MI water polo improves to 9-0

The Mercer Island High School water polo team pushed its record to 9-0 with a 19-11 win over Bellevue in league play. The Wolverines kept the game close during the first quarter, tying the score at 3-3 with several seconds left. However, the Islanders came back with a quick counterattack goal to go ahead by one as the buzzer sounded. During the second quarter, the Islanders came out on fire, reeling off seven goals to move ahead 11-5 at halftime. Mercer Island controlled the clock for the remainder of the game on its way to a comfortable victory. The Islanders were led by seniors Sam Sussman and Ari Wes, and freshman Eugene Chong. Sussman was the game’s top scorer with seven goals and also led the team in assists with five. Chong and Wes finished with six and four goals, respectively. Finishing out the scoring were senior Chris Ferrell and freshman Quinn Sterling, with one goal each. The game also highlighted the strong goalie skills of another freshman, Eric Benca, who went big with nine saves.

November 24, 2008 8:19 pm

The Mercer Island High School water polo team pushed its record to 9-0 with a 19-11 win over Bellevue in league play. The Wolverines kept the game close during the first quarter, tying the score at 3-3 with several seconds left. However, the Islanders came back with a quick counterattack goal to go ahead by one as the buzzer sounded. During the second quarter, the Islanders came out on fire, reeling off seven goals to move ahead 11-5 at halftime. Mercer Island controlled the clock for the remainder of the game on its way to a comfortable victory. The Islanders were led by seniors Sam Sussman and Ari Wes, and freshman Eugene Chong. Sussman was the game’s top scorer with seven goals and also led the team in assists with five. Chong and Wes finished with six and four goals, respectively. Finishing out the scoring were senior Chris Ferrell and freshman Quinn Sterling, with one goal each. The game also highlighted the strong goalie skills of another freshman, Eric Benca, who went big with nine saves.

During weekend play at KCAC, the Islanders blazed through the completion at the Sixth Annual Fall Invite. The team went 6-0 through the tournament, culminating with a convincing 12-4 win over 2006 state runner-up, Newport, in the championship game. The Islanders outscored their opponents 81-20 during the tournament, including wins over Bainbridge Island 17-2, Curtis 15-5, Canada 13-2, Bellevue 14-5 and Roosevelt 10-2. The team travels to Oregon this weekend to take on the top 16 teams in Oregon while competing in the Newberg Invitational tournament.