Since taking over the boys program in 1992 and the girls program two years later, Lemont soccer coach Rick Prangen has become very familiar with the IHSA postseason.

With the girls team’s 3-0 win over Geneva (15-7-1) in Tuesday’s Class 2A Kankakee Supersectional, Prangen will end his final season by coaching Lemont (23-1-1) at state for the ninth time in his career, and seventh with the girls program, to try and secure the first state title in soccer in school history.

“I can’t say it was expected, and we started the season off saying the state finals was our goal,” he said. “It’s magical. And for me, for selfish reasons in my last year doing it, to go back to a final four, to get a trophy my last season, that’s storybook stuff.”

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Girls Soccer: Class 2A Kankakee Supersectional - Lemont vs. Geneva Lemont's Gabby Kuruc is rushed by teammates after scoring a goal during Lemont's 3-0 victory over Geneva in the IHSA Class 2A Kankakee Supersectional on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Prangen made his first trip to state in 2007 with the boys program, returning in 2024 for a fourth-place finish.

He’s coached the girls to fourth place in 2013, 2015 and 2017, third place in 2011 and 2018 and a second place in 2009.

While Prangen has 35 regional and 17 sectional titles and soon nine trips to state under his belt, for junior Gabby Kuruc and her teammates, Friday’s state semifinal against Crystal Lake Central at North Central College will be their first state match.

She said they aim to finish as strong as they can for their coach.

“It’s definitely exciting for him,” Kuruc said. “One last time, we have to make the best of it. Hopefully, we can get first to make it even better.”

Kuruc got Lemont on the board first Tuesday, redirecting a corner from freshman Madison Weil into the net with 22:46 to go in the first half.

After a corner from Kuruc in the second half led to a scramble in front of the net, senior Chase Bergeson got her foot to the ball first and doubled Lemont’s lead with 28:36 to go.

With just 6:57 to go, Kuruc finished off a great pass from Weil to seal Lemont’s 3-0, supersectional win.

“If you’d told me at the beginning of the season that we were going here, it would seem crazy to me,” Kuruc said. “We had a lot of new freshmen players, and we didn’t know what they were capable of. But obviously they’re all great players.”

Weil, Abbey Schrimpl, Natalie Robbins and Emma Heinz are among the standouts of the talented freshman class that reinforced a returning group led by the likes of Kuruc, Chase and Ava Bergeson, and Ava and Bella DeMaio.

Being able to come in and make an impact right away allowed Lemont to make it this far, and Weil said her more experienced teammates made it easy for new players to fit in.

“Coming here as a freshman is definitely nerve-wracking because you don’t really know what’s coming,” she said. “I think having a good team bond, the upperclassmen inviting you into their group and making you feel welcome, and just the determination we have at practice to keep going is just amazing. It makes you thrive.”

To head home with a state title, Lemont will have to thrive for two more games.

“I think you go into that game and you have to know that you belong there because you earned it to be there,” Prangen said. “You worry about your last game being your best game, and you don’t worry about the result. I think that’s the biggest thing.

“If that’s the mentality, I’ll take it win or lose.”

For Geneva, Tuesday’s loss brought an end to the program’s deepest postseason run since 2005.

This season came after a 2025 season in which the Vikings went 5-13-4, finishing below .500 for the first time since 2015.

Coach Megan Owens said she saw resiliency in that team, despite things not going the way they wanted, and the players who were back this year were able to finish on a much higher note.

“Last year was kind of a different type of season,” she said. “We struggled a little more, so these kids really learned how to handle adversity. We had a little bump in the road at one point this season where we lost three in a row, and the girls went on a big tear.

“They’re a great group, they really responded hard and came together as a team. That’s all you can ask as a coach.”