LocalSportsJournal.com

The Muskegon Risers are continuing to experience growing pains in the Premier Arena Soccer League.

Since posting a 2-0-1 record in their first three games of their inaugural indoor season, the Risers have dropped two in a row, including Saturday’s 11-8 loss on the road to the Cleveland Legacy.

Cleveland scored the first six goals of the game and led 6-1 at halftime.

The Risers came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Legacy 4-1 in the third quarter and pulling within two goals.

The Risers made the score 7-6 early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

“We obviously had a horrible first half,” said Risers Coach Ben Ritsema. “We talked about more high pressure defending, shorter shifts, and taking more shots on offense at halftime, and the team responded very well.

“I thought when the score was 7-6 early into the fourth quarter, we might be able to pull off the huge comeback, but Cleveland got two transition goals to give them a three-goal cushion again midway through the fourth quarter.”

Two players had big games for the Risers. Miguel Flores, a Muskegon High School grad, scored four goals while TJ Ifaturoti had three.

Ifaturoti, Flores, Charlie Wick, Noah Hendricks and Ryan Wagenmaker registered assists for the Risers.