HARTLAND — Considering she was attending a new high school as a senior, the adjustment wasn’t as drastic for Izzy Armstrong as it might have been in a different situation.
She knew some of her new Hartland teammates, knew many of the Eagles’ opponents and had a good sense for the caliber of team she was joining after the family moved from Novi.
“It was a different experience, but also felt pretty similar,” Armstrong said. “We had always lost to them on Novi, so I knew they were pretty good. I was sad for my old team, but I was also excited for all the opportunities I thought I was going to get.”
Opportunities, for instance, like winning postseason hardware which, she has found out, the players refuse to touch. It’s a hockey tradition undoubtedly passed down by the brothers of many of the players.
Armstrong scored the game’s first goal to ignite the Eagles in a 4-2 victory over Bloomfield Hills in a Division 1 district championship game on Thursday, May 28 at Hartland. It’s the third straight district title and fifth in the past six seasons for the Eagles.
Armstrong came to Hartland from a Novi program that was a state powerhouse not too long ago before falling on hard times recently.
She has fit in seamlessly on a team with state championship aspirations, scoring a team-leading 15 goals. Armstrong has had more of an offensive role playing forward for the Eagles than she had at Novi.
“The coach kind of utilized me in other rules in the midfield and stuff, so I didn’t score as much,” Armstrong said. “I’m glad I get to play forward and play with my best friends.”
Armstrong has played travel soccer with some Hartland players over the years. Those players were able to give coach Andrew Kartsounes a heads-up on the type of talent that was joining the team.
“They told me she’s a goal scorer and she’s fast,” Kartsounes said. “As the season started, that’s one of the things we worked in. She has had a bigger and bigger and bigger role as the season’s gone on. You don’t usually get a senior who comes in for the first time to your team and makes the kind of impact she’s made. It’s been huge for us. She just came in and it was like she’d been part of the team for four years.”
In two of Hartland’s biggest games this season, Armstrong infused energy into the team by scoring early goals.
She scored 1 minute and 18 seconds into the Eagles’ 3-0 victory over previously unbeaten Northville in the KLAA championship game. In the district final, she opened the scoring 11 minutes and 5 seconds into the game by burying a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
“It feels really nice,” Armstrong said. “These have always been teams we’ve struggled against on Novi. Scoring pretty quickly against these amazing teams felt pretty good. I wouldn’t have done it without my amazing teammates.”
Sophomore Elise L’Esperance had a hand in Hartland’s next three goals.
She carried the ball down the right side and passed it into the middle to Gracie Kastamo, who scored with 8:32 left in the first half. L’Esperance put another ball to the front of the net to set up a goal by Paige Sundman with 34:35 left in the game. L’Esperance made it 4-0 by blasting a shot on the rush into the net with 6:11 remaining.
The only down side for the Eagles was the end of their shutout streak, which had reached eight games. Freshman Blakely Hall scored twice in the final 3:20, first on a penalty kick and then two minutes later on a blast into the lower left corner of the net.
“We were up four in this one before we gave up that first goal,” Kartsounes said. “It’s gonna happen. I guess it’s better that it happened when we’re up 4-0 than when we’re in a 0-0 battle. We’ll get that out of the way and go back to trying to get more shutouts.”
The last goal Hartland allowed was by Brighton’s Maya Bjedov with 33 seconds left in the Eagles’ 3-2 victory on April 21.
Hartland will take on that same Brighton team in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 at Clarkston. The winner will advance to the regional championship game at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 4 at Clarkston.
It will be the first time the Livingston County rivals have played one another after the district round of the state tournament. Hartland (16-3-1) will carry a nine-game winning streak into the showdown.
“It’s always a rivalry,” Kartsounes said. “That’ll make it tough. Unfortunately, we’re right next to one another and we’ll have to travel to Clarkston and play on turf instead of the grass we’re used to. That’s one of those things that happens in the state tournament when you win and advance. Sometimes you get weird situations. I’m sure it’ll be another good game.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland girls soccer newcomer jump-starts district championship win
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
