Lemont's Rick Prangen Named Illinois Girls Soccer Coach of the Year

girls soccer coach Rick Prangen has been named the 2011 Illinois High School Girls Soccer Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Each year, the NSCAA honors coaches in the "Large School," "Small School" and "Private/Parochial School" divisions; Prangen was honored in the small school category.

Each state honors a coach in each division, and those coaches are eligible for Regional Coach of the Year and, eventually, National Coach of the Year accolades. To be considered for the award, coaches must excel in a number of areas, including knowledge of the game, rapport with his/her team, team image, conduct on the field, community involvement, and rapport with officials and the media, among others.

Prangen led the Lemont girls soccer team to a 23-5 record in 2011, including a perfect 11-0 mark in South Suburban Conference play and a . The team posted a nine-game winning streak before falling to Marian Central Catholic in the state semifinal match.

The Indians' 23 wins tied the 2007 squad for most single-season victories in school history; 17 of those wins came via shutout. The Indians won their first five postseason contests by shutout, and outscored their opponents by a 16-3 margin during their 6-1 playoff run.

Prangen is the only coach to lead Lemont's girls soccer program, having taken it to varsity status in 1995. He had a career record of 223-134-10 prior to the 2012 season.

Under his direction, the school has won nine IHSA regional titles and eight conference championships, and posted runner-up (2009) and third-place (2011) IHSA Class 2A finishes.

Prangen was named the in both 2009 and 2011.

He also coaches the boys soccer team. He led the team to the IHSA Class AA state finals in 2007, as well as the Class 2A supersectional each of the last three seasons.

The NSCAA comprises more than 30,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport, according to a press release from District 210. The organization offers an extensive recognition program that presents 10,000 individual awards each year.