There are times when the wealth gets spread out on an all-Livingston County team, and then there’s the 2026 all-county girls soccer team.
The first team reflects the dominance of two teams in a county with six programs, as Hartland and Brighton combined for all 11 first-team selections and eight of the 11 second-teamers.
Hartland was a state semifinals in Division 1, while Brighton won a district championship and pushed the Eagles in two one-goal losses this season.
The county’s other four teams had a combined record of 25-33-4, including 1-4 in the postseason.
Hartland’s Gracie Kastamo, Claire L’Esperance and Paige Sundman are repeat first-team selections.
Izzy Armstrong
► School: Hartland
► Class: Senior
► Position: Forward
► Accomplishments: Armstrong moved to Hartland from Novi and was the Eagles’ top scorer in her only season with the team, scoring 15 goals and six assists. She scored in the first 12 minutes of victories over Northville in the KLAA championship game and Bloomfield Hills in the district final. Armstrong, who made second-team all-state, will play at Northern Michigan.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “I heard about her from a few of her teammates from club, but you don’t expect a senior to come in and make that kind of impact. She fit in so well. She really added to a position we needed to be that attacking outside forward.”
Maya Bjedov
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Position: Forward
► Accomplishments: Bjedov made second-team all-state after putting up a team-high 15 goals to go with five assists. She had three of Brighton’s five goals in two meetings with state semifinalist Hartland. Bjedov, a second-team all-county pick the last two years, will play for Wayne State.
► Coach Steve Horn: “In my opinion, she was the most dangerous player in the area and maybe the state as an attacker. Her pace, her strength, her balance, her ability to score, honestly I’m not sure I saw anybody who matched her physical attributes.”
Addison Elliott
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Position: Midfielder
► Accomplishments: Elliott made all-region after scoring two goals and two assists and playing a strong two-way game for Brighton. She is receiving NCAA Division II offers for soccer.
► Coach Steve Horn: “The stats don’t show it, but she’s really a big part of our attack. She’s the one who set up the player who set up the player. She would have 15 hockey assists if that was a thing in soccer. She was starting our attacks from a little bit deeper position. That led to us scoring and getting opportunities. Her engine won balls on both sides of the game.”
Gracie Kastamo
► School: Hartland
► Class: Junior
► Position: Midfielder
► Accomplishments: Kastamo has reached double digits in goal scoring each of the past two seasons, scoring 10 goals and five assists this year after putting up 10 goals and four assists as a sophomore. She made the all-district team.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “She’s one of those center midfielders who was a little more offensive so she can get forward, but can drop in and help us defensively. She’s a steady presence in our midfield. She provides us with more transition from defense to offense.”
Eva Larson
► School: Hartland
► Class: Senior
► Position: Defender
► Accomplishments: Larson bounced back from an injury-plagued junior season to lead a Hartland defense that posted eight straight shutouts and 14 in 23 games. She generated offense from her outside back position, scoring four goals and six assists. Larson, an all-regional selection, will play for Northern Michigan.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “We needed her to be more of a leader coming out of the back and helping us with our younger center backs playing next to her and a younger goalie. She provided senior leadership on the defense. Her ability to get forward made her a complete player both ways.”
Claire L’Esperance
► School: Hartland
► Class: Junior
► Position: Midfielder
► Accomplishments: L’Esperance took on more of a defensive role as the season went on, but still produced nine goals and 10 assists after compiling 15 goals and 14 assists last season. The made third-team all-state, a bump up from honorable mention last season when she was the county’s Player of the Year.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “Partway through the season, her role evolved from us trying to push her to be forward and to be more involved in scoring to really holding down that defensive center mid position and still scoring a good number of goals. She was part of that long shutout streak we had when we transitioned her into that defensive position.”
Elise L’Esperance
► School: Hartland
► Class: Sophomore
► Position: Forward
► Accomplishments: L’Esperance had nine goals and 13 assists to make the all-district team in her first full varsity season. She showed enough as a part-time varsity player her freshman year to earn a permanent callup and scored four goals and three assists.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “She liked to play into the people around her as a center forward. As the season wore on, she got more aggressive scoring and had more goals, but was still keeping up with those assists and keeping everybody around her involved in the offense. That’s a big role for a sophomore to play. I’m really looking forward to what she’s going to do here as a junior and senior.”
