The Mercer Island boys soccer team beat Sammamish 2-0 behind Jed Jacobson’s two goals on Thursday night at Islander Stadium. But the two consecutive losses prior to Thursday are raising questions of focus and consistency.

“We should have done better against Bellevue,” said Mercer Island coach Steve Newman. “We have lacked that aggressive intensity that we got tonight.”

Jacobson put the Islanders on top during the opening minutes of the second half. Islander John O’Meara heaved the ball halfway across the field into a group of players at the 43:10 mark of the game. Jacobson leaped up and headed it into the goal for the 1-0 lead.

“It was really important to get back into the win column after losing those two games,” said Jacobson. “We had so many guys out because of spring break. This was a good win.”

Mercer Island goal keeper Forrest Marowitz came up big over the next few Totem possessions. Sammamish earned a penalty kick at the 50-minute mark but Marowitz dove to his right to protect the near post, narrowly deflecting the rocket shot. Two minutes later Marowitz had leapt into the air to deflect a high arching shot, punching the ball off line and saving the 1-0 lead.

“We have a lot of talent and sometimes we don’t play to our potential this year,” said Marowitz. “The young guys came up huge tonight.”

Jacobson gave the Islanders a bit of breathing room with 12 minutes remaining in the game. A cross-field pass from Radcliffe McDougald landed at Jacobson’s feet, nearly 150 feet from the Totem net. With no one but the goalkeeper between Jacobson and the net, he took a hard shot that ripped through the cold air, surprising the defensive players and pushing the net out the back side of the goal.

“I got the ball and saw the opening,” said Jacobson. “After I took the shot, I knew it was going in.”

The win comes despite the loss of seven players on spring break vacations.

“Our JV players played well,” said Newman. “Ross DiJulio played the entire game and played well. We need our sophomores and juniors to step up.”

The Islanders 2-0 loss to Bellevue on April 1 hurt the team in the standings. Mercer Island is now in fourth place, four points out of first. The Islanders traveled to Mount Si on Tuesday to avenge their season-opening loss to the Wildcats (after Reporter deadline). Mercer Island will host Interlake at 7:30 p.m., Friday.