MUSKEGON TWP. - It’s hard to describe a shutout loss in the season opener as any sort of success.
But the Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team just might get away with it to some degree, considering the circumstances.
The Rockets were breaking in eight new starters, and 11 girls on the roster were playing their first varsity game.
To complicate matters, they opened on a frigid Wednesday night against East Grand Rapids, a team that advanced all the way to the Division 2 state finals last year and is ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls.
R-P lost 4-0, but that’s not the whole story. The Rockets trailed 3-0 after the first half, then played much better in the second half on both ends of the field.
R-P goalie Sara Carlson. Photo/Jeremy Clark
What was looking like a rout at halftime turned into a competitive contest over the final 40 minutes, when the Rockets were only outscored 1-0.
So all in all, it wasn’t such a bad first game for an inexperienced team playing a very powerful opponent, and R-P Coach Kody Harrell said he saw a lot of things to like.
"We needed those first 40 minutes of the game to have something to teach the players, then they responded really well to what we taught them at halftime,” said Harrell, who had a much more experienced team last season that finished 13-6-3.
"We have some really smart, good kids, and it will be a really fun year from a coaching aspect. They just soak it all in, and we’re looking forward to teaching them and helping them grow their confidence.
“I was proud of the girls tonight.”
Reeths-Puffer got a strong performance from sophomore goalkeeper Sara Carlson, who stopped 14 of 18 shots in her first varsity start, including eight of nine in the second half.
“We had a wide-open goalie competition this year,” Harrell said. “We looked at three or four options and Sara did a good job of winning that. We were really proud of her tonight I her first varsity experience. She’s quick, she’s got good diving techniques and she can get to the high shots. She made a lot of saves on shots EGR could have scored on.”
The first half didn’t go the Rockets’ way at all. The game was actually scoreless for the first 21 minutes, but East Grand Rapids kept the ball in the R-P zone and looked like a team ready to pounce.
The Pioneers finally broke through with 18:38 left in the half with a corner kick goal. They added another tally about six minutes later on a long kick that found the back of the net, then scored the final goal of the first half on a penalty kick with 11:24 remaining.
East Grand Rapids dominated the first half statistically, outshooting the Rockets 9-0.
Reeths-Puffer looked much more composed in the second half. The Rockets were able to get a little offense going with three shots on goal and did a much better job defensively.
EGR’s only goal came with 8:33 left in the game, when a long shot from the corner that looked more like a crossing pass somehow found its way into the R-P net.
“The biggest difference tonight was experience,” Harrell said. “A lot of those East Grand Rapids girls played in that state championship game last year, so they are a talented and experienced team.
“I told the girls, I really didn’t care about the result of this game. I loved the way we battled. We’re going to look back on the film of this game in a few months and see a lot of growth.”