Lemont tops Andrew,
seniors aim for return to state glory
Indians increase unbeaten streak to 11 with 3-2 win
By Curt Herron
LEMONT -- In 2018, Maddie Counsil, Trinity Hatton, Maggie Knutte, Tori Silvar and Kailey Wasyliw were part of a very special season at Lemont.
The five were freshmen who played on an Indians team that finished 25-2-0. The quartet were part of the third place Class AA fiinish accomplished on penalties after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer against Normal West.
That trophy the second-straight, third in four years and sixth since 2009 for coach Rick Prangen's program.
A year later, the Indians went 20-5-1 and just missed out on winning their eighth sectional title when they lost 2-1 to Joliet Catholic at Rich East. The Angels went on to finish fourth in the state.
After being deprived of a junior season last year, it's very understandable why the veteran seniors have big aspirations to cap their careers in a special fashion.
They'll get the opportunity to play much of the Class AA playoffs on their own field with a chance for revenge – Lemont hosts the sectional, and Joliet Catholic is in the field.
In a warmup for state tournament play, the Indians played host to Andrew on Monday, three days after beating Oak Forest to continue its run of championships in the South Suburban Conference Blue Division. Lemont (10-2-1, 9-0-1) wrapped up league play on Tuesday with a match at Eisenhower.
After opening its season with two losses against two of the top-four seeds in the Class 3A Sandburg Sectional, Sandburg and Lincoln-Way West, the Indians extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1) and wrapped up their nonconference matches for the season with a 3-2 victory over the Thunderbolts, who are also one of the top-seeds at Sandburg.
Lemont took the lead when Silvar scored in the 39th minute. In the second half, Emma Amberg connected in the 51st and 54th minutes to establish control. Later the hosts were able to hold off a late, determined rally by Andrew, which got its goals from Cosabella Milazzo.
"I'm very excited, especially as a senior, it's my last year so I want to make it count, for sure," said Silvar, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
"Especially since we didn't have a season last year, we've definitely made up for it this year, and we want to make sure that we make the most of what we have.
"The thing I like the most is our pride. We know what we can do and how we work. The legacy that we have at Lemont High School has been going on for years, and we want to make sure that we live up to the potential that we're expected to have each year. Our goal every year is that our last game is our best game."
After falling to the state champion St. Francis in the Final Four as freshmen, coming up short of another state trip as sophomores and losing the 2020 season to COVID-19, Lemont's seniors definitely have a lot of motivation to cap their careers in a similar fashion to how they began them.
"A lot of us had the opportunity freshman year to play in the supersectional against Notre Dame (Peoria) and then go play at North Central (College for the finals)," Hatton said. "We've been craving that ever since and losing that sectional and obviously losing our season last year also hurt us.
"We've been trying our hardest just to get back there. Our seniors are the only ones who know the feeling, and we just crave it.
“We're really pushing to have our last game be our best game. The start of the season was a little rough so we knew that we had to come together as a team since we hadn't played together before.
“We needed to work together, and we've been progressing in each game. I like the commitment that we all have and that we all pick each other up."
Good opportunities were limited during the opening half of Monday's match, but Amberg sent in a pair of threatening corner kicks for the hosts. Andrew countered with a good try by Samantha Gountounas that keeper Michelle Nosal dove for. Later Jessica Morawski bounced a try off of the post.
But just as it looked like neither side would get a goal before the break, Nicole Bobcik sent a pass to Silvar, who got free for an attempt from about 15 yards to put the Indians up for good. Lemont nearly connected again when an Amberg corner went to Counsil, whose close-range try was denied by a defender.
Andrew began to apply more pressure as the second half began with Alyssa Bickham and Gountounas getting good attempts.
Lemont fought back. After Wasyliw was thwarted on an effort on a loose ball in front of the net, Lemont struck again when Suzie Knutte found Amberg, who scored from close range. The freshman added her second goal a short time later in similar fashion following an assist from senior Gabby Koziel.
"I love playing with the seniors," Amberg said. "Starting from losing to Lincoln-Way West to where we are now, I think we've had tremendous growth. We've found where everybody should be position-wise, and it's working well for everybody.
“I like our commitment and energy. Also the will that we have to keep on going. If we get down, we would still keep on fighting back."
Despite being shorthanded due to some key injuries and dealing with some fatigue due to the warm and humid conditions, Andrew continued to fight. In an interesting coincidence, coach Loren Zolk's squad also had a couple of players from its lone state team in 2018, when it was fourth in 3A, with one of those being Gountounas.
Andrew scored its two goals in similar fashion -- Brooke Bierovic sending in long free kicks to Milazzo, who put in both attempts from about 20 yards: the first in the 65th minute; and the final one in the 79th minute.
