Last Friday night, under the lights of Issaquah stadium, Issaquah took the first three possessions of the game, and proceeded to go to work on Mercer Island's defense. Looking extremely confident and energetic, they worked for great opportunities on each possession. Coach Brandon Fortier of Issaquah was "incredibly happy with the way we came prepared to play offensively. We wondered if they would throw a zone...instead they came out locking off our midfield knowing we initiate from there a ton... we handled it and bolted to the 3-0 lead!"

MI reversed the trend in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, earning and creating lengthy possessions of their own. They were able to get back in to the swing of things, manufacturing scoring chances, and making good on many of them. Toward the end of the third, Mercer had a three goal lead that Issaquah would cut to two just before the end of the quarter.

Clearing was a problem for Issaquah down the stretch. Coach Ian O'Hearn of Mercer Island noted that "Our attack executed our ride very well, and gave us multiple possessions." Mercer's resurgence was in part due to a few adjustments - "we switched back into our normal defense and emphasized winning possessions on both sides of the field."

This game did come down to the last seconds. With seconds to go, and the game 10-9 in Mercer's favor, Islander junior midfielder Jack Vassau came up with a huge face-off win. They were able to kill the clock and win, with some dramatic events coming after the final horn.

Issaquah proved they were no fluke against Bellevue, while Mercer Island proved that they are a deserving #1. O'Hearn felt "It was a great game between two very evenly matched teams. I hope we get a chance to play them again during the playoffs."

Brett Bottomley and Cooper Johnson led Mercer Island scorers with 4 points - Bottomley's coming on 2 goals and 2 assists, and Johnson's on 4 goals. For Issaquah, Zach Fritz had 5 points on 3 goals and 2 assists, and Matt Thomas earned 3 points for his team's cause. Jordan Dondoyano of Issaquah and Benji Rothenberg of Mercer Island were both big in goal for their teams, posting 13 and 12 saves respectively.