MU8SKEGON – All season long the Muskegon Risers have been powered by a high-octane offense featuring skilled goal scorers like Vatalis Takawira, Giuseppe Barrone and TJ Ifaturoti, to name just a few.

Despite what the final score suggested on Saturday, that offense did not go on vacation in the Risers’ 3-0 loss to Crossfire Redmond, an elite team from Washington State, in a National Premier Soccer League national semifinal game at Oakridge High School.

The scoring opportunities came, despite the presence of a tough Crossfire defense, but the Risers couldn’t finish them off and ended their season in frustrating fashion.

“I thought we were slow to start,” said Risers’ Coach Stu Collins. “We knew exactly what they were going to do and their game plan. They did a really good job of executing it exactly. They were probably more athletic than we gave them credit for. They have good players and good experience.

“Their work rate was really good, and they caught us off guard. We were down 2-0 before we knew it. That kind of lit a spark in us and we were able to pin them back after that. We had our chances in front of the goal, but it just wasn’t our night.”

Even in defeat, it’s impossible to overstate what an incredible season the Risers had in their first year as active members of the NPSL, a 96-team, coast-to-coast semipro soccer league.

They finished 8-0-2 in the regular season and won the NPSL Great Lakes Conference title. They went on to win their first two playoff games and captured the Midwest Region championship.

Those two trophies will be displayed with pride in the Risers’ office in downtown Muskegon, and if this season was any indication, there will be a lot more excitement in summers to come.

“I’ve said to the guys before it usually takes teams years and years to get to this stage of competing, but we did it not even in a year,” Collins said. “The season is short. We get two weeks before we play a game. It’s not like we get all this time. But the chemistry was great and we came together.

“They won’t see it today, but they were one of the last four teams in the country. The scoreboard says we got beat, and Crossfire was a deserving winner, but I thought we were the better team overall. They just played a great game tonight.”

The Risers came within two wins of capturing the league title, but they simply couldn’t get it done in the semifinals against Crossfire, a fast and physical team that strikes quickly on offense and contests everything on defense.

The trouble started 23 minutes into the game when Crossfire’s Christian Soto took a rising shot from about 20 yards out. Muskegon goalie Daniel Morgan dove to make the stop, but only got a piece of it as it bounded into the net.

Crossfire’s Omar Grey gave his team a 2-0 lead at the 34-minute mark when he skillfully weaved his way through several Risers defenders and put the ball in from close range.

The visitors’ third goal came at the 76-minute mark in the second half when Crossfire’s River Stewart found the net.

Muskegon had numerous chances to get on the scoreboard.

A Risers shot hit the goalpost and bounced away harmlessly at the 27-minute mark. Another shot trickled just wide of the goal at the 34-minute mark.

There were more chances in the second half. A close-range shot by Ifaturoti was stopped with a diving save by the Crossfire goalie at the 50-minute mark. Two more close-range shots, seconds part, were both blocked by the goalie at the 68-minute mark. A hard shot sailed just over the goal and hit the football field goal crossbar at the 70-minute mark.

The offense might have gotten more of a boost if Takawira, the Risers’ leading scorer, had been in the lineup for the entire game, but he was injured in the first half and left early in the second, leaving the Risers without an always dangerous weapon.

“He’s a huge player for us,” Collins said. “But (Crossfire) did a good job and has a lot of experience in limiting services into players like him. I think we still got a huge amount of chances in the first half. He just didn’t catch one right. But it was tough without him, and we have a lot of good players.”

Crossfire had a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.