The Reeths-Puffer lacrosse team fell 14-13 to Jenison in a heartbreaking overtime loss on Tuesday night.
With 2:44 left in the overtime period, Jenison found the back of the net to end the game on the sudden death goal.
“Tonight was a heartbreaker,” said Rocket head coach Josh Robidoux. “We really saw some positive strides on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.”
The Rockets quickly fell behind 3-0 after one quarter of play.
Cohen Beck, who scored five goals.
Each team scored four goals in the second quaerter, giving Jenison a 7-4 lead at halftime.
Hunter Adams and Cohen Beck each netted two goals for the Rockets in the second quarter while Garrison Niklasch and Jax Siplienga each had an assist.
“We started off slow in the first,” Robidoux said. “But this time our guys were able to keep things manageable and push to the next possession mentality. I’m proud of their effort in fighting back from the deficit.”
Reeths-Puffer scored the first three goals of the third quarter to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:40 left in the quarter.
Garrison Niklasch
Niklasch, Beck and Blake Kiel all scored to start the quarter while Cal Millis had an assist.
Following a Jenison goal, R-P’s Gabe Fierick scored with 4:38 left in the third to tie the game at 8-8.
Jenison scored the next three goals to pull ahead 11-8, then R-P’ Braeden Monette scored with 36 seconds left in the third to make the score 11-9.
Beck scored with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 11-10.
Hunter Adams
Following a Jenison goal, Niklasch scored two goals in the span of 29 seconds to tie the game at 12-12 with 4:06 remaining.
Jenison took a 13-12 lead with 2:23 left before Beck netted a goal off an assist from Niklasch with 36 seconds left to force overtime.
Beck led the Rocket attack with five goals while Niklasch had three goals and two assists. Adams finished the night with two goals.
“Niklasch, Adams and Beck all had great games,’ said Robidoux about the top offensive performers. “Adams gave us a boost in the second half with his tenacity and Niklasch really found his stride, coming up big when things counted.”
The Rockets are now 2-7 overall and 2-5 in O-K Rainbow Tier 3 conference play. They’ll next host Kenowa Hills on Thursday in non-conference action.