Lemont Girls' Soccer Squad Earns Fourth IHSA Class 2A State Finals Berth

It’s an odd year on the calendar, and as has been the pattern, Lemont High School’s girls’ soccer program is headed back to state finals competition. Head coach Rick Prangen’s Indians edged Wheaton St. Francis, 1-0, at the IHSA Hinsdale South Super-Sectional on June 2 to earn a berth to the 2015 IHSA Class 2A Girls’ Soccer State Finals, which will be contested on June 5-6 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on the campus of North Central College in Naperville. Lemont will make its fourth state finals appearance since 2009, and is seeking its first state title in girls’ soccer.

Lemont (18-4-3) will face Carmel at 1 p.m. in the second IHSA Class 2A State Semifinal match on June 5. In the first state semifinal, Peoria Notre Dame will square off against Chatham Glenwood at 11 a.m. The IHSA Class 2A Girls’ Soccer State Championship is slated for approximately 1 p.m. on June 6, while the third-place game will be played at 11 a.m.

Lemont and Wheaton St. Francis were scoreless until the 55th minute, when sophomore Carli Bermele found the back of the net off a feed from freshman Mairead Ruane. Freshman goalkeeper Michelle Jerantowski made that stand up by stopping all three shots on goal that she faced, and picked up her 18th shutout of the season in the process.

Seniors Madelyn Bermele, Savannah Brija and Aleksandra Mihailovic all will be making their second IHSA State Finals appearance; each were part of the program’s fourth-place finish in 2013.

Mihailovic has enjoyed the best season of her career, tallying a single-season school-record 62 points on a career-best and school record-tying 27 goals and eight assists. Ruane has enjoyed a stellar rookie season with 45 points (17 goals, 11 assists), while freshman Niamh Hehir (13 goals, 9 assists) and Madelyn Bermele (14 goals, 5 assists) have added 35 and 33 points, respectively. Jerantowski has allowed just 15 goals in 25 games this season and made 52 saves.

Lemont has outscored its five postseason opponents by a 22-1 margin. Prior to their super-sectional victory, the Indians topped Rich South (7-0) and Bremen (8-0) at their own IHSA Regional, then defeated Oak Forest (3-0) and Tinley Park (3-1) at their own IHSA Sectional.

The Indians enter the IHSA State Finals on an eight-match win streak, dating back to May 5. Their only loss to an Illinois team this season was a 4-2 setback against Benet in the York Tournament on March 30. Its other three losses came against out-of-state opponents at the Iowa Tournament of Champions in early May.

In its first state finals appearance, Lemont finished as the IHSA Class 2A Runner-Up in 2009. The Indians finished third in Class 2A in 2011, and fourth in Class 2A in 2013.

Girls’ soccer is the 11th Lemont High School sport to be represented in IHSA State Finals competition this year. Senior Kyra Udziela was the individual champion at the IHSA Girls’ Bowling State Finals; the cheerleading squad was fourth at the IHSA Medium Division State Finals; the girls’ cross country team was fourth at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the football team was the IHSA Class 6A State Runner-Up; boys’ golf tied for ninth at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; freshman Alex Knutte competed at the IHSA Girls’ Swimming State Finals; seniors Nathaniel Burner and Nick Urban competed in doubles at the IHSA Boys’ Tennis State Finals; junior Chris Thompson medaled in the 400 meter dash at the IHSA Class 3A Boys’ Track and Field State Finals, while the 4 x 400 relay also competed; senior Jacque Desmond and junior Taylor Campos took part in the IHSA Class 3A Girls’ Track and Field State Finals; six wrestlers competed as individuals at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; and the wrestling squad qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Dual Team State Finals.

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