Mercer Island trailed the Lake Washington Kangs by a point in the 2A/3A KingCo standings heading into Friday’s matchup between the two teams. And through the first 40 minutes of scoreless play, both teams appeared determined not to concede anything.

But a second-half Lake Washington penalty in the box seemed to open the flood gates for the Islanders, sparking a four-goal burst as Mercer Island blanked the Kangs 4-0 at Lake Washington High School. The win left Mercer Island alone atop the league standings.

Hunter Bauman kicked off the second-half stretch, scoring Mercer Island’s first two goals.

“We’re both good teams but I think in the second half, we just came out with a certain energy and were able to put it away,” Bauman said.

Bauman first struck in the 52nd minute. Midfielder Eric Dreyer was fouled in the box after beating his defender down field, with Bauman successfully converting the ensuing penalty kick to put the Islanders (5-0-1, 3-0-0 in KingCo) ahead 1-0. Ten minutes later, Bauman struck again, sending a 20-yard shot from the left side over the outstretched hand of goalie Jamison Gunhus.

“I looked up and saw that the goalie was a little too near-post. I just thought I’d try for the chip far-post and it worked,” Bauman said.

The Islanders got two more goals in the final three minutes, with Austin Taylor rebounding a shot in the 77th minute and Dreyer finding the back of the net in the 78th minute to pull away further from the Kangs (2-4-1, 2-1-1).

It was a much different affair from the first half, which saw an aggressive Islander attack, but an inability to finish. Mercer Island outshot Lake Washington 12-4 in the first half, while forcing the Kang offense into four offside penalties.

“We had chances to get goals in the first half. I think the difference in the second half was that we put them away,” Mercer Island coach Colin Rigby said. “We took half-chances and three-quarter chances and turned them into goals. When you do that, you’re giving yourself a good opportunity to win games.”

Now after claiming first place in their division, the Islander players said the focus shifts to staying on top of the conference standings.

“Once we’ve established ourselves at the top, it’s something that we’re going to try and keep for the rest of the season,” goalie Matt LeProwse said. “It’s not easy to get, but it’s easy to lose.”