Kate Malachino
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Position: Forward
► Accomplishments: Malachino is an elite hockey player, earning an invitation to the USA Hockey Girls National 16/17 Camp, but would have a future in soccer if she chose that path. She was Brighton’s second-leading goal scorer with 11 goals to go with nine assists. She received all-state honorable mention.
► Coach Steve Horn: “She’s a big, strong physical presence. She’s not slow by any means; she’s still pretty fast. She’s able to receive the ball, hold the ball and bring others into the play. When we did get it forward and she was in the box, she’s probably scoring. She scored with her head, scored with her feet.”
Alexis Martin
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Position: Defender
► Accomplishments: Martin received all-state honorable mention and was chosen the top defender in Brighton’s district. She was productive playing up top, but her move back to defense was a factor in the Bulldogs’ mid-season turnaround. She plans to play club soccer at Indiana University where she will be a medical student.
► Coach Steve Horn: “She just calmed us down. She’s a big physical body, a big presence in there. She wins balls in the air. She’s good with her feet, connects the game. Her biggest thing is her leadership. When we made that switch after we lost to Saline, that’s when we turned things around. After that, we went 6-2.”
Paige Sundman
► School: Hartland
► Class: Senior
► Position: Forward
► Accomplishments: Sundman scored some of Hartland’s biggest goals in recent seasons, scoring game-winners with 17:47 left in the 2024 regional final against Bloomfield Hills and 7:47 left in the regional semifinal against Brighton this season. She had eight goals and four assists, earning all-state honorable mention. She will play at Northern Michigan.
► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “The work rate of Paige Sundman is just incredible. It’s been that way for four years. No matter what’s going on in the game, no matter if she’s been taken down a few times or half injured, Paige is going to give it 100% all the time. She’s going to put pressure on people and be creative.”
Anna Brown-Nall
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Position: Goalkeeper
► Accomplishments: Brown-Nall has been Brighton’s starting goalie for three seasons, moving up to the all-county first team after making honorable mention as a freshman and the second team as a sophomore. She stopped 71% of the shots she faced and made the all-district team.
► Coach Steve Horn: “She makes the big-game saves. I kind of challenged her to lead from the back and be more vocal and commanding. She really stepped up to the challenge. She’s a big leader back there like an extra captain. She makes the easy saves look easy and the tough ones look easy, as well. To be honest, she’s an all-state keeper.”
Second team
Nina Cucuz, Brighton, MF-F, Jr.
Ellie Curtis, Hartland, D, Soph.
Mallory Frantti, Hartland, MF, Fr.
Julia Garcia, Pinckney, D, Sr.
Caitlyn Laney, Hartland, D, Sr.
Riley Livermore, Howell, F, Sr.
Kinley Mays, Pinckney, MF, Jr.
Chloe Rose, Brighton, MF, Jr.
Lizzy Seiter, Brighton, D, Sr.
Addison Trammel, Hartland, D, Soph.
Haley DePestel, Hartland, GK, Soph.
Honorable mention
Brighton: Grace Domanski (Jr.), Lena Skelly (Soph.). Fowlerville: Anna Carr (Jr.), Jaymie Iseler (Jr.), Lila Neirynck (Soph.), Ceci Trevisan (Jr.). Hartland: Emma Storm (Jr.). Howell: Lillian Altermatt (Jr.), Sydney Lamb (Jr.), Kailey Lowe (Fr.), Hannah Ralko (Sr.). Livingston Christian: Gracelyn Harrison (Jr.), Allie Johnson (Sr.), Amaya Johnson (8th grade), Kendall Ploch (Jr.). Pinckney: Madelyn Curry (Soph.), Camille Klinczinski (Soph.), Joslin Stepp (Fr.).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Meet the 2026 all-Livingston County girls soccer team
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
