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With fearlessness and an uncanny ability to learn on the fly, Allison Tilly turned an emergency situation into a championship-winning week to remember for Lemont.
Due to multiple injuries and other circumstances, Lemont went into the sectional in search of a goalkeeper. Tilly, a sophomore who typically plays defender and had never played before in the net, raised her hand.
“I have a background in basketball, volleyball and softball so I was like, ‘I know I can do it,’” Tilly said. “I was confident in myself, and I figured if nobody else was going to do it, I’d try it.
“My first practice was Monday, we made it past Tuesday’s game and then the last two days, I’ve been hard at work learning all that I can. It’s been crazy. I didn’t know I could be this good.”
Tilly was better than good Friday night. She was heroic.
She made eight saves, including multiple huge stops down the stretch, to lift Lemont to a 2-1 win over the host Celtics in the Class 2A Providence Sectional championship game in New Lenox.
Illinois-Chicago recruit Gabriela Kuruc scored both goals and Madison Weil added an assist for second-seeded Lemont (22-1-1), which won its first sectional title since 2018.
Lemont will take on Geneva (15-6-1) — a 2-0 winner over Plainfield Central — at 5 p.m. Monday in the Kankakee Supersectional in another attempt to extend the last ride for longtime coach Rick Prangen, who is retiring after the season.
“This is a huge milestone and a huge step for us since we haven’t been here since 2018,” Tilly said. “Coach Prangen is retiring. I don’t think (assistant Mark Tomczak) is going to coach next year.
“We want to make it a memorable last season for them and keep it going.”
Aubrey Curry scored off an assist from Bailey Ortiz for top-seeded Providence (18-5-3), which fell just short in its bid for a third straight sectional title.
Curry’s goal tied it 1-1 with 22:56 left but Kuruc provided a brilliant response, coming up with a steal and firing a quick shot inside the right post from 30 yards with 16:10 to go.
“We knew it was going to be a superfast-paced game,” Kuruc said. “Our training the last couple games, everything was quick. We showed it in this game, especially on that play.”
Tilly did the rest, slapping and punching away everything the Celtics threw at her, including three golden scoring chances in the final 10 minutes.
“It was scary,” Tilly said. “Oh my gosh. I was like shaking the whole time. I was like, ‘No shots, please.’”
Instead, there were many shots. But Tilly handled them like a seasoned pro.
“She was phenomenal at the end of the game,” Prangen said. “She was unreal.”
Tilly confirmed that she tried to take in as much knowledge as she could from her coaches this week. But she found herself overthinking a bit too much in practice.
That changed under the bright lights.
“In the game, you don’t think about it,” she said. “You just go and do it.”
Kuruc has been blown away by Tilly, who also starred in Tuesday’s 3-1 sectional semifinal win over Mother McAuley.
“It’s very, very, very impressive,” Kuruc said. “I’m very proud of her. I thank her so much for stepping up. She’s an amazing field player, but I never knew she’d be this amazing in the net.”
After the final whistle, Tomczak — who coaches goalies — sprinted onto the field to give Tilly a huge hug.
“I was just floating on the air,” Tilly said. “I still am, really. Just the smiles from everybody and all the pride I feel right now for myself, just being able to help my team get here.
“It’s just so surreal.”
Continue reading...
Due to multiple injuries and other circumstances, Lemont went into the sectional in search of a goalkeeper. Tilly, a sophomore who typically plays defender and had never played before in the net, raised her hand.
“I have a background in basketball, volleyball and softball so I was like, ‘I know I can do it,’” Tilly said. “I was confident in myself, and I figured if nobody else was going to do it, I’d try it.
“My first practice was Monday, we made it past Tuesday’s game and then the last two days, I’ve been hard at work learning all that I can. It’s been crazy. I didn’t know I could be this good.”
Tilly was better than good Friday night. She was heroic.
She made eight saves, including multiple huge stops down the stretch, to lift Lemont to a 2-1 win over the host Celtics in the Class 2A Providence Sectional championship game in New Lenox.
Illinois-Chicago recruit Gabriela Kuruc scored both goals and Madison Weil added an assist for second-seeded Lemont (22-1-1), which won its first sectional title since 2018.
Lemont will take on Geneva (15-6-1) — a 2-0 winner over Plainfield Central — at 5 p.m. Monday in the Kankakee Supersectional in another attempt to extend the last ride for longtime coach Rick Prangen, who is retiring after the season.
“This is a huge milestone and a huge step for us since we haven’t been here since 2018,” Tilly said. “Coach Prangen is retiring. I don’t think (assistant Mark Tomczak) is going to coach next year.
“We want to make it a memorable last season for them and keep it going.”
Aubrey Curry scored off an assist from Bailey Ortiz for top-seeded Providence (18-5-3), which fell just short in its bid for a third straight sectional title.
Curry’s goal tied it 1-1 with 22:56 left but Kuruc provided a brilliant response, coming up with a steal and firing a quick shot inside the right post from 30 yards with 16:10 to go.
“We knew it was going to be a superfast-paced game,” Kuruc said. “Our training the last couple games, everything was quick. We showed it in this game, especially on that play.”
Tilly did the rest, slapping and punching away everything the Celtics threw at her, including three golden scoring chances in the final 10 minutes.
“It was scary,” Tilly said. “Oh my gosh. I was like shaking the whole time. I was like, ‘No shots, please.’”
Instead, there were many shots. But Tilly handled them like a seasoned pro.
“She was phenomenal at the end of the game,” Prangen said. “She was unreal.”
Tilly confirmed that she tried to take in as much knowledge as she could from her coaches this week. But she found herself overthinking a bit too much in practice.
That changed under the bright lights.
“In the game, you don’t think about it,” she said. “You just go and do it.”
Kuruc has been blown away by Tilly, who also starred in Tuesday’s 3-1 sectional semifinal win over Mother McAuley.
“It’s very, very, very impressive,” Kuruc said. “I’m very proud of her. I thank her so much for stepping up. She’s an amazing field player, but I never knew she’d be this amazing in the net.”
After the final whistle, Tomczak — who coaches goalies — sprinted onto the field to give Tilly a huge hug.
“I was just floating on the air,” Tilly said. “I still am, really. Just the smiles from everybody and all the pride I feel right now for myself, just being able to help my team get here.
“It’s just so surreal.”
Continue reading...
