By SHAUN SCOTT
Reporter Newspapers
The Mercer Island Islanders girls soccer team captured their first victory of the 2016 season in front of their hometown fans.
The Islanders, who dominated in all facets of the game, registered a convincing 1-0 win against the Sammamish Totems on Sept. 15 in Mercer Island. Mercer Island improved its overall record to 1-2-1 with the win while Sammamish dropped to 0-4 with the loss. The game wasn’t as close as the score indicated as Mercer Island controlled possession of the ball for the vast majority of the contest. Ashley Rudd scored the Islanders’ only goal of the game in the 38th minute of play. The Islanders’ nearly found the back of the net multiple times in the second half. Grace Wall’s stellar shot on goal in the 41st minute caromed off the crossbar and back onto the field of play. With 11 minutes to go in regulation, a Mercer Island penalty kick was halted due to a diving stop by Sammamish freshman goalie Heather Farmer. The shot attempt to the lower right side of the goal on the ground was blocked by a diving Farmer. In the 71st minute, Mercer Island midfielder Kendall Riley’s header shot on goal was blocked by Farmer. Islanders’ head coach Ryan Camden was thrilled to see his squad capture its first victory of the 2016 campaign.
“This is the first win so it feels good. It was just a matter of putting the ball in the back of the net. We did execute and got the three points (win) tonight,” Camden said. “I’m very happy with that because right now at this point every game is so crucial. Sometimes we don’t look at the number of goals scored or anything like that. At the end of the day, it’s about doing our job and we did.”
Camden said his squad played better as the game wore on.
“I was happy to see the composure come back (in the second half). I always tell the girls and in these games especially when you get back your composure as a collective unit that good things will happen. I’m proud of them for getting it done,” he said. “We have big goals this season and they are in sight. It’s all about getting better every single day and moving forward. We’re always in drive and throttle mode. We’re not going in reverse.”
Sammamish head coach Darryl Gonyea was proud of his team’s performance in defeat on the road against a formidable Mercer Island squad.
“I don’t like the term moral victory but it was definitely a step in the right direction. I’m proud of them. They battled and they are over there (Sammamish sideline) putting bags of ice on everything. Any time you can come to Mercer Island and play like we did tonight it’s a positive,” Gonyea said. “That is the fight we are trying to instill as a team. I’m proud of their effort against a quality opponent like Mercer Island.”
Gonyea highlighted the performance of Totems’ freshman goalie Heather Farmer between the posts.
“Our goalie (Farmer) came up big. She is going to be a good one and she is only a freshman. I’m looking forward to watching her improve as the year goes on,” he said.
