Historic Win For Hartland Girls Soccer

There were heroes all around for Hartland girls soccer on a humid Thursday night in Brighton that proved historic.

Lexie Schmidt spurred the offensive in the first half with a goal and a move that set up a penalty kick for teammate Hailey Pleshakov, who scored.

Goalkeeper Julie DeBus made key saves down the stretch, including on a breakaway with two minutes left.

Final score 2-1, Hartland — giving the Eagles their first victory over Brighton, ever. That’s after playing the Bulldogs at least twice a season for some 20 years.

“It was a pretty big celebration,” said coach Andrew Kartsounes. “The girls knew it was a historic thing.”

Kartsounes said his team has had the skills and talent to compete with the perennial power Bulldogs in the past few years, but added the team faced a mental barrier from the tradition of losing. This included a 1-0 defeat earlier this year at home — Hartland's only loss of the season.

Now, he says, the Eagles have taken a big step forward headed toward the end of the season.

“It gives us a real boost,” he said. “It gives use added confidence. If we play good soccer and execute, we can compete with anyone in the state.”

With the win, Hartland has a stronger hold on second place in the KLAA West trailing only Brighton and improved its record to 9-1-3 overall.

But there won’t be too much time to celebrate as Hartland next plays against Williamston, the No. 2 team in Division 3, at 3 p.m. Saturday at home.

Editor's note: If you have any photos or video from the game or celebration, feel free to upload them here to share with the community.