MUSKEGON TWP. - In a game like soccer, back line defenders are rarely the focus of attention.
Fans like offense, of course, so they tend to watch the guys who shoot and score.
But Reeths-Puffer's Cohen Beck – a standout who moved to the back line to strengthen the defense at his coach’s request - drew a whole lot of attention in a big conference showdown game against Byron Center last week.
R-P's Cohen Beck
The junior center back took a hit in the early minutes of the game and aggravated an existing injury. Then he got back in the game and scored on an amazing corner kick, something that very rarely happens at any level of soccer.
Near the end, he was ejected from the game in a case of mistaken identity, an error that the referee later acknowledged, but only after the contest was finished.
It’s safe to say that Beck had the type of up-and-down game that very few high school athletes ever experience.
“It was definitely a game I will always remember, with everything that happened,” Beck said.
A moment of worry, then a crazy goal
It started in the early minutes of the contest, when Beck went down with an injury and was assisted to the sideline.
There was obviously concern on the Rockets’ bench, because Beck is a team co-captain and a valuable player. He’d been nursing a quadriceps injury all season and clearly aggravated it on that play.
It was the same injury that forced him to cancel plans to do double-duty this fall, as a soccer player and part-time kicker for the varsity football team.
Luckly he was able to get some quick treatment and get back in the game.
Beck is helped off the field in last week's game. Photo/John Willoughby
“I got a pretty bad tackle on my ankle, but I just got it taped up by the trainer,” he said. “Right away I was thinking at the moment, if I could go back in the game and help my team, I was going to.”
Getting back in the action gave Beck the opportunity to do something special that doesn’t happen very often.
He had a corner kick in the second half, and his job was to boot the ball and place it somewhere in front of the goal, so his teammates would have a chance to score.
The corner kick spot is out of bounds, in the corner of the field, directly facing the side netting of the opponents’ goal. There is no view of the mouth of the goal from where Beck stood.
He lofted a long kick that curved in the air, flew over everyone’s head, and somehow found its way untouched into the low far corner of the net for his first goal of the season and R-P’s only score of the game.
Beck blasts a shot. Photo/Joe Lane
The crowd went nuts, Byron Center players stood around looking stunned and the Rockets celebrated.
“At first I was hoping that someone would get a head on it, then it started going toward the net and went in,” Beck said. “It was definitely crazy!”
R-P head coach Kody Harrell said those type of goals almost never happen, “especially straight in like Cohen’s did.”
“I think the goalkeeper anticipated some contact (from R-P players) he never got,” Harrell said. “There was a little bit of extra movement around him, he took his eyes off the ball for a split second, and it went through his hands.”
An unfair end to a strange game
Beck’s night ended a while later on a very unfair note.
With just a few minutes left in the game, and R-P trailing 3-1, he was given a yellow card by the referee for questioning a call. That wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but the official indicated that it was his second yellow of the game, which led to a red card, which meant he was ejected and would have to sit out the next game, as well.
The problem was that it was not true. Beck did not have two yellow cards in the game, but the ref didn’t believe that at first, so Beck’s night was over.
After the game the referee acknowledged that there had been a mistake. Byron Center’s No. 12 – the same number that Beck wears - had gotten a yellow card earlier in the game, and the ref confused him with Beck.
That meant Beck was cleared to play in the next game, but only after a few upsetting and anxious minutes.
Beck battles an opponent for the ball. Photo/Joe Lane
“At first I couldn’t believe it,” Beck said. “I knew in my head that I didn’t have another yellow. It was definitely upsetting. I didn’t feel good about it, especially about the easily avoidable yellow card I did get. I was thinking I let my team down.
“But after the game I talked to the ref and he apologized for it.”
Coach Harrell maintained his composure when Beck was ejected, but was definitely not happy.
“I have never seen anything like that before in my life,” the coach said. “To do that to a kid, who was in tears after the game, was rough. But big props to the official. He looked at his book after the game and made it right.”
The 3-1 loss to Byron Center was disappointing for the Rockets. It dropped them to second place in the O-K Green conference standings, at least for now.
Beck brings the ball upfield against East Grand Rapids. Photo/Steve Gunn
A rematch with first-place Byron Center is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Overall R-P has been playing surprisingly well this season, posting a 6-2-1 record after graduating 11 seniors last year and fielding a team with a lot of new starters.
Beck is one of many players who have contributed to that success with his solid play at center back. He has a knack for getting to the ball on defense, battling opponents at close range, and breaking up plays before they develop.
He has also managed to contribute offensively, with six assists to go with his one very impressive goal.
Ironically, Beck is a career midfielder who only moved back to defense this season because he was asked to.
Beck (12) goofs around with teammates for the camera. Photo/Joe Lane
“We didn’t have a lot of defenders returning, so I turned to Cohen, who has always been a leader and an all-around soccer guy, to help fill that void,” said Harrell, whose team has two tough non-conference games this week, at Hudsonville on Thursday and home against Fruitport on Saturday.
“He destructs plays. He’s a ball hawk. He’s very driven to get to the ball and he’s a high IQ player. He understands the runs that the forwards are making and gets in passing lanes. He’s always thinking a play ahead.”
Beck, a total soccer nut, said he doesn’t care what position he plays. He’s just been enjoying all the victories.
“Honestly, it’s just a good feeling going out and having fun playing the game I love,” he said. “It’s good to know that I can get to the ball and stop it. I will do whatever is best for the team to try to win more games.”