MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer doesn’t yet have a win under first-year coach Josh Robidoux, but the Rockets are showing early signs that the program is on a big-time upswing.
R-P lost its second straight one-goal game to open the season Monday at home against Zeeland, 9-8. It marked the first time since the Rockets’ 2019 win over Zeeland that they came within five goals of their O-K Conference foe.
“Those losses sting a lot, especially against a really good team like that,” Robidoux said. “We know that year after year, if you look at our record, they’ve consistently beat us pretty bad. For us to come out and compete, there’s a lot to be proud of with our guys, but there’s a lot of work still to be done.”
Zeeland delivered the winning goal in the final minute, ending a back-and-forth battle in which neither team led by more than one at any point in the second half. The Rockets displayed their mettle by answering go-ahead Zeeland goals twice in the fourth quarter, including one by Connor Stawski with 2:04 left - just six seconds after Zeeland went ahead. That tied the score at 8-8 prior to Zeeland’s game-winner.
As with R-P’s one-goal loss to Grand Haven, Robidoux said his team needs to improve in order to be in better positions at the end of the game. However, he lauded his team’s competitiveness.
“I think the buy-in from these kids is incredible,” Robidoux said. “I know that they’re frustrated and they want to win but also, the things that I see day in and day out at practice are great. Last year, we had blowout games, and we had quarters or halves where we competed, but when we’re stringing together four full quarters, when we’re competing with high-level programs like this, I think it is a testament to the buy-in that these guys have and what they want to do this year.”
Stawski’s late tying goal was his second of the game; he also opened R-P’s scoring early in the first quarter to tie the score at 1-1. Brooks Johnson also scored two goals for R-P, both in the second quarter, and Carson Cooper put in two goals as well. JT Fansler recorded three assists and scored a goal of his own. R-P was strong at times with ball control, including one possession in which it spent about three minutes of game time putting pressure on Zeeland in the offensive zone.
A key sequence of the game was a 4-0 run by Zeeland to end the first half and put the visitors ahead 5-4. Jacob Eckert capped that run by intercepting a R-P pass and scoring the go-ahead goal with 1:28 to go before halftime. Robidoux noted his team responded well to that miscue, not allowing another goal until the fourth quarter.
“Are you going to be the team that collapses inward and says, ‘I can’t believe we just did that,’ and then another thing happens and another thing happens, or are you the team that bounces back, creates an opportunity that wasn’t there originally and doesn’t let that stay on you for long?” Robidoux said. “We’re always on our guys about that.”Robidoux’s team isn’t exactly young, with an estimated 15 seniors on it, but many of those seniors don’t have much varsity lacrosse experience. However, he said, some of those seniors have excelled in leadership roles, creating a healthy team dynamic. With that dynamic and a seemingly strong competitive mindset in place, the stage is set for the Rockets to make a big improvement as the season goes on.”I know that, moving forward, these guys have each other’s backs and they’re going to work hard,” Robidoux said. “We’re excited to see some more challenging teams like this towards the later half of our season.”
