EGELSTON TOWNSHIP – Before the season began, Muskegon Risers Coach Stu Collins made some bold statements about the talent on his roster, and how well he expected the team to perform this summer.
To some, the confident predictions might have seemed a bit much for the coach of a soccer club that had not fielded a summer team since 2019.
But the Risers backed up Collins’ words all season, and put an exclamation on their regular season on Thursday with an impressive 2-0 victory over FC Columbus at Oakridge High School, clinching the championship in the Great Lakes Conference of the National Premier Soccer League.
The hero of the game was Vitalis Takawira, who scored both goals for the Risers, one in the first half and one early in the second.
[1]Also standing out was goalkeeper Mason Maziasz, who blocked three Columbus shots in the game to collect the shutout, and had an impressive stop on a penalty kick in the second half.
The Risers, now 8-0-2, will enter the NPSL Midwest Region playoffs with a top seed and a first-round bye. They expect to be playing at least one home playoff game next weekend, and details should be available within a few days.
“It’s easy to say, and I was putting pressure all the way through the season, reinforcing that message,” said Collins, a former Risers player himself, about his confident preseason predictions. “It could have come back and bitten us on the backside, but we said all week this was just another game, another stop on our journey of what we have hoped to achieve all year.”
Collins talked confidently about the upcoming NPSL playoffs and the Risers’ push to be the best team in the nationwide 96-team league.
”Our goal is to win it all,” said Collins, whose team is ranked second nationally. “We will need a bit of luck to do that. We know we have the ability and talent and commitment and all of those things, but we will also have to stay healthy. Up until now we have achieved our goals, and we’re hopeful that we can keep doing it.”
[2]The victory allowed the Risers to prove once and for all that they are a bit better than Columbus.
That theory was in doubt after the two teams recently played in Ohio and came away with a 4-4 tie. That draw felt like more of a loss for the Risers, who led 3-1 and 4-2 before giving up the tying goals.
Muskegon was in a better position on Thursday with Maziasz back in goal after missing a few games, including the matchup in Columbus, with an injury.
“The importance of having Mason playing was huge, his presence gave us a lot more confidence,” Collins said. “And we knew what (Columbus) was all about this time and we were able to nullify some of their tricks.”
The Risers came out on the attack, dominating play in the first half and outshooting Columbus 5-0.
[3]The frustrating part is that they only managed one goal, which came when Takawira made a shot that was stopped by the Columbus keeper, but got his own rebound, got past the goalie who had come out to meet him, and put the ball in the net.
The Risers had a golden opportunity to add to the lead when Giuseppe Barone had a penalty kick inside the goal box later in the half, but failed to cash in.
Takawira added his second goal early in the second half, and that turned out to be more than enough for the Risers to claim the win.
“Every practice Stu works on finishing with me,” Takawira said. “I just keep going until the ball is in the back of the net. I do anything to help my team.
“It feels amazing man. We couldn’t have done it without everyone on the team. It just feels awesome.”
[4]Takawira said he was excited when he got to the stadium for the game and saw the conference trophy sitting on a small table on the sideline at midfield, waiting to be claimed by the better team.
“When I got here and saw it, I was like ‘We need that, we’re going to win that,” he said.
One veteran Riser, TJ Ifaturoti, was extremely happy to be around to see the Risers finally win a championship. He and Coach Collins were the only members of the current team who were around in 2019, the last summer the Risers took the field before COVID hit.
“It feels great,” Ifaturoti said. “(Risers owner) Matt Schmitt has had a vision since 2014, and everyone from top to bottom has been great. I’ve been playing for a while and I’m so thankful for everyone, including the fans. I’m just happy to be here.
“Our job is not done, though. The playoffs are next. We’ll take tonight to celebrate, since we’ve been working since May 1, but tomorrow it’s back to work.”