LocalSportsJournal.com
Reeths-Puffer’s impressive tournament soccer run ended quietly on Tuesday with a 4-0 loss to state power Forest Hills Northern in the
Division 2 regional semifinals at Mount Pleasant High School.
The Rockets fell behind 3-0 by halftime, and Forest Hills Northern finished off the victory with a goal in the second half.
Forest Hills Northern outshot the Rockets 9-2. Reeths-Puffer goalkeeper Jake Lofgren made five saves in the losing effort.
Reeths-Puffer finished the season with a 12-7-2 record. The Rockets defeated state-ranked Spring Lake, Fruitport and Ludington last week to win the first district championship in the history of their program.
“When you lose the last game it’s painful, but I told the guys, 1,000 years from now they will still be the first Reeths-Puffer (boys) team to get out of districts,” said R-P Coach Keith Knapp.
Knapp credited the team captains – Lofgren, Tyler DeLong and Matt Udell – for leading the Rockets on a steady path of improvement over the course of the season.
“The leadership they showed helped us to get farther than any Reeths-Puffer team has ever gotten before,” the coach said.
