ZEELAND — A goal in the final minutes of a pivotal conference game helped Reeths-Puffer’s girls soccer team come away with a crucial tie on Tuesday night.
The Rockets traveled south to take on state-ranked Zeeland West and came away with a 4-4 deadlock.
Trailing 4-3 with 4:30 to play, Reeths-Puffer’s Billie Tryska was able to follow up a teammate’s shot and score to tie the game.
R-P's Sophia Hekkema uses her head to battle for the ball. Photo/Tyler Lirones
While the Rockets aren’t looking for moral victories, head coach Kody Harrell said coming away with a tie against Zeeland West, ranked No. 6 in Division 2, is a positive step.
“Knowing that we can hang with a Top 10 team in the state for Division 2, that adds to that confidence and that’s massive going into a game like Shores (on Thursday),” Harrell said. “We can actually play with schools our size that are ranked fairly highly in the state. It’s not just about tying, but who we did it with.”
Harrell added that he was proud of the grit the team showed after playing two very physical games on Saturday, then coming from behind on Tuesday night.
Teammates congratulate Hekkema (10) after her goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“To come back just three days later and put a gutsy performance like this together, which was also fairly physical, was really huge for our girls’ confidence,” he said.
Tuesday’s game was the first of two very important challenges this week for R-P in the O-K Green championship race. The Rockets, Zeeland West and Mona Shores all entered the week with no losses in the conference, with R-P playing both the Dux and the Sailors.
After Tuesday’s action, R-P is now 4-0-1 in the O-K Green, Zeeland West is 2-0-2 and Mona Shores, who tied Zeeland East, is 3-0-1.
R-P's Chloe Brainard prepares to drill the ball. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Reeths-Puffer and Mona Shores play this Thursday on the Rockets’ home field.
“It’s huge for us, because (Zeeland West) already had a tie,” Harrell said. “We still control our own destiny with Shores on Thursday. We talk about not being here for moral victories, but when you understand the context of the situation, that was a huge tie for us.”
Zeeland West scored first just a few minutes into the game on a goal by Marissa Ybarra. Reeths-Puffer got on the board with a goal from Tryska, who found the net following a corner kick with 24:16 left in the first half.
R-P's Brooke Bradley (14) gets ready to pass while an opponent closes in. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets took the lead on a goal by Sophia Hekkema, assisted by Ashlynn Anderson, with 20:03 left until halftime. A penalty kick goal by Zeeland’s Jordyn Klaasen evened the score at 2-2 with 2:57 left in the half.
Reeths-Puffer’s Taeah Rensberger opened the second half scoring, punching in the rebound of a blocked shot to put the Rockets up 3-2 with 33:35 to play. A second penalty kick goal by Klaasen tied the game with 32:35 remaining, then another Dux goal with 30:34 left made the score 4-3.
Five minutes later, R-P was called for another foul, giving the Dux another penalty shot. Rockets goalie Ava Klopp made the save, but was whistled for leaving the goal line too early and the shooter got another chance. Fortunately for R-P, that shot sailed high, keeping it a one-goal game.
R-P's Alyvia Ackerberg (4) races a Zeeland West player to the ball. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“It’s a bummer because our back line has been good all year,” Harrell said about allowing three penalty kicks. “I don’t want to make it like the back line had a bad day — they didn’t. It was just a couple of bad moments.”
Reeths-Puffer struggled to generate offensive chances until breaking through with under five minutes to play. A shot from Rensberger was stopped by the Zeeland West goalie but slipped through her legs and Tryska was there to follow the shot and score the tying goal.
The Rockets are now 6-2-3 overall.
