NORTON SHORES - From one perspective, the Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team has clearly demonstrated that it belongs in championship conversations.
Not long ago there were no close games between the Rockets and Mona Shores, because the Sailors had a much better program.
This year R-P narrowed the gap, playing Mona Shores twice and losing twice by only one goal.
That’s definitely progress, but it still didn’t make the Rockets feel any better following Monday’s 1-0 loss to the Sailors in the O-K Green conference tournament championship game at Mona Shores High School.
R-P's Sophia Hekkema moves the ball up the field.
A victory would have given R-P a share of the overall conference championship with the Sailors. Instead the Rockets will have to settle for second place, based on the difference of a single goal.
That’s a bitter pill to swallow for a team that’s fought hard to remain in the O-K Green title race all season.
“We’ve been scoring more goals in the last couple of weeks, but this was a tough one,” said R-P Coach Kody Harrell.
For Reeths-Puffer, there’s no time to fret too much about lost conference opportunities, however, because Division 2 districts begin this week, and the next loss will mean the end of the season.
The Rockets, now 11-5-3 on the season, will open district play against Fremont on the Packers’ home field on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The winner will advance to next Tuesday’s semifinal round against the winner of the Ludington-Muskegon game.
R-P's Abby Hill tries to maintain control of the ball against a Shores defender.
If all goes well in the first two rounds, R-P would probably run into Spring Lake, the top-ranked team in the state, in the district finals next Thursday, and that would be quite a challenge.
The Rockets played the Lakers a few weeks ago and lost 3-0.
If the Rockets can get to the district finals, Harrell is convinced his team has a real chance to pull off an upset.
“We can’t feel bad about this loss,” the coach said. “We have to live in the moment, and we’re going to be really tested. If we do get to that championship game, I feel really good about our chances. We can totally win a district title. If we can put it all together at the right time, we have the team to do that.”
With all the district excitement coming up, Monday’ loss to Mona Shores will soon be a distant memory for the Rockets.
R-P Coach Kody Harrell signals instructions to his team.
There isn’t a lot to remember from a scoring perspective, anyway. The Sailors’ Katie Phillips got the game’s only goal with about 23 minutes left in the first half.
The Rockets had several good shots and chances to score in the second half, but nothing found the mark.
“They were the aggressors in the first half, I thought we were in the second, but we just couldn’t capitalize,” Harrell said. “They are a team that knows how to win games. They haven’t lost in the conference since the O-K Green formed three years ago.”
