LEMONT – After losing All-Staters Kelly Fritz and Kim Jerantowski to graduation last year, Lemont’s girls soccer team figured to be in for an interesting season because it had only four seniors back in addition to a large number of freshmen on the roster.

But one of those seniors whom veteran coach Rick Prangen knew he could count on was Aleks Mihailovic, who scored 17 goals and had 11 assists as a junior to earn All-Sectional honors for a second time.

With even more of a leadership role on her shoulders because of all of the youth on the squad, Mihailovic proved to be up to the challenge.

She not only scored 28 goals and handed out eight assists this season to earn All-State honors, but also helped her 18-6-3 squad earn a trip to the Class 2A semifinals, where it fell, 2-1, to eventual champion Carmel before taking fourth place.

Because of her performance this season, Mihailovic has been selected as The Herald-News 2015 Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

During her four-year career with the Indians, Mihailovic played on teams that posted a 76-18-6 record, won three straight sectional titles and earned two fourth-place trophies.

Mihailovic, who finished with 67 goals and 27 assists, plays in the offseason with the Chicago Blast, the club led by her father, who’s also named Aleks, a former professional player and longtime coach at many different levels in the sport.

“During the season while we were training, we didn’t think about state,” Mihailovic said. “But once we got into the playoffs, we said, ‘OK guys, we can do this, let’s go back to state one more time for the seniors.’

“We had eight freshmen, while Savannah (Brija), Madi (Madelyn Bermele), Selena (Gomez) and I were the only seniors. So making it back to state was a memory that will hold because of the young team that we had. Going into the playoffs, the freshmen had no idea of what it was like, but now they know what it takes and about training with each other.

“Each year, the seniors leave the team something, and we used what Kim and Kelly left us to go hard in the playoffs. We were a game away from state last year, so we had to come back this season and finish what they left us.”

Mihailovic, who will continue her soccer career and education at the University of New Mexico, is pleased by her progress both recently and over the years while growing up in Lemont.

“This was my best season out of my four years,” Mihailovic said. “Before each season, I set high goals for myself and hope that I can make them. Playing with the freshmen and the rest of my teammates this season has made me into a better player, and I thank them for that. And being around them and the coaches has made me a better person, too.

“I look back to when coach Prangen was starting out, and his teams were training and playing games on the softball field, and their jerseys were T-shirts, so we’ve come a long way. So many years later, after he made the program better, we have our own facility, two fields and stadium with bleachers, and it’s just beautiful.

“When I was younger, I watched the 2009 team and always looked up to them since they had a bunch of players that my dad used to coach. I wanted to be like them.”

Although Mihailovic hoped to compete in some other sports at Lemont, her dad wanted her to focus on soccer, and she’s glad he insisted on that.

“I was interested in other sports, but my dad said that I was sticking with soccer and for me to trust him – and I trusted him, and it’s worked out,” said Mihailovic, who would like a career in sports broadcasting.

“I’m really excited to head to college, even though it’s far from home. I think that I’ll have a real good soccer experience there, and I’ll learn what D-I soccer is like and how much training I’ll have to put in. But Lemont will always be with me. I’ll have pictures in my dorm and memories from here, which will help guide me through life.”

Mihailovic was inspired by Lemont’s football team, which made one of the most dramatic one-season turnarounds in history before losing in the state title game.

“The football team was kind of like us,” Mihailovic said. “They stuck together and bought in, and they just came out every Friday night and worked hard, and they believed in themselves. The week of state at school, the energy there was just crazy, and everyone was just hyped up. It was kind of sad when they lost, but they almost overcame the odds.”