MUSKEGON TWP. - Less than a week ago, the Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team was tied for first place in the O-K Green conference and was eyeing at least a share of the top spot in the regular season.
Then the Zeelands rolled around on the schedule and humbled the Rockets a little bit.
It started last Thursday when R-P traveled to Zeeland East and settled for a disappointing tie.
Then the Rockets hosted Zeeland West on Thursday and played to a scoreless tie for a half before falling 2-0 in final conference game of the regular season.
Abby Hill unleashes a shot for the Rockets. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Now the Rockets will have to settle for being the third seed in the conference tournament, which begins next Thursday. They could still win a share of the overall conference title, but only if they won the tournament and first-place Mona Shores lost by the second round.
So it’s been a sobering week for an R-P team that posted a very nice 5-0-2 overall record in the seven games before the Zeeland encounters.
“Props to both of those programs and their coaches, they do a good job,” said R-P Coach Kody Harrell about the two Zeeland squads. “Zeeland East was very physical and direct and kind of mucked it up and made things difficult. They were tough to score on.
"Zeeland West tonight had a very good game plan, made good halftime adjustments and attacked us on the outside and found some backside options. It wasn’t about a bad play we made, it was about a good play they made, and they made two of them.”
Of course the season is far from over for the Rockets. They will host two games on Saturday against Salem and Berkley, two teams from the east side of the state, before wrapping up the regular season on Tuesday against a good Spring Lake squad.
R-P's Irelyn Niklasch tosses the ball into play. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Then comes the conference tournament and districts, with trophies available for the teams that are playing the best at the moment.
The Rockets looked like the better team on Tuesday, controlling the ball and keeping the action in the Zeeland West zone for a good part of the first half.
Unfortunately a lot of the Rockets’ shots were wide of the goal or above it, and the game was still 0-0 at halftime.
“We’ve been starting out hot lately, but we’ve been stressing that we have to play a full 80 minutes,” Harrell said. “At this point in the season the teams that play a full 80 are going to win.”
R-P's Jaslynn Kops controls the ball while fighting off a defender. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Zeeland West started showing signs of offensive life toward the end of the first half and carried that into the final 40 minutes.
The Dux finally broke the deadlock with a goal from Siobhan Michmerhuizen about 13 minutes into the second half.
They added an insurance goal about four minutes later when Mya Frego’s shot went in the net.
Reeths-Puffer applied some strong offensive pressure toward the end of the game, but still failed to get on the scoreboard.
The teams each had six shots on goal in the game, and R-P had a big 9-3 edge in corner kicks, but it didn't affect the outcome.
R-P goalie Sara Carlson. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Harrell said falling behind made it harder on his team to operate its offense in the most effective manner.
“The way our team is built right now, we can control the pace of play when we have the lead – then that sometimes turns into ‘crap now we’re behind,’ and we’re trying to create a goal rather than waiting for the easiest option to come to us,” he said.
The loss spoiled a pretty nice performance by R-P sophomore goalkeeper Sara Carlson, who was playing her first game back as the Rockets’ full-time starter,
She started the first three games of the season, then shared the job with senior Brenna Ackerman. Carlson played the first half of the games for most of the season, then Ackerman played the second half, and the scheme worked well for the Rockets.
R-P's Alyssa Herbert gets ready to nail a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
But now the job belongs to Carlson again because she earned it, according to Harrell.
“She’s done an amazing job and has really stepped up,” the coach said. “We just felt like Sara really earned it again.
"She had it to herself for those first three games, then had it taken away in a split role, but she remained a good teammate and remained focused and had quality games. And she’s the future, so there’s an investment there.”