Coach: Chris Long (first year)

Last season: Finished 22-1, won state championship

“It’s very nerve wracking,” Long said of taking over for Ian O’Hearn, who previously coached the Islanders since 2002. “There is a lot of pressure I’ve put on myself to keep the level or even go above the level he brought to [the program], and these are all good kids. They’ve all really enjoyed working with him. It’s kind of a weird feeling, he’s always been here and always been a part of it.”

“I think at first, we were all kind of shocked when we heard Coach O’Hearn was stepping down and I don’t know if any of us knew how to process it for a day or so,” said senior Ben Berejka. “But as soon as we heard Coach Long was going to be our coach, I think we were all pretty fired up. I guess we were kind of seeing this as the start of a new age of Mercer Island lacrosse and it’s motivating us to work twice as hard.”

“There’s no one else in the state that we’d rather have be our coach,” said senior Johnny van der Velden. “There’s no one else in the state that we have more faith in that could take us to another state title.”

Captains: Ben Berejka, Jonny Osman, Johnny van der Velden, Ezra Tillinger

Strengths: “As a class, we’ve known we’ve always had a strong defense, but on offense this year, our offense has really come out of its shell,” Tillinger said. “We have some young guys coming into the program as freshman who are really going to contribute this year, as well as some strong seniors and a good attack line.”

Needs to improve: “Getting the boys to play at a faster pace,” Long said. “One of my mantras for the kids is put your foot on the gas and I’ll tell you when it’s time to let up.”

“Everyone really needs to step into that [contributing] role,” Berejka said. “I think everyone on this team is going to be a weapon and just as useful as the other person.”

Goals: “I don’t want to put out a goal of winning the state championship because there is a lot of skill and a lot of luck involved, but I think make the playoffs and see where we go from there,” Long said. “I want the boys to be competitive but also do it the right way.”

“I think the state championship is always our goal, but right now we’re taking things one game at a time and focusing on our first game with Mount Si on March 15,” Osman said.

Games to watch: 4/8 vs. Skyline, 4/29 @ Issaquah, 5/13 vs. Bellevue