MUSKEGON – Nobody on the Muskegon Risers roster is more passionate about the team, and wants to win more, than Brandon Edwards.

So the Orchard View High School graduate was really excited when he scored a shorthanded goal with under 10 minutes left in Muskegon’s playoff semifinal showdown against the undefeated Cleveland Crunch on Friday, giving the Risers a two-goal lead and real thoughts about advancing to Sunday’s league championship game.

His teammates mobbed him on the field and the crowd roared, sensing a huge upset was in the making.

But in the end the powerful Cleveland attack was too much to contain.

The Crunch kept their composure, scored three goals down the stretch, and escaped with a 6-5 victory over Muskegon at Mercy Health Arena in a hard-fought, exciting battle that went right down to the wire.

Cleveland, the defending league champion, will play the San Diego Sockers on Sunday in the Major Arena Soccer League 2 title game at 3 p.m. at Mercy Health Arena.

San Diego defeated Omaha 9-8 in overtime in the other semifinal game, played on Friday afternoon in Muskegon.

The Risers finished the season with an overall 7-7 record.

“Everybody gave everything that had, that’s the reason it’s so heartbreaking. because we did it for everybody here that came out and supported us, and it sucks to lose,” Edwards said.

“Everybody, from my teammates to the coach to the fans, and the guys that were injured on the sideline, everybody gave it everything they had. It’s a blessing to be a part of this organization and this area. I love it here.

“I thought we had it, but they’re the champs for a reason. They’re a great team. They’re phenomenal.”

The Risers were huge underdogs coming into the contest after losing all four games against Cleveland in the regular season, including an ugly 16-4 loss the last time they met.

But the Risers were determined to throw everything they had at the Crunch and see if they could find a way to land in the league title game in their first year of competition in the MASL 2.

The effort was impressive, to say the least.

Muskegon trailed 2-1 after the first quarter and 3-1 early in the second before scoring three unanswered goals by Alexis Mendez, Colin O’Keefe and Aldony Mendez to take a 4-3 lead at halftime.

“Playing them four times, we knew what their playing style was and we definitely made it harder for them this time,” Alexis Mendez said. “We know they like to play the big targets up front, and we shut that down this time to try to make it more difficult. It worked, but they somehow still pulled out the win.”

There were no goals in the third quarter.

Muskegon received two blue cards early in the fourth quarter and Cleveland had a 5-on-3 advantage for a short time.

But Edwards got out of the penalty box, picked up a loose ball in the Cleveland zone with the Crunch goalie out of position, and scored a shorthanded goal with 9:20 left to give the Risers a 5-3 lead.

“I just came out and I saw the goalie get a bad touch and I took advantage of it,” Edwards said. “He came out of his box, so I took it up the side and scored.”

Cleveland’s Admir Suljevic scored a power play goal with 8:56 remaining, pulling the Crunch within one. Gabe Pewu tied the game with a goal with 7:08 left, then Ryan Minick netted the game-winner with 3:31 remaining in the game.

“Ultimately, I think it was a little bit of inexperience,” said Risers interim coach Michael Vollmer, who filled in for head coach Ben Ritsema on Friday. “They’ve been there, we haven’t. Penalties played a role and they capitalized. It’s a game of runs, and they had a run at the end.”

The Risers got a great performance from goalie William Banahene, a member of the Major Arena Soccer League Harrisburg Heat. who came to play on Saturday in place of injured starter Akani Miyambu.

Banahene, who played in three exhibition games for the Risers last season, ended up stopping 14 of Cleveland’s 22 shots and holding the league’s most potent offense largely in check all night.

Muskegon totaled 17 shots on goal.

“Being here last year and playing those three games, I knew how much it meant to the Risers organization, so I got in contact with (team owner Matt Schmitt) and we made it all work,” Banahene said. “It stings, it stings a lot, just like any other loss that I faced this year.

“We thought we had it, but it wasn’t written in the cards. I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished tonight and what they accomplished all season to get themselves in this spot. It’s just the beginning for them.”

Despite the disappointing loss, the Risers displayed a lot of pride in the strong season they put together, their impressive playoff effort that included an 8-2 over Chicago last week, and the fact that they came minutes away from advancing to the league championship game.

The Risers played without their leading scorer, Miguel Flores, who has been nursing a knee injury and was not ready to compete on Friday.

“From Matt Schmitt, to the players, the support staff, to everybody, it was a huge step forward,” Vollmer said about the season.“We want to be in the position that Cleveland is in, with other teams hunting us. The only place to go is up. That’s the beauty of it, that’s the fun of it.”

Edwards predicted a bright future for the indoor Risers.

“We’re coming, we’re coming,” he said. “I think people see that. I think we’re putting the M2 league on notice, and we’re going to win some championships here.”