The Islanders exact their revenge on the mighty Bainbridge Spartans while also punching their ticket to Starfire in a 16-7 match at Mercer Island High School Wednesday night.

Mercer Island started out hot in this match putting up 11 unanswered goals before Bainbridge could get on the board with two minutes left in the first half. The Spartans did not look like their usual selves as Mercer Island capitalized on three extra man opportunities late in the first quarter. Their frustration got the better of them as they watched their island rivals continue to run up the score to their eventual 16-7 defeat.

Islander’s sophomore midfielder Donnie Howard put four stakes into the hearts of Bainbridge fans with three goals coming from impressive shots on the outside and another as he was falling down on the crease. This is a young athlete who enjoys his shots from the dirt as he was looking like Steph Curry shooting three’s out there. If he has the rock and winds up, you better knock him down or stand back cause that thing is hitting the back of cage.

The Spartans didn’t get their groove going until the second half of this game much like Seattle Prep against Eastside Catholic last weekend. They were only able to grab one goal near the end of the first half as they started to put together successful sequences in the second.

Senior attackman Max Oden put together three goals and an assist in their defeat to the Islanders. Bainbridge will be sad to see him go as he ends his season with 40 goals and 24 assists. Another key component to this team was senior defenseman Lucas Pederson who was a monster on the ground this year knocking players around with his size and expertly grabbing 99 ground balls in total this season.

Defenses truly do win championships as this Islander team is becoming a prime example of how mid-season changes to a defense can equate to a championship opportunity. These adjustments came shortly after a rough three weeks in the beginning of April when their opponents outscored them 54-78 in six games. Since then they have dramatically improved to an 87-36 differential, including games against Bellevue, Issaquah and Bainbridge.

“Well, defensively we finally buckled down, figured out positions and personnel, and that’s gotten us to where we are at this point.” Islander co-head coach Ian O’Hearn said. “Offense is starting to get more confidence, and they’re clicking with the system better.”

Now they will face Bellevue again but on a much bigger stage and against head coach Nick Welton who has become much more comfortable with this team since he took it over a few weeks back. So how does a team like Mercer Island prepare for the reigning state champions?

“We just try to keep consistent throughout the year.” O’Hearn said. “It’s the biggest game of the season, but it was our goal all year, so we were expecting to be there. We're going to play it like it’s just the next game.”

Story by Michael Thornbloom