MIHS girls flag football team scores success
Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Head coach Victor Gamboa has the utmost praise for his Mercer Island High School (MIHS) girls flag football team this season.
The players are super competitive and bring quickness and good hands to the field. If a rainy day is tossed their way, the Islanders roll through the wet conditions and show up ready to battle their opponents.
“I don’t really have to say much to get them going,” said Gamboa, adding that he respects the players for their drive to play solid ball. “They know what they signed up for, and they’re ready to go. We’ve got a lot of soccer girls, I would say; and the weather, they’re used to it.”
When MIHS last hit the field, the flag footballers notched a pair of Senior Night wins over Evergreen (Seattle), 28-7, and Lindbergh, 42-14, at home on Jan. 15. At press time, the Islanders are 6-3 in the KingCo Crest division and have tallied 204 points.
Next up for the team are games against Cedarcrest at 6 p.m. on Jan. 22 and Renton at 7 p.m. the same night. Both matchups will be played at Cedarcrest in Duvall. The Islanders’ final regular season game will occur at 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 27 at Liberty (Renton).
It’s Gamboa’s second season manning the head coaching position for the flag squad, which has been in existence for three seasons. This is the first season that the sport has been sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA).
“We can finally get some girls some scholarships to go to college. Kind of open up a football book for everybody so that it’s all incorporated with everyone,” said a thrilled Gamboa, who also serves as head coach for the MIHS boys football team.
Gamboa delved into his coaching philosophy: “Fighting through adversity. No matter what, the last play is the last play and we’re only as good as our next play. So just kind of pushing forward, keeping your head up. We’re counting on everybody to make a play, no matter what.”
MIHS has faced some good competition this season and Gamboa feels the sport is going to get even bigger in the upcoming years.
Islander standouts are quarterback Audrey Goodman with 21 touchdown passes; wide receiver/safety Aimee Montpellier with eight offensive touchdowns, 15 interceptions with four returned for scores; running back Mackenzie Slivinski with five touchdowns; and Stella Lanz with three touchdowns.
Gamboa said that Goodman is the team’s leader and possesses “a cannon for an arm,” Montpellier is a quiet player whose actions speak volumes and Slivinski brings some rowdiness to the team and “comes out of a cannon — boom!” when she gets the ball.
With tennis as senior Goodman’s main sport, the quarterback said she’s got a pretty good arm from playing with the netters and with volleyball teams over the years.
“I love the team, the environment,” she said. “I was interested in it because growing up, I loved playing catch with footballs and stuff.”
Goodman said the games can be intense and competitive as their opponents also bring loads of energy, aggression and commitment to the field.
The quarterback takes us through a game situation: “You’ll have rushers sprinting at you. It’s really stressful situations, but it’s fun. It’s fun to be under that pressure. I really enjoy it.”
Montpellier, a junior, comes to flag football from the high school and club soccer realm. She enjoys the team dynamic and the fun the girls have each time they run through their plays, especially during games.
As MIHS racks up a bevy of victories, Montpellier discussed the keys to the team’s success: “I feel like it was just to keep trying. Even if we made a mistake, don’t give up and just keep chasing a girl down if you miss a flag.”
Montpellier echoed Goodman’s sentiment about the intensity of the games, adding, “That’s sometimes the best part because then you get really into the game, and it just pushes you to try harder. That sometimes makes it more fun.”