In the state tournament, Lemont is the top-seed in its Sub-secctional A. Joliet Catholic is the top-seed in B. The sectional champion will advance to the Mendota Supersectional, where they'll face the winner of the Richwoods Sectional, where Dunlap and Morton (Ill.) are the top sub-sectional seeds.
Prangen, who has 392 victories with the girls program since he started coaching at the school in 1995, is pleased with his team's progression during this most unusual season.
"It was a slow start to the year. It was hard, and it definitely showed that we hadn't played since 2019," Prangen said. "We had girls who went from being sophomores to being team leaders, so they had no transition. And when you have new players come in, they don't understand what it's all about in terms of our tradition and the playoffs. So it took us a while to figure things out.
"We talked about this game being an important bookend to the season. We started with two 3A teams and ended with one, so that's great. Now we play Eisenhower to try to win a conference title, which we take a great deal of pride in. I thought that Tori was probably the best player on the field and she has really grown into this role and in the last half of the season really has impacted every single game that we played.
"It will be a hard challenge to do that (return to state), but we're going to give it a good go. I just like the fact that we're progressing upward instead of downward at this time of the year. We're starting to get some belief.
“We're having a good work rate, and seniors right now are starting to get comfortable in that role of leadership. The thing I've learned more than anything else is that postseason is really about your older players who understand what it's about.
“We need that leadership in those games."
Starting lineups
Andrew
GK - Adelynn Kreydich
D - Kylie Herrin
D - Alyssa Bickham
D - Alyssa Watkins
D - Makayla More
MF - Anna Dennis
MF- Samantha Gountonounas
MF - Bella Lemus
MF - Brooke Bierovic
F - Cosabella Milazzo
F - Abbie Bosco
Lemont
GK - Michelle Nosal
D - Trinity Hatton
D - Gabby Koziel
D - Paige Bingen
D - Nicole Bobcik
MF - Maddie Counsil
MF - Kailey Wasyliw
MF - Brianna Sanchez
F - Tori Silvar
F - Emma Amberg
F - Suzie Knutte
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Tori Silvar, sr., F, Lemont
Scoring summary
First half
L - Silvar (Bobcik), 39
Second half
L -Amberg (S. Knutte), 51
L - Amberg (Koziel), 54
A - Milazzo (Bierovic), 65
A - Milazzo (Bierovic), 79
seniors aim for return to state glory
Indians increase unbeaten streak to 11 with 3-2 win
By Curt Herron
LEMONT -- In 2018, Maddie Counsil, Trinity Hatton, Maggie Knutte, Tori Silvar and Kailey Wasyliw were part of a very special season at Lemont.
The five were freshmen who played on an Indians team that finished 25-2-0. The quartet were part of the third place Class AA fiinish accomplished on penalties after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer against Normal West.
That trophy the second-straight, third in four years and sixth since 2009 for coach Rick Prangen's program.
A year later, the Indians went 20-5-1 and just missed out on winning their eighth sectional title when they lost 2-1 to Joliet Catholic at Rich East. The Angels went on to finish fourth in the state.
After being deprived of a junior season last year, it's very understandable why the veteran seniors have big aspirations to cap their careers in a special fashion.
They'll get the opportunity to play much of the Class AA playoffs on their own field with a chance for revenge – Lemont hosts the sectional, and Joliet Catholic is in the field.
In a warmup for state tournament play, the Indians played host to Andrew on Monday, three days after beating Oak Forest to continue its run of championships in the South Suburban Conference Blue Division. Lemont (10-2-1, 9-0-1) wrapped up league play on Tuesday with a match at Eisenhower.
After opening its season with two losses against two of the top-four seeds in the Class 3A Sandburg Sectional, Sandburg and Lincoln-Way West, the Indians extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1) and wrapped up their nonconference matches for the season with a 3-2 victory over the Thunderbolts, who are also one of the top-seeds at Sandburg.
Lemont took the lead when Silvar scored in the 39th minute. In the second half, Emma Amberg connected in the 51st and 54th minutes to establish control. Later the hosts were able to hold off a late, determined rally by Andrew, which got its goals from Cosabella Milazzo.
"I'm very excited, especially as a senior, it's my last year so I want to make it count, for sure," said Silvar, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
"Especially since we didn't have a season last year, we've definitely made up for it this year, and we want to make sure that we make the most of what we have.
"The thing I like the most is our pride. We know what we can do and how we work. The legacy that we have at Lemont High School has been going on for years, and we want to make sure that we live up to the potential that we're expected to have each year. Our goal every year is that our last game is our best game."
