Islanders lock KingCo title, head to postseason | Prep boys soccer
Published 2:51 pm Monday, May 11, 2015
Mercer Island boys soccer had two primary objectives when they began the 2015 season.
With a 6-0 trouncing of Sammamish May 1 at Sammamish High School, the Islanders made the first of those goals come into fruition: securing the top seed out of the 3A KingCo Conference by winning the KingCo crown. A week later, the Islanders punctuated their regular season with one more impressive feat: another 6-0 victory, this time over Bellevue at MIHS, to finish undefeated in league play at 12-0-0 and 12-2-2 overall. It was the Islanders’ sixth league title, and the undefeated mark was a feat that last occurred in 2005.
Now comes the team’s next lofty goal: returning to the 3A state final. After their rarefied accomplishment of maintaining a perfect league record, the Islanders couldn’t appear any more poised to make their run.
“I’m insanely confident with group we have,” Islander coach Colin Rigby said. “Honestly, I think I always knew we had [a perfect league record] in us, but after we got out of spring break undefeated, that was when I felt like we had the potential to go undefeated. We used our non-league [games] really well to learn and work on things and we really focused on the regular season.”
Mercer Island definitely appeared focused the final two weeks of the season. After dropping a 2-1 nonconference match to Issaquah on April 21, the Islanders reeled off five straight wins, outscoring their opponents 21-1 during that stretch.
Rigby said those numbers reflected the leadership from defensive captain Derek Sims and on the offensive front from striker Ryan Hill.
“Guys are hungry this year, and a lot of them have had the taste of what a state championship game feels like,” Hill said. “You don’t forget it, it stays there. Last year, we only had a couple of guys who had felt that before. This year, it’s the majority of the team. Everyone wants it, everyone knows we have the potential.”
Though the Islanders exude plenty of confidence heading into the postseason and maintain the mantra of ‘taking things one game at a time,’ Sims acknowledged so much regular season success could potentially present challenges as they try to get back to the state championship game.
“After a season like this where we haven’t had very many experiences with losing, especially in KingCo going undefeated, it’s important to understand that we just can’t go into these games thinking that it’s going to be the same as it’s been all year,” Sims said. “The state teams are going to be a lot more competitive and a lot more fired up to play.”
Rigby said injuries are always a fear in high school soccer. But aside from trying to stay healthy, the Mercer Island coach hasn’t seen any other causes for concern with a squad as driven as this year’s team has been thus far.
“More than anything we’re excited. We’re excited to play against competition that’s going to test us and test all of the parts of our game,” Rigby said. “They’re so motivated to get back to where they were last year and it is on everybody’s mind. Every practice and every game, they’re thinking about what’s next.”
Mercer Island takes on Interlake at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 11 for the KingCo tournament championship. The winner will earn a berth to the 3A state tournament.
