MUSKEGON TWP. - One thing seemed really obvious when the dust cleared at Reeths-Puffer’s Eric Marcil Field on Wednesday night.
The Reeths-Puffer girls soccer team, with 15 of this year’s 21 players expected to return, should be really good in 2025.
The Rockets showed that by giving a powerful Mona Shores team fits before falling 1-0 in a close and intense Division 1 district tournament quarterfinal game.
The Rockets, who finished the season with a 7-11-2 record, came pretty close to pulling off a huge upset and extending their season by a game.
R-P goalie Sara Carlson sprawls to stop a shot. Photo/Joe Lane
They held Mona Shores scoreless for nearly 77 minutes before Sailor standout senior Shay Norden scored the only goal of the game.
That was a big accomplishment against a team that won the O-K Green conference championship this spring and now has an impressive 16-2-2 record.
It nearly matched the effort that the Rockets put forward earlier in the season, when they stunned everyone by tying the Sailors 1-1 in conference play.
“The girls were awesome tonight,” said R-P Coach Kody Harrell. “After the game I told the seniors what my grandfather always said, that you want to be remembered for doing things the right way/ Tonight the seniors led with so much heart. The result wasn’t what we wanted but they can feel proud of their last game at Reeths-Puffer.”
The Rockets made a great game of it despite being outshot 15-3.
R-P's Mallorie Messer boots a corner kick. Photo/Joe Lane
R-P got tremendous goaltending from sophomore Sara Carlson, who made great save after great save to keep her team in the game. She ended up stopping 14 of 15 Mona Shores shots, and only let the very last one get by.
“I think tonight was her best game,” Harrell said about Carlson. “Their goal was scored by a great player who is going on to play at Calvin University. Sara did everything right tonight. She was busy, that’s for sure.”
The Rockets also played tremendous defense in front of Carlson, which numerous players coming out of nowhere to make great plays and stop several Sailor scoring threats.
Coach Harrell mentioned Mallory Messer, Gracie Callender, Reese Tryska and Chloe Brainard for great defense.
R-P's Chloe Brainard (8) battles a Mona Shores player for the ball. Photo/Joe Lane
If the Rockets had played the second half the way they played the first, the outcome might have been different.
They managed to generate an offensive attack before halftime, as demonstrated by their four corner kicks.
But the offense largely faded in the second half – with the exception of two strong back-to-back shots that were stopped by the Mona Shores goalie - and it was left up to Carlson and the R-P defense to keep the game scoreless for as long as they could.
“In the first half we played very loose, because I think the girls looked at it like there was nothing to lose,” Harrell said. “But when it was still 0-0 at halftime, I think the girls realized they could win this game, and with that reality I think they tightened up a bit. I think the girls just became consumed with not giving up a goal.”
Sara Carlson boots the ball into play. Photo/Joe Lane
The bottom line for Harrell is that his very young team, with so many underclassmen, improved tremendously from the start of the season to the finish, which should serve them very well when they regroup next spring.
“I am relly looiking forward to the next couple years, but specifically next year,” the coach said. “We have a lot of girls coming back who play travel soccer, love the game, ask good questions and respond well to being coached hard. They are hungry and they want to do better.
“They never allowed that ‘Oh we’re just so young’ to be an excuse. They always showed up to compete and they played with heart.”