The Mercer Island Islanders (5-1) trump the Bellevue Wolverines (7-1) perfect season with a lights-out zone defense in a 6-4 KingCo battle at Bellevue High School.

This was a defensive game with Mercer Island forcing Bellevue to shoot from the outside and effectively limiting their scoring abilities as nearly half of their shots flew wide. Their new defensive strategy shut out the high-powered Wolverine offense in 2-of-4 separate quarters in their 6-4 victory.

Islander’s sophomore midfielder Donnie Howard led his team with three goals in their victory over the Wolverines. All his shots came from the dirt as he was just swinging the rock into the cage almost effortlessly.

Sophomore goalie Tynan “Tiny” Drayton had one of the best games on arguably the most important night of the season with a 73% save percentage preventing 11-of-15 shots on goal. The new zone defense has relieved a lot of pressure from this talented sophomore as he is averaging a 66% save percentage from their last two games.

The game opened up with penalties, wide shots by Bellevue and failed extra man plays on both sides. Mercer Island had another extra man opportunity late in the first quarter when sophomore midfielder Stew Vassau shot from 10 yards out grabbing the first goal of the game. The Islander sideline erupted with energy from what became a very successful first quarter effectively shutting out Bellevue at the same time.

Bellevue only had 3-of-10 shots on goal last quarter so they made a point to get to the crease where they have been most effective all year. Every time a player attempted a fast-break to the cage, the Islander zone defense would swallow them up laying poles on poles making it increasingly difficult for the Wolverines to find their moment.

After another failed man-up play from the Islanders, Bellevue took a quick lead with two goals showing a slight momentum shift. Mercer Island was not shaken as they were passing flawlessly the entire game to which it paid off in the second quarter with another sweeping shot by Howard to tie the game back up 2-2. Bellevue would regain their lead shortly after with another goal but having to shoot from the outside was proving difficult.

The second half was not much different from the first as Bellevue continued to show issues with accuracy on their shots with only 5-of-14 shots on goal. The Islanders regained their lead of 4-3 halfway into the third quarter by a pair of goals from Howard and senior midfielder Mitchell Mandt.

There was a noticeable sense of urgency by Bellevue as they tried to find good looks near the crease but were unable to get any defender movement out of Mercer Island. Vassau later brought that lead to 5-3 in the start of the fourth quarter as the Wolverines were staring at their first late game deficit of the season.

Bellevue would grab their final goal shortly after they were two men up on a 6-on-4 play but it was too little too late as the Islanders took the opportunity to burn the clock out to defeat the reigning state champs and their undefeated season, 6-4 Islanders.

How does a team in the KingCo Conference create a plan to topple a team like Bellevue who has won multiple state championships in recent years and was boasting a perfect record for this season? Islander’s co-head coach and defensive coordinator Ian O’Hearn put a lot of thought into planning for this game.

“They have a really potent offense, so our biggest goal was to slow them down as much as possible, which is what a zone is perfect for.” O’Hearn comments. “We were trying to get them shooting from the outside, minimizing their inside shots, we were hoping to keep the score low.”

Bellevue finished their final game of the season on a low note with a 7-1 record but will be eager to reclaim their seat on the throne once play-offs start May 12. Mercer Island moves to 5-1 and has two more conference games left as they will host Issaquah (2-3) Friday night at Mercer Island High School.

Story by Michael Thornbloom.