COOPERSVILLE – They say lucky bounces play a big role in sports, and the Reeths-Puffer boys soccer team certainly got one on Thursday night.
The Rockets were battling Spring Lake in an intense, scoreless battle midway through the second half in the Division 2 district championship game at Coopersville High School.
A Spring Lake defender attempted to head the ball back to his goalkeeper, but it went over the goalie’s head and found its way into the net with 23:15 remaining in the game.
That proved to be the difference in Reeths-Puffer’s exciting 1-0 victory, which gave the Rockets their first district title since 2019.
R-P's Liam McHugh, middle right, battles an opponent for position. Photo/Joe Lane
Reeths-Puffer, now 11-8-2 on the season, advances to regionals to play either Forest Hills Northern or Northview on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Cedar Springs High School.
“We’ve wanted this since our freshmen year,” said an excited R-P goalkeeper Gage Hopkins, who stopped five Spring Lake shots and collected his third straight shutout in the district tournament. “It’s been our goal. It’s out of this world. Getting a regional win would be insane. It’s what we’re playing for.”
The district championship put a huge exclamation point on the Rockets’ amazing turnaround over the past few weeks.
They brought back a lot of talent from their 2021 squad, which won the O-K Green conference tournament, and expected to be very good this season.
But the regular season did not go nearly as well as expected, and the Rockets sputtered into districts with a .500 record.
Owen Ritsema (13) battles for position a few feet away from the Spring Lake goalie. Photo/Joe Lane
The situation started to improve in recent weeks, and R-P coach Kody Harrell points to a 4-3 loss to powerful Zeeland East in the conference tournament as the turning point.
While it’s hard to imagine anything positive coming out of defeat, the Rockets actually rallied back from a 4-0 deficit and made the game very close.
That seemed to breathe new life into the team, and R-P rode into districts with a new sense of confidence.
That showed in a 3-0 win over Allendale in the first round, a 3-0 victory over Ludington in the semifinals, then finally the white-knuckle win over Spring Lake.
Now the Rockets are headed for regionals, armed with a district championship trophy that few expected them to win.
Liam McHugh (23) heads the ball while leaping over Spring Lake's Corbin Hosting. Photo/Joe Lane
“(Zeeland East) kicked our butts pretty good in the regular season, 5-1,” Harrell said. “That was when we were at our lowest low. Then we faced them again, it was 4-0 with 20 minutes left, and we battled back with three goals. From that game forward it’s been amazing.
“We just took a lot of lessons from the season. We wanted to let up fewer than 25 goals on the season and it went well over 25. We scheduled a hard schedule, and I think we took the lessons from that and applied it to districts. It’s pretty impressive and fun to watch.”
It’s pretty rare for a team to win three district tournament games without giving up a goal, but the R-P defense has tightened up considerably in recent weeks, and Hopkins has been very strong in goal.
“I’d say the communication and togetherness,” said Rocket senior Liam McHugh about the improved defense. “It all clicked at the right time. Gage is just a star keeper and whenever we mess up, he steps up.”
The Rockets outshot the Lakers 3-2 in the first half on Thursday, but neither team was able to capitalize.
R-P's Owen Ritzema (13) tries to get past a defender with the ball. Photo/Joe Lane
The fluke goal came midway through the second half and the Lakers could not get the equalizer in the final minutes.
Both teams finished with five shots on goal.
“They took ownership,” Harrell said about his team. “To have three straight shutouts in districts is impressive.”
The coach said the Rockets will spend the next few days preparing for regionals.
“We’ll continue to go over principles,” said Harrell. “I think with the defensive philosophy we’re running right now, it doesn’t really matter who the opponent is. It’s a lot about angles and stepping up to win the second ball.
"No matter the formation we’re playing against, our philosophy is strong on winning the second ball. We’ll watch film and remind ourselves of what got us here.”