Lake Forest College

Mahir Mameledzija grew up in Skokie, Illinois, and attended Niles West High School, where he became the soccer team’s career leader in goals and twice earned All-Sectional honors. 

Mameledzija entered Lake Forest College in 2010 and became the Forester men’s soccer program’s most prolific scorer. He led the Midwest Conference with 13 goals and 32 points as a freshman and matched those totals his sophomore season. He was a First Team All-MWC selection and the Foresters’ Most Valuable Player both years and added MWC Offensive Player of the Year and National Soccer Coaches Association of America Third Team All-North Region honors as a sophomore. Mameledzija was the nation’s leading scorer and helped lead Lake Forest to a conference title as a junior. His 27 goals, 59 points, and 11 game-winning scores that fall were the most by any player in league history and he repeated as a First Team All-MWC selection, MWC Offensive Player of the Year, and team MVP. In addition, the NSCAA made him a First Team All-Region and Third Team All-American selection. As a senior Mameledzija scored another 19 goals and added four assists as the Foresters repeated as conference champions, won the MWC Tournament, and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. He was once again First Team All-MWC, MWC Offensive Player of the Year, and First Team All-Region. Mameledzija finished his career with 72 goals, 165 points, and 27 game-winners and, at the time of his induction, those marks and his single-season totals from 2012 are still school and conference records. 

Mameledzija, a chemistry and Spanish double major, was also extremely successful in the classroom. He was a three-time Academic All-MWC honoree and twice an Academic All-America® First Team selection and member of the NSCAA College Division Scholar All-America Team. As a senior he was chosen as the NCAA Division III Academic All-American of the Year® by the College Sports Information Directors of America and was also an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner. 

After graduating from Lake Forest, he earned an MBA from the University of Illinois Chicago and a medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. After finishing residency in Emergency Medicine at UIC, he stayed with the program as a member of the teaching faculty and emergency physician.