Jenna Lang made her college decision on Wednesday, but she kept it quiet from her teammates for the rest of the week to keep the focus on Saturday’s Bloomington South Regional.
Sunday morning, the day after Columbus North pulled out a pair of thrilling victories to capture its first regional title since 2017, Lang announced her destination. The junior forward will head to Michigan in 2022.
“I wanted to wait until after regional to tell people so we could focus on the game,” Lang said.
Lang was one of the most sought-after juniors in the state. Fellow Big Ten schools Wisconsin and Indiana University also had offered scholarships, along with Butler.
Michigan came through with an offer earlier this month, a couple weeks after Lang had visited the campus in Ann Arbor.
“They were actually not my No. 1 until I went to look at the campus,” Lang said. “It was kind of an idea of a school, but I didn’t know if I wanted to go there because I didn’t know a lot about the program. When we visited the campus, I really loved everything there. The coaches are high quality, and the recruiting class that’s coming in, I’m excited to play with those girls. They’re a high-quality academic school, so it checked every box I was looking for in a school.”
Lang, who is thinking of majoring in business or kinesiology, plays club soccer for Indy Premier. She hopes to be able to step in and play right away for the Wolverines.
“I hope so,” Lang said. “No place in college is really guaranteed for playing time. You just have to work for playing time anywhere you go, but I’m definitely going to work toward that.”
With 94 goals in three years, Lang ranks third on North’s all-time list. Her 43 goals this year has established a single-season school record.
Lang also has 11 assists and has led the Bull Dogs to an 18-1-1 record, No. 8 state ranking in Class 3A and Conference Indiana, sectional and regional titles.
“Getting the record for the single season was a big goal of mine, but as a team, I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished already,” Lang said.
The most recent accomplishment came on Saturday, when North beat No. 7 Evansville Memorial on penalty kicks in the regional semifinal and No. 9 Bloomington South in overtime in the regional final. The Bull Dogs scored with one second left in regulation to send the championship game into overtime.
“I think definitely the first one, penalty kicks, it’s anybody’s game,” Lang said. “The second one, we were down with 10 minutes to go, and that last second shot, but we still had overtime to play. It was a really good experience with my teammates and just a cool opportunity to be a part of. I’m just glad my teammates were able to come together and pull it off to get the ‘W.’”
Lang and North face another tough test on Saturday when they face No. 3 Guerin Catholic in the semistate at Seymour.
“I think anything is possible,” Lang said. “We’ve worked toward this moment and kind of just prepared all season. We just have to put everything we’ve practiced into play. Any team has a chance when it comes to tournament play.”
Lang said getting her college decision out of the way at this point in her season and career is a big stress reliever.
“It just helps me focus on some things and getting better and better so I can make an impact when I go in my freshman season at Michigan,” Lang said.
“I’m proud of her,” North coach David Young said. “We’re looking forward to seeing how much success she has, and every chance we get, we’re going to go out and watch her.”
