The Reeths-Puffer boys soccer team lost to Forest Hills Northern 5-1 on Monday night, but the final score wasn’t what R-P coach Kody Harrell was focused on.
He wanted to see how the Rockets matched up against one of the better teams around, and he was surprisingly encouraged.
While he gives the Huskies credit for being a dominant squad, Harrell also thought his team made a lot of mistakes that allowed FHN to take control with three goals in the second half.
Mistakes can be corrected, and that’s the part that the coach found encouraging.
Reeths-Puffer's Liam Smith tries to work the ball around FHN defenders.
“It was a good measuring stick,” said Harrell, whose team is now 2-1-1 on the season. “If we hope to take a shot at anything deeper in the state tournament than districts, that is the standard. They are probably the best team we will see all year. They are probably one of the most successful programs in West Michigan in the last 15 years.
“But I thought all five of their goals were 100 percent preventable. We made some silly mistakes, but everything tonight was fixable, which gives me hope. We control it all. As frustrating as it is to lose, nothing they did was amazing.”
Harrell was particularly encouraged by the first half, when the game was still close. Forest Hills Northern led 2-1 at halftime and Harrell said the teams were pretty even.
Liam Smith scored R-P’s only goal of the game in the first half on a free kick from about 25 yards out. It was his seventh goal of the season and the 40th of his career.
R-P's Jackson Larson moves the ball upfield.
“In the first half we played good possession soccer,” Harrell said. “We were knocking it around and moving the ball. It was like a really good boxing match. Possession was equal for the most part. We just couldn’t get many good shots off.”
Forest Hills Northern scored the only three goals of the second half and outshot the Rockets 9-4 in the game.
Reeths-Puffer will open O-K Green conference play on Tuesday with a game at Muskegon.
Harrell said his team is eager to get back to conference opponents, particularly after the success they had last season. R-P upset both Zeeland East and Holland to win the O-K Green conference tournament last fall.
“We’re excited to get into league play and see how we do,” the coach said. “We had an exciting end to our season last year, beating Zeeland East and Holland, but this is my third year as head coach and we still haven’t beaten Mona Shores yet.”