Amidst the rain and 14 mph winds, the Mercer Island girls soccer team battled the Liberty High School Patriots Thursday, Nov. 7. Despite a showing of solid defense, the Patriots prevailed over the Islanders 1-0. The loss ended the Islanders’ season.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Mercer Island coach Terry Ryan. “They gave everything. To go on the road and deal with the weather, I thought they were awesome. They tuned the weather out, they just went out and played their hearts out. That’s all a coach can ask for.”

It was another defensive battle in the first half for the Islanders, with both teams heading into halftime scoreless. Senior Jacquelyn Anderson scored for Liberty in the second half to put the Patriots ahead 1-0, and they never looked back.

It was the second matchup between the two teams in a week, with the Islanders prevailing in the previous matchup 3-2. Ryan said he believed the Islanders played better in Thursday’s loss than in their previous 3-2 victory over the Patriots. Ryan praised Liberty’s team while also praising Mercer Island’s back line, pointing out that after beating Interlake 4-0 in their previous matchup, Liberty managed only one goal against the Islanders.

“We had one defensive lapse and they scored,” said Ryan. “We played well enough to win and didn’t get that break.”

The Islanders finished 8-3-3 in the 3A/2A KingCo conference, behind Bellevue and Liberty for third place, and 11-5-3 overall on the season. Senior Kiana Chang was selected to the 2013 3A/2A KingCo All-Conference First Team, while senior Suri Johnson was selected to the All-Conference Second Team. Michele Day, Katie Rorem, Jamie Mounger and Hayley Snyder garnered All-Conference honorable mention. Mercer Island head coach Terry Ryan was selected as the 2013 3A/2A KingCo Coach of the Year.