The Reeths-Puffer soccer team fought back like there was no tomorrow on Tuesday night, pulling within one goal after trailing by four, but came up just short in a 4-3 loss to Zeeland East in the first round of the O-K Green conference tournament.
The Rockets trailed 3-0 at halftime and 4-0 five minutes into the second half, then clawed their way back to make it a great game.
Conner Mammen scored with an assist from Liam Smith with about 30 minutes remaining, making the score 4-1.
Smith followed with a penalty kick goal about five minutes later – his 20th of the season – to make it a 4-2 game.
Conner Mammen, who scored two goals for the Rockets on Tuesday.
Mammen found the net again with about 12 minutes left, pulling Reeths-Puffer within one, but the Rockets could not get the equalizer.
The teams each had 14 shots on goal. R-P goalie Gage Hopkins played a great game, making 10 saves against a very talented ZE squad.
R-P Coach Kody Harrell was excited about the fight his team showed and said it will help build confidence heading into districts.
“We had Zeeland East pinned the whole second half,” the coach said. “They were packing their box (defensively) with all 11 players behind the ball.
“I’m super proud of the heart and effort, despite not getting the result we wanted. We showed again why R-P soccer is so much fun to watch in October!”
Reeths-Puffer, now 6-8-2 on the season, will vising Zeeland West on Thursday in a conference tournament consolation game.