CEDAR SPRINGS - Jaslynn Kops scored another goal for the Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team on Wednesday, and it was a really, really big one in several different ways.
As everybody who follows the team knows, Kops was one goal away from breaking the single-season school record, which she tied last week in a district quarterfinal win over Cadillac.
So when she found the mark with 12:46 left against Ludington on Wednesday, after several near misses throughout the contest, Kops established a new record with 24 goals this season, one more than former R-P great Sophia Hekkema scored in 2023.
But Kops’ goal meant a whole lot more than that for the Rockets, who had just given up a goal and were clinging to a 2-1 lead with 14:29 left in the Division 2 district semifinals at Cedar Springs High School.
Less than two minutes later, Kops made things much better when she scored her record-breaker from 18 yards out, giving the Rockets a much safer 3-1 edge.
Jaslynn Kops, who scored her 24th goal, a new school record. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Ludington scored again with just under four minutes left, but Kops’ goal held up as the difference-maker in a big 3-2 victory.
The win kept the Rockets’ season alive and put them in Friday night’s district championship game against host Cedar Springs, a team that beat R-P earlier in the season.
“I was like, okay, there's one girl to beat, and I made a little move to the side, cut in, and just left it fly,” Kops said, when asked to describe her record-setting goal. “I knew where it was going.”
So what was Kops’ first thought when she scored? That she just broke the record, or that she just scored a really crucial goal for her team?
“We needed that goal!” she said. “And then I was like, 'Oh my God, I just broke the record,' and I actually couldn't believe it for a second. Then my teammate Ash David was like ‘You broke it!’ It was surreal. It was fun.”
Abby Hill (7), who scored R-P's first goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
R-P head coach Kody Harrell was very grateful that Kops’ record-setter came at the perfect time for the team.
”It made my coaching heart happy, because we did a shooting drill that simulated that exact angle,” Harrell said about the way Kops scored the goal. “And to make it 3-1 and give us that cushion again was huge, because they did score again, and it would have been 2-2.
“So, you know, a great player made a great play!”
Some R-P fans who made the trek to Cedar Springs were probably expecting a much easier game, because the Rockets beat the Orioles 7-1 in the regular season.
But Ludington is a very good team that gave R-P everything it could handle for the entire 80 minutes this time.
Ash David, who scored the Rockets' second goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets created a lot of scoring opportunities for themselves with nine shots on goal, as well as a five or six strong attempts that went just wide or over the goal, or hit the crossbar and bounced away.
But R-P also struggled with the Ludington attack and allowed the Orioles several great chances, as well.
The Rockets had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal in both the first and second half.
“We knew this was not going to be a 7-1 game again,” Coach Harrell said. “I warned the girls to keep this game in focus. I told them, just like you are interested in getting redemption against Cedar Rapids, Ludington is thinking the same thing about us, and (the Orioles) did a great job and made some great adjustments.”
Harrell blamed himself for some of the defensive struggles that allowed the Orioles to mount an effective counterattack.
Ashley Bradley (14) keeps the ball from an opponent. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“I didn’t sub the defenders the way I usually do, so a little bit of that’s on me,” he said. “Our rotation was a little bit different tonight, so I think some of those goals were the result of tired legs. Nothing that the players did wrong. It was just the length of time they were out there.”
The Rockets scored the only goal of the first half with 12:14 remaining when Abby Hill took a great cross-field pass from Mallorie Messer and blasted a long, high shot past the Ludington goalkeeper .
R-P went up 2-0 about nine minutes into the second half when Ash David chipped in a shot from close range, and it seemed like the Rockets were in pretty good shape.
But Ludington did not give up.
An Oriole shot hit the crossbar of the R-P goal with 15:25 left in the game, then another shot went in the goal just over a minute later, making the score 2-1.
R-P head coach Kody Harrell watches the action. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Kops quickly answered with her goal to extend the lead to 3-1, before the Orioles closed out the scoring with 3:59 remaining in the clock.
R-P freshman goalie Ava Callender made several great saves, including a diving stop with seven minutes left, to help secure the victory.
Now the Rockets move on to face the Cedar Springs team that beat them 2-0 on March 27, in the fourth game of the season.
Coach Harrell said that game was played in very cold conditions, and believes his team has a chance to fare much better on Friday.
“We are running a different formation now that I think really benefits (Kops) and our attack, so I think, right out of the gate, things will look a little different,” he said. “Both of their goals in March came off very silly mistakes by us, so we will have to play as close as possible to mistake-free soccer, come out hungry and get after it.”