Goalkeeper Ava Klopp turned away all nine shots she faced on Friday night, allowing the Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team to claim a hard-fought 1-0 victory over state-ranked North Muskegon.
R-P senior Sophia Hekkema scored the only goal early in the game after taking a crossing pass from teammate Taeah Rensberger. The Rockets dominated play before halftime, outshooting the Norse 7-2.
R-P goalie Ava Klopp
In the second half the Rockets focused on “shadowing” and shutting down North Muskegon standout Natalie Pannucci, and the strategy worked.
R-P coach Kody Harrell credited Alyvia Ackerberg with doing a great job of keeping Pannucci from scoring, and also credited Grace Goodell, Kiera Ketner, Reese Tryska, Mallorie Messer and Chloe Brainard for strong overall defensive play.
The Rockets finished with a 10-9 edge in shots on goal.
R-P's Sophia Hekkema
“We wanted to take (the second half) to play with a lead versus a team that has some speed up top, and work on marking a player while still having four defenders on the back line,” Harrell said. “I’ve never done it before and we’ve never done it in practice. We chose to experiment and do something different on the fly. It caused some confusion for our girls, which was good for them to sort out on the field in a close game.
“I’m very excited about our team’s potential. We didn’t pass well and it was a physical game, but we were still able to come away with the win.”
The Rockets, now 1-1, will travel to play Jenison on Tuesday.
