With a lot of first-year varsity players on the roster, the Reeths-Puffer boys soccer team was not really expecting to compete with the superpower opponents on its schedule this year.
But after Wednesday night’s result, the Rockets are starting to wonder just how much they might be able to accomplish.
The young R-P squad pulled off an unexpected stunner on the road, playing perennial O-K Green conference champion and state power Byron Center to a 1-1 tie.
The Bulldogs, who were state finalists two years ago, are currently ranked No. 11 in Michigan in Division 1. They came into the game with a perfect 3-0 record and had yet to give up a goal – until they ran into the Rockets, that is.
Connor Simerick, who scored the tying goal.
R-P trailed 1-0 for most of the game before R-P junior Chase Hoeft battled an opponent for the ball in the corner of the Byron Center zone, won possession and booted it into the box.
Two players whiffed at the ball, allowing junior Connor Simerick to tap it into the net with about 11 minutes remaining and force the tie.
Prior to Wednesday, R-P had lost every matchup with Byron Center going back to 2024, when BC joined the O-K Green conference and the teams started playing each other twice a year.
R-P head coach Kody Harrell was amazed with how much his team has improved in just one week. Last Wednesday the Rockets opened the season by playing poor defense, squandering a late lead and losing to Coopersville 4-3.
They looked like a whole new team against Byron Center, according to Harrell.
Chase Hoeft, who had the big assist.
“This is the biggest growth I have ever seen in a team in one week,” the coach said. “It’s amazing how far the entire group has come, and how much we have managed to turn it up from playing Coopersville until tonight.
“Our defense was really good, and it was a full team effort. I think I played 12 different defenders. Jax Sieplinga and Andrew Eilers took their games to another level, and a bunch of other guys took turns turning in super intense 5 to 10 minute shifts.”
Byron Center scored about seven minutes into the game, and everyone assumed it was going to be another Bulldog victory.
But R-P clamped down on defense, sophomore goalie Evan McCollum started making some nice saves, and the scoreboard remained the same until late in the game, when the Rockets tied it up.
Goalie Evan McCollum, who had 11 saves.
McCollum ended up stopping 11 shots and playing a very strong game, according to Harrell.
“This is the closest we’ve ever come to beating them,” Harrell said. “We had them on their heels, too. We were the better team over the last 10 minutes, just going off our adrenaline.
“Now our message to the guys is going to be ‘Keep the pedal to the medal.' This was a nice moral victory and it’s going to do a lot for their confidence. Now they have to stay hungry.”
The Rockets, now 1-1-1, will travel to play East Grand Rapids in a non-conference game on Friday.
