Prior to the season, Mercer Island coach Colin Rigby was bracing for the stretch of games taking place around the Islanders’ spring break. It began last Tuesday for Mercer Island’s matchup against Juanita, and lasts through the Islanders’ final contest during spring break April 8, where his team could have up to 12 players missing in action.

Yet with the way the Islanders have performed since that stretch began, one has to wonder if there was any reason for worry.

Mercer Island beat Lake Washington 4-0 Friday, April 3 at Islander Stadium, the team’s second-straight shutout after hammering Juanita 5-0 earlier in the week. Through the team’s first three KingCo games, the Islanders have scored 11 times while conceding zero goals.

“We were missing most of our defensive crew, so I’m most impressed with our clean sheets,” Rigby said of Mercer Island’s shutouts, noting only five players were missing Friday night. “I’m very happy that our defense has been able to shut them down. Our attack is very strong, and I’m very confident with what they can do for the rest of the season. They show it every game.”

Mercer Island was looking for its shot early against Lake Washington, with several opportunities before Freddy Kleemann put the Islanders on the board off an assist from Nico Moreno in the 19th minute. Six minutes later, Ryan Hill scored from the right side to give the Islanders a 2-0 advantage.

The Kangs had a corner opportunity in the 29th minute, but saw a header-goal waived off to an offsides penalty. Three minutes later, Kleemann struck again, finding himself with the ball behind the goalie after a Mercer Island penalty kick.

“Freddy is a fantastic player. He’s stepped into the role that we have him playing and he does it as good or better than anyone in the league,” Rigby said.

Mercer Island continued to be aggressive in the second half, with OShane Braidy adding insurance in the 70th minute. Matt LeProwse recorded the shutout in goal for the Islanders.

While acknowledging things have gone as well as planned, Rigby said the real test for his team would come during spring break, with more players missing from the lineup and a big game against KingCo’s second-place Liberty Patriots April 8.

“We’ll continue with our strategy that we put together. We’ve got a strong starting lineup and a strong group of guys coming off the bench and everybody knows their role. We just encourage them to do their job to its fullest,” Rigby said.

“We don’t reinvent the wheel. We try to figure out what works and we try to stick with it and enhance it and improve it every game.”

Mercer Island will take on Sammamish at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 6 at MIHS.