MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Risers women’s outdoor team will be happy to be back home on Friday, when they host Nationals FC at 7:30 p.m. at Oakridge High School.

They will have a chance to play in front of their own fans for the first time in three games, and a chance to break into the win column in with the Risers faithful cheering them on.

The Risers opened the United Womens Soccer League season last week with a 3-0 loss at Corktown and a 7-1 loss at Cap City.

“I think just being honest with the girls,” head coach Debbie Pekel said about preparations for the home opener. “We’re Letting them know that we train and prepare to get results. We have to take away what the game teaches us in those moments.”

One of those biggest takeaways from the first two games, according to Pekel is needing a better level of play in transition.

“Transition moments resulted in five of the seven goals,” said Pekel about the loss to Cap City. “The silver lining is we got to go into practice this week and work on clear challenges for us and prepare for the next match. Hopefully then it won’t be an issue on Friday.”

While some teams may get discouraged with back-to-back opening losses, Pekel believes her team has good morale in a player-driven atmosphere.

“A lot of it (attitude) is driven from the players themselves,” the coach said. “I think the coaching staff has a big pull in that regard. but players lead the morale. It’s been a privilege to not have to step up in those moments. The players have a love for the game and want to play. We have a good culture with the Risers. Even though nobody likes to lose, they enjoy being out there.”

One of those players expected to lead the Risers this season is Kennedy Bearden, who came to the team after winning a Division 2 national championship with Grand Valley State University last fall.

“We’ve brought in more depth this season,” said Pekel about adding players like Bearden, who scored 15 goals in her junior season at Grand Valley, including five postseason tournament goals. “With that depth, it allows us to play a style that allows us to be successful and aids towards results. We’re really excited to have her (Bearden) when she’s available.”

Two more players the Risers are excited to have are Sydney Shenk from Aquinas College and Gracie Poulsen from Western Michigan University.

“Each game has different availability,” said Pekel about the a shifting roster from game to game, depending on who is available to play. “But we’re excited for all of them. We have a lot of support players who really fit into their roles.”

With the addition of new players and some returnees, the Risers are hopeful to have better results than 2021, when they finished with a 1-8-1 record.

“I think we should have competitive results,” said Pekel about the expectations fans should have. “I hope that with the teams in our league this year, we can work toward coming back and playing with closer score lines. Or even switch the narrative and get a point. We’re really focusing on what we can do better and what we can hone in on.

“We want it to lead to success and have less areas of weakness, so we can be competitive. We have players and great athletes who should be able to match those other teams. We have players locked into roles. Our goal is to get better and better so we can have competitive results.”