The Reeths-Puffer lacrosse team expected a tough fight against an improving Kenowa Hills squad on Thursday, and that turned out to be the case.
But the Rockets held their ground by building an early lead, holding their composure when the Knights battled back to tie the score several times, and finally emerged with an important 13-10 conference victory on the road.
Carson Cooper and Kyler Brainard each had four goals for Reeths-Puffer, which won its seventh straight game and improved to 7-3 overall and 6-0 in the O-K Conference Tier 2 standings.
R-P got early goals from JT Fansler and Brooks Johnson, Kenowa Hills answered each time, and the game was tied 2-2 midway through the first quarter. The Rockets scored the last three goals of the quarter – by Carson Cooper, Kyler Brainard and Cohen Beck – and led 5-2 heading into the second.
R-P's Carson Cooper
Kenowa Hills scored the first three goals of the second quarter, all within the first three minutes, and tied the game at 5-5. R-P responded by scoring two of the last three goals of the quarter, both from Cooper, and led 7-5 at halftime.
The Knights tied the game for the third time by scoring the first goal of the third quarter, then R-P’s Kyler Brainard found the net twice, giving the Rockets a 9-7 edge headed into the fourth.
R-P held the lead and secured the victory with a 4-3 edge in the final quarter. Owen Greiner scored two of the final goals while Cooper and Brainard each had one.
“We knew that this team was going to come back with a vengeance after the last game and they definitely did,” said R-P Coach Josh Robidoux. ”They played very well defensively in the first half, but we were able to find the small seams and keep attacking. In the second half nearly every aspect of our game, from our defense and faceoffs to transitions and offense all improved and built off of each other.”