Meet the 2023 All-Livingston County girls soccer team

Kate Carrico

► School: Brighton

► Class: Sophomore

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Carrico scored 15 goals in her first varsity season, the highest total among the county’s three Division 1 teams. She also had three assists. Carrico was a third-team all-state selection. She scored a hat trick in a 5-0 first-round district victory over Holt.

► Coach Ryan Carriere: “She has very high expectations for herself during our season, but also for post-high school. She was willing to go forward and play multiple positions, based on what our needs were and what other teams were giving us.”

Alyse Daavettila

► School: Hartland

► Class: Junior

► Position: Forward

► Accomplishments: Daavettila was Hartland’s leading scorer with nine goals and six assists. She earned third-team all-state in Division 1. Daavettila scored the winning goal with 8:50 left in the second half in a 2-1 first-round district victory over sixth-ranked Okemos. She had the tying goal in the second half of a 1-1 tie with second-ranked Northville.

► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “She’s played a lot over the last couple years, but this year she really became our main scorer, which is something she hadn’t done in the past. We really needed that. We graduated some great scorers in the last couple years. We needed someone to step into that role. She was usually our most dangerous offensive player.”

Peyton Delongchamp

► School: Pinckney

► Class: Junior

► Position: Goalkeeper

► Accomplishments: Delongchamp broke her own school record with 11 shutouts, one more than she had last season. She earned second-team all-state honors in Division 2 after receiving honorable mention in 2022. Delongchamp allowed only one goal during an eight-game stretch that included victories in the district final and regional semifinals.

► Coach Sean Grace: “At the beginning of the year, I said she’s one of the best goalies in the state; that definitely still holds true. We played some of the best teams in the state; she was definitely the best goalie we saw, for sure.”

Claire Denton

► School: Pinckney

► Class: Senior

► Position: Forward

► Accomplishments: Denton had a knack for scoring or creating big goals. She had a hand in four of Pinckney’s five goals in three postseason victories, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over Jackson in the district final. She had 16 goals and nine assists, receiving honorable mention all-state in Division 2.

► Coach Sean Grace: “She either scored or assisted in almost every big game we had. In a lot of games where she came through in the clutch, she was supposed to be on limited minutes because of injury. In the tournament, she had a 102 fever and strep throat. I felt bad keeping her in, but she’d reward me by winning the game with a goal or assist.”

Zaryah Griffin

► School: Pinckney

► Class: Junior

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Griffin’s 17 goals were the most by a Division 1 or 2 player in Livingston County. She also set up nine goals. Griffin received second-team all-state honors in Division 2 and was the top vote-getter among field players on the all-district team.

► Coach Sean Grace: “Zaryah really is the backbone of the team. She holds everything together offensively and defensively. She reads the field extremely well. She can make runs forward and knows when to defend. She has the ball on her feet more than any other player on the field. She’s super smart. She’s almost the perfect player.”

Emma Kastamo

► School: Hartland

► Class: Junior

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Kastamo controlled the game in the central midfield and initiated most of Hartland’s set plays. She had four goals and three assists, earning all-district. She started at center back on the state championship team as a freshman.

► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “She played in our central midfield and was a playmaker for us and somebody we could count on to provide us with free kicks and corner kicks. She is a two-way player for us who was a big part of our midfield.”

Kailey Lambert

► School: Pinckney

► Class: Senior

► Position: Defender

► Accomplishments: Lambert was the leading scorer among defenders in the county for the second year in a row, scoring seven goals and 13 assists. The Siena Heights recruit was a third-team all-stater in Division 2.

► Coach Sean Grace: “If you get 20 points from your center back, that is absolutely incredible. She holds it down defensively and her free kicks are ridiculous.”

Caitlyn McKenzie

► School: Brighton

► Class: Senior

► Position: Defender

► Accomplishments: McKenzie was the defensive anchor for a Brighton team that won a Division 1 district championship for the first time since 2017. She was a key reason why the Bulldogs allowed only one goal in their last six games, posting five straight shutouts.

► Coach Ryan Carriere: “Her ability to read the game and make decisions of when to step up and when to drop off is something you can’t coach. She has a very intuitive sense of what to do in every play and every situation.”

Katie Swirczek

► School: Hartland

► Class: Junior

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Swirczek scored the tying goal with 15:47 left in the second half of a 2-1 first-round district victory over No. 6 Okemos. It was her fourth goal of the season to go with two assists. She made the all-district team.

► Coach Andrew Kartsounes: “She had more of a defensive role for us, but could get forward when we needed her to. She’s really had a great last couple seasons for us and has stepped into more of a leadership role this year.”

Olivia Sebestyen

► School: Brighton

► Class: Sophomore

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Sebestyen scored five goals and added six assists in her first varsity season. She provided the ability to join the attack or defend from the midfield position. Sebestyen received all-state honorable mention.

► Coach Ryan Carriere: “She’s a very strong possession-oriented player. As the season progressed, we saw her getting in the spaces in the attacking third a little bit higher and also putting the ball in the back of the net consistently. After that happens for a little while, players start to build more confidence.”

Jana Stanis

► School: Brighton

► Class: Senior

► Position: Midfielder

► Accomplishments: Stanis played a defensive role as a central midfielder for a team that posted eight shutouts.

► Coach Ryan Carriere: “Jana does whatever is required for the team. For the majority of the year, we did ask her to sit a little bit deeper and make sure we were connected between our lines. She was the ultimate leader, making sure everybody was part of the team and making sure everybody believed what they were doing together.”

SECOND TEAM

Leila Al-Qallaf, Hartland, GK, Sr.

Naomi Bongero, Brighton, D, Soph.

Josie Cheyne, Hartland, F, Jr.

Izzy DePestel, Hartland, D, Soph.

Addie Frantti, Hartland, MF, Soph.

Audrey Johnson, Livingston Christian, F, Soph.

Irene Kiilunen, Brighton, D, Jr.

Maddie Pietila, Howell, MF, Jr.

Sophia Pietila, Hartland, D, Soph.

Ella Vandemergel, Brighton, F, Soph.

Anna VanKannel, Brighton, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Brighton: Janne Belgardt (Sr.), Jesse Gerych (Sr.), Emily Kramer (Jr.), Ainsley Seiter (Jr.). Charyl Stockwell: Emma Ashe (Sr.), Erynn Dawson (Sr.), Cassie Hall (Sr.), Grace Tiderington (Soph.). Fowlerville: Autumn Carr (Soph.), Morgan Challiss (Jr.), Cailyn Cockerill (Soph.), Kyla Durbin (Jr.), Mia Jaeger (Jr.). Hartland: Avery Gehres (Jr.), Ellie Laier (Jr.). Howell: Paige Costello (Sr.), Alena Johnson (Sr.). Livingston Christian: Allie Hunt (Soph.), Allie Johnson (Fr.). Pinckney: Alexis Altizer (Jr.), Emma Gendernalik (Sr.), Julia Garcia (Fr.), Natalie Graves (Sr.), Valerie Graves (Jr.), Alex Hanselman (Jr.), Mackenna Prince (Soph), Ella Swiderski (Jr.).

Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Meet the 2023 All-Livingston County girls soccer team