SAMMAMISH – 5/21/15 - Issaquah and Eastside Catholic faced-off Thursday in the State quarterfinals in front of a rowdy crowd. A 4-goal performance from the Georgetown commit, Mikey Giannopulos, and aggressive defensive play from the Eagles’ longpoles were too much for the Crusaders to handle, leading to an impressive 9-3 victory for Issaquah.

Mikey Giannopulos was firing on all cylinders in this one, dominating at the face-off X, and dodging without fear. Just a couple of minutes in, Giannopulos took it himself on a alley dodge to open up the scoring, and then minutes, burying his second of the game to send the Eagles into the 1st quarter break with a 2-0 lead.

Heading into the 2nd quarter, the Issaquah faithful was loud and energetic, sparking more offense from the team. Good, quick ball movement led to an Anthony O'Reilly goal off a feed from the senior, McKinley Melton. Moments later, Issaquah would bury yet another one - this time, it was Ryan Egland who would finish a behind the back shot off a face-off fast-break from Mikey Giannopulos, sending the Eagles’ sideline into a frenzy. After Issaquah would score their 5th goal of the half, Eastside Catholic finally found a break in the Eagle’s defense and Zach Steffens took advantage – fighting his way inside off a point dodge for a hard bouncer to the back of the net. As time ran down, Issaquah was flying high with a solid 5-1 lead heading into half.

Knowing there was plenty of time to go to work, the Crusaders came running out of the locker-room full of energy, and it showed. Just minutes into the half, Eastside Catholic would strike with a top-shelf bullet from James Wehe off a feed from teammate Bryce Atwater. With both sides’ fan chanting loudly, Mikey Giannopulos, ingored the roar, taking his defender down the alley for a hat trick – incredibly, his 9th of the season.

Issaquah’s defense suffocated the Crusaders for a majority of the game. Eastside Catholic was able to find holes in the D at times through quick ball movement, but the tremendous play of Jordan Dondoyano prevented further damage. Dondoyano finished with a 67% save on the game.

The 4th quarter wasn’t much different. The Eagles worked their offense patiently and strategically, looking for the right times to strike, but not forcing anything. A few minutes into the period, Riley Richards would drive behind the cage to find a waiting Jake Gonzalez up top for a speedy feed and top-shelf lazer to send the Issaquah faithful jumping. Ryan Egland would put the finishing touch on things with just minutes left, propelling Issaquah to th convincing 9-3 win over Eastside Catholic.

With the quarterfinals wrapped up, the Eagles look to their semi-final opponent - 18-1 Mercer Island, in a game that’s sure to be nothing but goals-on goals.