Instant offense: Newfound attack carries Brighton to soccer district championship
Six years is a long time between district championships for a girls soccer program like Brighton, which once won 16 in a row.
But that doesn’t mean the Bulldogs haven’t had championship-caliber teams since their last title in 2017.
A team that suffered four consecutive one-goal postseason losses since then made sure there wouldn’t be a close call this time around, rolling to a 5-0 victory over East Lansing in a Division 1 district final Thursday in Grand Ledge.
“I feel like the program’s been at that level, but there are a lot of great teams around us,” Brighton coach Ryan Carriere said. “You have one misstep and the season’s over. Right now, we’re super excited to continue to step forward.”
The Bulldogs have been dominant during the postseason, outscoring three district opponents by a score of 13-0. It’s the first time since 2002 that Brighton has won a district championship with three shutouts. The only other Livingston County team to do so since then was the 2021 Hartland squad, which went on to win the state championship.
A 3-0 victory over Hartland Tuesday in the district semifinals was sandwiched between 5-0 routs of Holt and East Lansing.
“They gained a lot of confidence from the game on Tuesday,” Carriere said. “So, entering the game, they were talking about keeping the energy high the entire game, making sure they were pressing the ball and playing with confidence. They managed to do that throughout the game.”
The Bulldogs (10-7-3) are celebrating a district championship because they are finally producing consistent offense. Brighton was shut out in four of its first nine games and scored 25 goals through 15 games. In the last five games, all victories, the Bulldogs have scored 24 goals and allowed none.
“The players are really believing in the system they’re playing,” Carriere said. “We’re sacrificing a little bit of sheet in order to get more players in the box. Hopefully, it pays dividends in the next couple rounds.”
Ainsley Seiter scored off a pass from Kate Carrico for the only goal of the first half.
The Bulldogs created some breathing room early in the second half when Carrico scored on a penalty kick earned by Brynn Bobby and Olivia Sebestyen scored a minute later.
Brighton added goals from Irene Kiilunen and Madison Bell. Jess Gerych earned her fifth straight shutout.
Brighton will face Grand Blanc in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Northville.
RELATED: Pinckney wins first girls soccer district championship
Softball
Pinckney 4, South Lyon East 2
Pinckney 8, South Lyon East 4
CeCe Thorington went 5-for-7 with five RBIs, a home run, two doubles and three stolen bases in Pinckney’s final regular-season games.
MacKenzie Burns homered in the first game for the Pirates (27-9-1). Abby Rauser struck out 10 batters while allowing four hits and no walks in seven innings.
Girls lacrosse
Hartland 17, Oxford 3
Ally Payne and Kloey Merenuk each scored four goals in Hartland’s regional semifinal victory.
Montana Chuba had three goals, while Madeline Turcotte and Ava Gilardone each had two goals and three assists.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton beats East Lansing for girls soccer district championship
