adult day care service.