Samir Lumba said that opponents will be gunning to defeat the Mercer Island High School boys soccer team this season after the Islanders notched the 3A state championship last year.

From his center back position and co-captain spot, the senior aims to help guide his squad through a solid and fun season en route to hopefully winning the 3A KingCo title and qualifying for state.

“As a captain, it’s important to have good leadership and it’s important to help push the team through, maybe if we have our ups and downs throughout the season. It’s important to help keep the team’s head up and keep our goal in sight,” said Lumba, who is joined by fellow seniors Leo Berkley and Kaleb Rawson in the captains’ realm.

Confidence and chemistry will need to be chugging at a high level for the Islanders, who defeated Lakeside, 3-1, to win the program’s first state title at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup last spring.

“I think we’ve got good momentum going forward,” said Lumba, whose team boasts a host of returners. The locals kicked off the season with a 1-0 nonleague victory over Chief Sealth on March 10 behind a goal from junior Oliver Bellin.

Lumba said that first-year head coach Fikay Abolade is communicating well with players, both individually and as a group, and has kept them playing strong like last year.

As Lumba rolls into his final season with the Islanders, the defender feels he’s found his role and developed into a better player over the years. He also got in some kicking action for the football squad and listed booting a game-winning, last-second 27-yard field goal as a sophomore as one of his top-five high school sports moments.

The Reporter asked Lumba a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his life:

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

Any of the international soccer stars, any of the big names, it would be really cool to just go and talk to them. (Argentina star Lionel Messi would be one of them.)

How do you spend your spare time?

I like watching all sports. As a hobby, I like playing basketball. It’s kind of like a stress-reliever sport — you don’t have to play with somebody else in order to have fun. Spending time with my friends is probably the best way to get rid of soccer and get rid of school and just focus on hanging out with my friends, enjoying my time with them.

What would be a dream job for you down the line?

I plan on going to college for a sports management/business management degree. That’s the field I want to get into. I think maybe a dream job of mine would definitely be either an agent or a reporter for a sports team or a specific player (football, soccer or basketball). I’ve been playing sports and been watching these sports for so long and I’m starting to learn more and more about how business and politics plays into that, so I think that would be pretty cool.

What type of music do you listen to?

I’ve got a lot of types of music that I like listening to. Obviously, I like hip hop and rap and more of the modern music, but I also enjoy Spanish songs and Brazilian songs and sometimes country songs as well.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I’ve always liked Marvel movies, you know, superhero movies, those are really cool. But I think if I have to say, my favorite movies of all time are probably the Jason Bourne series.