The Mercer Island boys soccer players found themselves in familiar territory Thursday night, which was favorable and very much welcomed.

Now, they’re aiming to do everything they can to make sure that familiarity is vanquished and short-lived.

Getting a first-half hat trick from senior forward Austin Taylor, Mercer Island cruised to a 4-0 shut out victory against the Bellevue Wolverines Thursday at Islander Stadium. It was Mercer Island’s second 4-0 win over Bellevue this spring, and the win secured the Islanders’ second straight undefeated season in KingCo competition.

It also set up a rematch of last season’s 3A KingCo championship game. As fate would have it, the Islanders (14-1-1, 12-0-0 in KingCo) will take on the Interlake Saints (10-5-0, 7-5-0) in their state tournament play-in game on Monday at Mercer Island High School. The Saints upset the Islanders 2-1 nearly a year ago to the day of Monday’s match and went on to win the 3A state title.

“I wanted the rematch,” Mercer Island coach Colin Rigby said shortly after hearing his team would be facing Interlake. “That’s good. That gives us a chance to get redemption. [I’m] super excited about that.”

The scoring of Thursday’s contest was nearly a carbon copy of Mercer Island’s previous matchup with the Wolverines (5-7-3, 5-5-2) on April 11, which also featured a hat trick from Taylor. Only this time, Taylor exploded for his three goals in the first 40 minutes of play.

The Mercer Island senior fired five of the Islanders’ nine first-half shots. Taylor put his team on the board in the 19th minute, receiving a left-side cross from Eric Dreyer at the top of the box and chipping the ball into the upper right corner of the net. Nearly 20 minutes later, Taylor rebounded a Hunter Bauman shot from the left side to extend the Islander advantage. His third goal came a minute later, off an assist from Bauman to give the Islanders a 3-0 lead heading into the break.

Taylor said when it came to Thursday’s contest against Mercer Island’s cross-lake rivals, he had no problem finding motivation to compete.

“It was sort of a different feeling for me just because Bellevue and Mercer Island have a long history,” Taylor said. “The last game we played them I scored three goals, so I was coming into this game with the highest of hopes. The past couple of games I’ve been sort of off, so going in and scoring these three goals was the greatest feeling ever.”

Rigby called Taylor a “very dangerous player.”

“He’s a big body up front, has pace and uses it well,” he said. “He’s got another gear and if we could get him on that gear the rest of this season, we’ll be doing great.”

The Wolverines upped their attack in the second half, attempting five more shots with three being on goal. Bellevue coach Ron Feary said heading into the game, his team was looking to create opportunities with its quick counterattack. Despite the loss, Feary saw signs of encouragement from his team as the Wolverines move on to the postseason.

“We realize Mercer Island is an excellent team,” he said. “I think we’re in good shape. Our players moved the ball well, both off and on the ball. I think we’re poised to represent ourselves well in the playoffs.”

Taylor nearly made it four goals after halftime, with a shot in the 49th minute hooking wide left. After a Bellevue handball in the box in the 57th minute, Bauman successfully connected on the ensuing penalty kick to give the Islanders their winning points.

Mercer Island goalkeeper and senior captain Matt LeProwse finished with four saves in the net, with three coming in the second half. He said while the Islanders achieved their goal of adding a KingCo banner to further decorate the Mercer Island gym, the team’s most important game of the season was still yet to come.

“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions even though it’s been victory after victory for us,” LeProwse said. “This season’s been one that I won’t forget and it’s so similar to last season. We’re very conscious of not making the same mistake twice and following in the next game, so that’s a game that we’re really looking forward to.”