After falling to the state champion St. Francis in the Final Four as freshmen, coming up short of another state trip as sophomores and losing the 2020 season to COVID-19, Lemont's seniors definitely have a lot of motivation to cap their careers in a similar fashion to how they began them.
"A lot of us had the opportunity freshman year to play in the supersectional against Notre Dame (Peoria) and then go play at North Central (College for the finals)," Hatton said. "We've been craving that ever since and losing that sectional and obviously losing our season last year also hurt us.
"We've been trying our hardest just to get back there. Our seniors are the only ones who know the feeling, and we just crave it.
“We're really pushing to have our last game be our best game. The start of the season was a little rough so we knew that we had to come together as a team since we hadn't played together before.
“We needed to work together, and we've been progressing in each game. I like the commitment that we all have and that we all pick each other up."
Good opportunities were limited during the opening half of Monday's match, but Amberg sent in a pair of threatening corner kicks for the hosts. Andrew countered with a good try by Samantha Gountounas that keeper Michelle Nosal dove for. Later Jessica Morawski bounced a try off of the post.
But just as it looked like neither side would get a goal before the break, Nicole Bobcik sent a pass to Silvar, who got free for an attempt from about 15 yards to put the Indians up for good. Lemont nearly connected again when an Amberg corner went to Counsil, whose close-range try was denied by a defender.
Andrew began to apply more pressure as the second half began with Alyssa Bickham and Gountounas getting good attempts.
Lemont fought back. After Wasyliw was thwarted on an effort on a loose ball in front of the net, Lemont struck again when Suzie Knutte found Amberg, who scored from close range. The freshman added her second goal a short time later in similar fashion following an assist from senior Gabby Koziel.
"I love playing with the seniors," Amberg said. "Starting from losing to Lincoln-Way West to where we are now, I think we've had tremendous growth. We've found where everybody should be position-wise, and it's working well for everybody.
“I like our commitment and energy. Also the will that we have to keep on going. If we get down, we would still keep on fighting back."
Despite being shorthanded due to some key injuries and dealing with some fatigue due to the warm and humid conditions, Andrew continued to fight. In an interesting coincidence, coach Loren Zolk's squad also had a couple of players from its lone state team in 2018, when it was fourth in 3A, with one of those being Gountounas.
Andrew scored its two goals in similar fashion -- Brooke Bierovic sending in long free kicks to Milazzo, who put in both attempts from about 20 yards: the first in the 65th minute; and the final one in the 79th minute.
In the state tournament, Lemont is the top-seed in its Sub-secctional A. Joliet Catholic is the top-seed in B. The sectional champion will advance to the Mendota Supersectional, where they'll face the winner of the Richwoods Sectional, where Dunlap and Morton (Ill.) are the top sub-sectional seeds.
Prangen, who has 392 victories with the girls program since he started coaching at the school in 1995, is pleased with his team's progression during this most unusual season.
"It was a slow start to the year. It was hard, and it definitely showed that we hadn't played since 2019," Prangen said. "We had girls who went from being sophomores to being team leaders, so they had no transition. And when you have new players come in, they don't understand what it's all about in terms of our tradition and the playoffs. So it took us a while to figure things out.
"We talked about this game being an important bookend to the season. We started with two 3A teams and ended with one, so that's great. Now we play Eisenhower to try to win a conference title, which we take a great deal of pride in. I thought that Tori was probably the best player on the field and she has really grown into this role and in the last half of the season really has impacted every single game that we played.
"It will be a hard challenge to do that (return to state), but we're going to give it a good go. I just like the fact that we're progressing upward instead of downward at this time of the year. We're starting to get some belief.
“We're having a good work rate, and seniors right now are starting to get comfortable in that role of leadership. The thing I've learned more than anything else is that postseason is really about your older players who understand what it's about.
“We need that leadership in those games."
Starting lineups
Andrew
GK - Adelynn Kreydich
D - Kylie Herrin
D - Alyssa Bickham
D - Alyssa Watkins
D - Makayla More
MF - Anna Dennis
MF- Samantha Gountonounas
MF - Bella Lemus
MF - Brooke Bierovic
F - Cosabella Milazzo
F - Abbie Bosco
Lemont
GK - Michelle Nosal
D - Trinity Hatton
D - Gabby Koziel
D - Paige Bingen
D - Nicole Bobcik
MF - Maddie Counsil
MF - Kailey Wasyliw
MF - Brianna Sanchez
F - Tori Silvar
F - Emma Amberg
F - Suzie Knutte
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Tori Silvar, sr., F, Lemont
Scoring summary
First half
L - Silvar (Bobcik), 39
Second half
L -Amberg (S. Knutte), 51
L - Amberg (Koziel), 54
A - Milazzo (Bierovic), 65
A - Milazzo (Bierovic), 79