MUSKEGON – There’s no doubt about it – when Ryan Zietlow is scoring, the Muskegon Risers are a dangerous indoor soccer team.
Zietlow, a first-year Riser and graduate of Spring Lake High School and Davenport University, has been scoring just about all season.
He scored a hat trick in the Risers’ first game, then two goals in their second, before going scoreless on Friday in Muskegon’s home opener, which turned out to be a loss.
But Zietlow rediscovered his touch on Saturday night, putting four balls in the net, including the clincher with 2:07 left in the game, giving the Risers a thrilling 11-10 victory over the Chicago Mustangs in Major Arena Soccer League 2 action at Mercy Health Arena.
The Risers improved to 2-2 on the season with the victory. Chicago fell to 1-1.
[1]“I really don’t know what happened last night,” Zietlow said, when asked about his only scoreless game of the season. “A little bit nerve-wracking, maybe, with the first home game, and we play over ice here, and it’s a little bit different. You have to get a feel for it.”
So what made him come alive with four goals on Saturday?
“It was the atmosphere,” Zietlow said. “The fans really bring the intensity, it builds up in you, and makes you want to get the job done.”
Saturday’s win was the Risers’ very first victory over the Mustangs, going back about 8-10 games over three or four years.
The Risers nearly beat them in Chicago in December, but lost in overtime, and the local squad was extra determined to put the losing streak to rest this weekend.
[2]“We had never beaten them before,” said Risers Coach Ben Ritsema. “Tonight we made some mistakes at the end, I think, which made it closer than what I thought it should have been. But we get three points (in the Great Lakes Conference standings) and they get zero. That’s huge.
“We are 2-2 now. That’s not a bad start. We’ll take it, and hopefully we can build on it.”
The Risers won because they took advantage of opportunities. They had four power play chances in the second half, and scored on all four.
The crucial power play goals came from Elmedin Zukic, Zietlow, Aldony Mendez and Miguel Flores.
That was a much better result than Friday, when the Risers had only one power play opportunity and allowed a short-handed goal on it.
“The power play is something we work on in practice a lot,” Ritsema said. “We put five guys out there that we feel are going to score. They are tough to shut down for two minutes.”
[3]The first half was relatively quiet. Chicago scored the first goal of the game, then the Risers got goals from Robbie Johnson and Mendez and took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter.
Chicago roared back with three goals in the first 10:40 of the second to take a 4-2 lead, but the Risers countered with tallies from Flores with about a minute to go in the half, and Zietlow with three seconds left, to leave the game tied 4-4 at halftime.
Muskegon opened the second half with three unanswered goals, from Moses Crawford, Zietlow and Zukic on the power play to take a 7-4 lead.
The Mustangs scored three of the final four goals of the third, while the Risers got a goal from Zietlow, and led by a thin 8-7 margin heading into the fourth quarter.
Chicago tied the game at 8-8 at the 3:49 mark of the fourth. Muskegon answered with power play goals from Mendez and Flores to go ahead 10-8 about midway through the final quarter.
Chicago pulled within a goal with just under four minutes left, then Zietlow scored his final goal following a free kick with 2:07 remaining, giving Muskegon its final margin of victory.
Chicago scored the final goal of the game with 14 seconds left on the clock, but could not get the equalizer.
“He’s a great player and he’s got lots of experience,” Ritsema said about Zietlow. “He’s a first-year indoor player, but gosh he’s got a great shot, and tonight they went in.
“We needed this. I told the guys before the game, if ever there was such a thing as a playoff game in the fourth game of the season, this is it.”
Chicago had a 27-21 advantage in shots on goal. Muskegon goalkeeper Akani Miyambu stood tall in net for the Risers, making several key saves throughout the contest to preserve the win.