GRAND RAPIDS – The Reeths-Puffer lacrosse team will have plenty to look back on and be proud of, despite a season-ending 22-11 Division 2 regional semifinal loss to Forest Hills Northern on Thursday.
The Rockets finished with a record of 12-5 and tied for the best record in the O-K Conference Tier 3 division. They actually tied for the championship in the standings, but it went to Jenison on a statistical tiebreaker.
They had a huge nine-game winning streak that caught the attention of the entire area, after starting the season with three straight losses.
It was a huge turnaround from 2023, when R-P finished with a disappointing 4-12 mark.
“There is so much for them to be proud of,” said head coach Josh Robidoux as he completed his first season. “Obviously it’s disappointing to end when we thought we had potential for more. But it’s still a testament to their hard work."
Carson Cooper
The Rockets will now say goodbye to a huge group of 17 seniors who led the big turnaround from last season and left a huge mark on the program. That includes Kyler Brainard, who finished with more than 100 career goals and broke the school record this season for the most goals in one season.
“We set records and did things this season that we haven’t done for a long time,” Robidoux said. “We had seniors play phenomenal this season.”
Things started out rough right away for the Rockets, who fell behind 5-0 before junior Owen Greiner found the back of the net for a goal with 1:22 left in the opening quarter.
The Rockets ultimately trailed 6-1 after the opening 12 minutes of play.
Reeths-Puffer responded with a strong second quarter, when each team scored five times.
Owen Greiner
Senior Carsno Cooper and Greiner each found the net twice while Brainard also scored a goal, leaving R-P trailing 11-6 at halftime.
“I thought it was pretty solid,” Robidoux said about the second quarter. “We ended up even with them. Unfortunately, we didn’t play that way for the four quarters.
"We didn’t play quite the caliber we thought we were capable of. We came out flat and they came out hot.”
Cooper and senior Levi Carlson each had a goal in the third quarter, but Forest Hills Northern outscored the Rockets 6-2 to take a 17-8 lead heading into the fourth.
Senior Connor Stawski, Brainard and Cooper all scored in the final quarter of play for the Rocketa. Forest Hills Northern scored five goals in the final 12 minutes to clinch the victory.
“Just a big thank you to the seniors and their leadership,” Robidoux said. “It was a pretty big year for them. We haven’t had players for younger guys to look up to as much in previous years, and that’s big. It may give the younger guys even more drive to go further. It won’t be the same without our seniors, though, and we’ll miss them.” 