Lemont’s Gabriela Kuruc did it for her coaches.
The star junior midfielder had extra motivation all spring, determined to make it a special final run for coach Rick Prangen, who is retiring after 32 seasons guiding the girls team plus 34 leading the boys team at Lemont.
Prangen won over 900 games between the two teams and his longtime assistant, Mark Tomczak, decided he would go out with his coaching partner as well.
“Both of them were very positive coaches who have pushed me at every practice and every game,” Kuruc said. “They taught me something new every game and every practice.
“They were great coaches to play for. Knowing it was their last year, I wanted to be a better player and win every game for them. That pushed me every day.”
Kuruc and Lemont didn’t win every game but sure won most of them, finishing 22-3-1 and taking fourth place in the state in Class 2A.
Kuruc, the 2026 Daily Southtown Girls Soccer Player of the Year, led the way by pouring in 32 goals and dishing out eight assists.
When it comes to making it a memorable final season for Prangen and Tomczak, Kuruc — an Illinois-Chicago recruit — considers the mission accomplished.
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“We gave the maximum amount of games and practices to them,” Kuruc said. “They wanted to know when they were going to have their last game instead of it just happening suddenly with a loss during the playoffs, so it was a good feeling all-around to be able to do that for them.”
Kuruc did not play in Lemont’s season-opening 3-0 loss to Marist. The team then went 22-0-1 over its next 23 games, meaning Kuruc didn’t play in a loss until the state finals.
“It was definitely a great season,” Kuruc said. “That first game was hard for us, but we definitely bounced back and it was a great feeling to be able to say ‘we haven’t lost’ for so long during the season.”
Kuruc was definitely a major part of that success. Her teammates, including senior midfielder Chase Bergeson, knew they could always count on her to come through in big moments.
“We have a couple stars on the team and Gabby is certainly one of them,” Bergeson said. “She’s our go-to girl. She’s the one who we know is going to score goals for us.
“She’s just a great player and she knows how to finish.”
Kuruc was at her best when it mattered the most. She scored both goals in Lemont’s 2-1 upset of the host Celtics in the Providence Sectional championship game and produced two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory over Geneva in the Kankakee Supersectional.
“It kind of hit all of us after the Providence game,” Kuruc said. “It was an amazing game by us and we knew we were going to be challenged a lot by that team. I thought, ‘If we can play like this against this team, we have something here that can take us far.’”
As far as Prangen is concerned, Kuruc brought way more to the team than just her clutch scoring.
“Gabby is, by far, one of my favorite players that I’ve coached because she has everything you want,” he said. “She has God-given ability in terms of quickness, technical ability and physicality. But the best part about her is she trains hard every day and she trains with a smile on her face.
“She’s coachable. She’s humble. She’s everything you want to have in a special player. The bittersweet thing for me is not being able to coach her next season.”
Lemont alum Jenny Earnest will be the new coach. Lemont figures to return several key components from this year’s group, including Kuruc and forward Madison Weil, who scored 25 goals as a freshman.
“I’m very excited,” Kuruc said. “I think all the girls are hungry to come back and do it again.”