MUSKEGON TWP. - With only three starters back from last season, the Reeths-Puffer boys soccer team embarked on its 2026 campaign with a lot of unanswered questions
The Rockets received some encouraging answers on several fronts on Wednesday, in their season opening game against Coopersville.
They learned they have some offensive punch, after outshooting the visiting Broncos 15-10. They learned they have a lot of fight in them, after battling back from a 2-1 deficit in the second half and taking a 3-2 lead.
They also learned they have a freshman who can make some really nice moves and put the ball in the net. Ninth-grader Kam David scored twice in his first varsity game, and was a constant threat to score even more.
R-P freshman Kam David (9), who scored two goals. Photo/Jeremy Clark
But the Rockets also discovered they need some serious work on defense, after giving up three pretty preventable goals - including two in the final 17 minutes - and losing a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Broncos at R-P's Eric Marcil Field.
“We made some very bone-headed plays tonight,” a frustrated R-P head coach Kody Harrell said about the defensive effort. “It was the definition of shooting ourselves in the foot. Their players were bouncing off our guys too easily, were were jogging too much, and their guys were running right by us.
“We gave them all of their goals. I don’t want to take anything away from Coopersville – they are a good team – but tonight all of their goals were given to them."
Despite his annoyance with the defensive effort, and the overall number of mistakes in the game, Harrell couldn’t help but be impressed with David.
R-P's Evan McHugh (20) heads the ball. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“He definitely rose to the occasion early,” Harrell said about the freshman. “It’s so much more fun that he’s a lefty. There is just something about lefties. He’s going to be able to get that left-foot shot off a lot, and he’s creative with getting his shots off. He’s just a superb athlete. He’s exciting.”
Harrell was also impressed with his team’s offensive effort, and its ability to overcome a second-half deficit to take a temporary lead.
“We kept competing,” the coach said. “We could have scored seven goals tonight. I think we are going to be able to generate goals. The question is how we’re going to stop other teams from scoring.”
The game was an exciting, back-and-forth affair, with a lot of offense from start to finish.
R-P goalie Evan McCollum boots the ball. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets took a 1-0 lead just under five minutes into the game when Matthew Hansen stole the ball in the Coopersville end and dished a nice pass to David, who beat the goalie with a shot to the far right side of the net.
The Broncos tied the score with a free kick goal by Josue Barrios less than 10 minutes later, and the score was 1-1 at halftime. R-P had a 5-4 edge in shots in goal in the first half.
Things got really wild in the second half, with both teams getting a lot of scoring chances and cashing in.
Barrios scored his second goal about nine minutes into the half, giving Coopersville a 2-1 lead.
Kam David does a back flip after scoring. Photo/Jeremy Clark
That goal was particularly painful for R-P, because a Rocket dumped what was intended to be a pass back to goalkeeper Evan McCollum, but Barrios intercepted the ball and put it in the net.
David scored his second goal for R-P with 24:09 left in the game, knotting the score 2-2. Oliver Hunt got the assist on the goal.
After several near misses, R-P’s Evan McHugh finally cashed in with a goal with 17:48 remaining, giving the Rockets a 3-2 lead and what seemed to be a big edge in momentum heading down the stretch.
London Carpenter got the assist on the goal.
R-P's Connor Simerick (12) gets past an opponent. Photo/Jeremy Clark
But Coopersville’s Tommy Rokos weaved through a number of R-P defenders less than a minute later and scored to knot the game at 3-3. He did the same thing with 3:30 left on the clock, giving Coopersville its final margin of victory.
“We were super flat-footed on their fourth goal,” Harrell said. “I am not just talking about our defenders. I’m talking about the whole team.
“I’m being harsh about it because we have kids who are better than that. We have boys who can defend better than that. It was frustrating."
