BOTHELL, WA - Approaching the Kirkland Lacrosse Center under a blanket of constant rainfall, it was odd to see the Juanita Rebels (2-1) warming up as the away team while the Mercer Island Islanders (2-0) took the field on the home side. The game would count as the home opener for the Islanders, coming off a 19-1 road win at Mt. Si, the first victory for Coach Chris Long at the helm, while the Rebels were striding in with wins over Liberty and Newport already under their belts.

At the face-off X it was primarily Juanita’s Stone Secord and Donnie Howard for the Islanders grinding it out all game long. Excellent wing-play was crucial for the two teams as they fought hip to hip for possessions in a consistently tight battle. Minutes went by before Cade Alonzo hit the solo shot for the Rebels in the 1st quarter. Strikes from Johnny Van der Velden, Stu Vassau and Charlie Rowe would be the Islanders answer as they fought to keep their footing on the turf. Tight defense, strong rides and a slippery lacrosse ball accounted for part of why the score stayed fairly low. The other half was the outstanding goaltending by Ezra Tillinger and the Rebels’ Brogan Bartch. Both net-minders appeared to be seeing the ball well and had no apparent hindrances when pushing the ball during clears.

The game’s next score wouldn’t come until the 3rd quarter when Connor Campbell saddled up and found the second Juanita goal. Not long after, Alonzo’s second goal-scoring effort came up with the equalizer, tying the knot at 3 on each side. The Islanders offense had nothing more to show on the scoreboard, despite their constant attack, until a 4th quarter, 7 goal surge and careful clock management would rewrite the story over the final 12 minutes.

Connor Campbell’s 2nd point of the night would give Juanita the lead, but their final tally from freshman Kyle McWhirter wouldn’t be enough to slow down the unforeseen flood of Mercer Island goals. The late scoring rally kicked off with Mitchell Mandt’s first strike followed by a pair of goals for Jonny Osman, Stu Vassau’s second score, singles for seniors Tiger McBurney and Will Oaks, ending on a final shot from Logan Meek.

Long possessions were the formula for the Islanders’ late success. To avoid the stall warning, they followed the simple formula of: cycle the ball, run a play, shoot, repeat. Once in the final two-minutes, their focus was kept on protecting the ball behind GLE and taking disciplined shots only when risk was low. The Juanita defense played every card in the deck to give their offense a shot at a late comeback, but the Rebels had a hard time making the most of any final possessions. At the end of regulation, the defending WHSBLA State Champions stormed their goalie, taking home the 11-5 victory and a clean, 2-0, record.

The Islanders return to their own stadium Friday night when Newport (0-5) comes to town at 8 pm. Saturday afternoon, the Rebels will be back to the Kirkland Lacrosse Center to face Inglemoor (0-3) for a 3 pm face-off. By Mark Donahue.