Winning streaks were on the line as the undefeated Mercer Island boys lacrosse team took on the Metro-division leading Eastside Catholic Crusaders Saturday night at Islander Stadium. Story by Joe Livarchik - Mercer Island Reporter

Both heavyweights got their shots in, with the Crusaders striking early, but the Islanders delivering the final knockout blow. Overcoming a five-goal deficit in the first half, Mercer Island used a second-quarter scoring outburst to rally past the Crusaders 13-9 Saturday evening and keep its perfect season intact.

It was a physical, smash-mouth contest littered with 11 penalty flags throughout, with the Islanders and the one-loss Crusaders fighting to avoid blemishing their respective records. Riding a 10-game winning streak, Eastside Catholic (10-2, 5-0) had Mercer Island on the ropes in the first period, breaking a 1-1 tie with five unanswered points. A goal from James Wehe gave the Crusaders a 6-1 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter.

“We weren’t shooting in the beginning, I think we had two or three shots in the first quarter. So I told the guys, ‘If you don’t shoot, we’re not gonna score,’” said assistant coach Kevin Mincio, who filled in as the Islanders’ head coach for the evening. “I’m really happy that the kids held in there when we were down 6-1.”

Evan Condon ended the Islanders’ scoring drought 20 seconds later and kicked off Mercer Island’s own run of seven unanswered goals. Jack Counihan and Brett Bottomley each scored twice during that stretch, as the Islanders turned their five-goal deficit into an 8-6 halftime advantage.

“This team has the mentality that we just don’t have anything to lose,” Condon said. “We’re proud of our undefeated record, but we’re not worried about it. We’re just going to throw our bodies out against any team and any opponent. We don’t care what the outcome is as long as we play hard.”

Mercer Island (15-0, 6-0) maintained its lead after the break, tacking on three more goals in the third to go ahead 11-8. In the fourth, Condon and Mitch Stickney each found the back of the net to put the game further out of reach. Bottomley led the Islanders with four goals and an assist, while Condon had three goals, an assist and eight ground balls. Wehe had four goals and two assists for the Crusaders, and Zack Steffens scored three.

Facing a worthy rival that ended Mercer Island’s season in the state tournament quarterfinals last spring, neither players nor coaches from the Islander bench were shy about their desire to get the win over Eastside Catholic.

“We definitely wanted to finish out strong and pay it back for the seniors that were there last year,” Condon said. “This is only a little bit of payback. In the end, all that matters is the postseason. We’re going to take this win and move forward and try to get better.”

Next, Mercer Island will face off against Lake Washington (6-3, 5-1) at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 at Lake Washington High School.