HARTLAND — The Hartland girls soccer team was looking for someone to pick up the scoring slack following the graduation of Addie Frantti, who had 12 goals and eight assists last spring, then started 19 games as a freshman at Northern Michigan.
The Eagles never thought that someone would be a former foe in the KLAA West.
When Izzy Armstrong’s family moved from Novi to Hartland, one of the Eagles’ biggest positions of need was unexpectedly filled.
Armstrong scored 15 goals, tying Brighton’s Maya Bjedov for the Livingston County lead, and dished out six assists. Some of those goals were bigger than others, as she opened the scoring in victories over Northville in the KLAA championship game and Bloomfield Hills in the district final.
Problem solved.
The arrival of Armstrong also allowed other Eagles to slot more properly into the lineup.
“She answered a question we had up there when Addie Frantti graduated,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “That was a whole lot of goals. We needed to find some goals from other places. We didn’t have to push Claire (L’Esperance) forward, so she could lay back in a defensive position where she was a little more comfortable.”
Armstrong’s production on a team that reached the state Division 1 semifinals, and her status as a second-team all-stater, earned her the Livingston County girls soccer Player of the Year, as selected by the Livingston Daily.
She fit in seamlessly with the Eagles because she was familiar with many of their players, not just as an opponent while at Novi but also as a teammate. Armstrong played with Livingston County’s Legends FC club team, out of the Legacy Center in Brighton.
“There were about seven of them who were on my club team,” Armstrong said. “That definitely made it a lot easier. All of the girls were really nice. I just got along with everyone really well.”
Armstrong was most impressed by the work ethic at Hartland, which has been one of Michigan’s top programs over the past five years with a state championship, a state runner-up finish and three trips to the Division 1 semifinals.
“You could just tell everyone really wanted to win for themselves and a lot for each other because everyone was really close,” Armstrong said. “That was a big part of why we got as far as we did; everyone wanted to keep going for each other.”
Like so many Hartland players before her, Armstrong will continue her soccer career at Northern Michigan. She had been in contact with Northern since she was at Novi.
Now she will have the opportunity to continue playing with teammates like Eva Larson and Paige Sundman, as well as Hartland juniors who will inevitably end up at Northern down the road.
“My mom actually grew up near there, so I’ve always wanted to go to college in Marquette,” Armstrong said. “I know a bunch of players on the team. It made me want to come.
“My whole life I wanted to play college soccer, ever since I started playing as a little kid. That was always the dream. First, it was high school soccer when I was really little watching all the older girls play, then college soccer.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: First-year Hartland girls soccer player named best in Livingston County
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
