Mercer Island Ousts Bellevue 9-5 for Title Shot

MERCER ISLAND-The monsoon downpour parted just in time for the face-off of one of the biggest rivalries in the state.  It was complete with  high energized teams and the fans to compliment. Connor Bernal opened up the scoring with a nice individual effort, as he dodged past several stick chasing defenders and snuck a shot past Austin Boyd.  After the next face-off it was the Wolverines turn on offense.  Bellevue utilized long possessions used midfield isolation sweeps to pull the Islander slides.  With that Wolverine freshman Eric Haehl scored off a nice bouncer to even up the score.

On the next possession, Mercer Island made a big takeaway which led to a hard ride from Bellevue.  The ensuing transition drew interceptions, loose ball scrums and heavy hits that lit up the crowd.  Bernal got the ball again and he dodged, drawing several hits, a triple team, but still got a shot off.  Boyd was there to rob him.  Both teams were tied at the end of the first quarter 1-1.  To start the second, Mercer Island came up with possession and Colton Knebel snuck a shot near post on Boyd.  Bellevue drew a push penalty and Mercer went on an EMO.  Alex Robbs threaded the needle to Grant Preisler on the doorstep to push the score 3-1.  Bellevue attacked out of a 1:3:2 and loaded one side leaving a single dodger.  Meanwhile Mercer ran their usual 2:3 formation.  Bellevue found success in their ride as the clearing transition game is a weak spot in the Islander game.  Bernal again found net on an unassisted goal.  Bellevue continued to kill clock with long possessions and tried to penetrate the Islander defense.  Hot hands Haehl found Hank Bethke for Bellevue's second goal of the night.  Halftime score 4-2.

Out of the gates the third quarter was a battle.  Bellevue surged with Drew Douglas finding success penetrating Mercer's tough defense.  He netted two goals with a nice feed coming from Haehl.  However, Bernal responded with two more goals, one off an EMO putting his tally to four on the night.  Bellevue's defense began to have trouble with the one-on-one match ups, but Boyd made several amazing saves to keep the score 6-4 at the end of the third. 

Mercer came out feeling comfortable as T. Claes Johnson from behind the cage found Matt Shields on the crease.  The Wolverines got a break when Mercer drew a slashing call.  Freshman Cole Johnson found Douglas on the GLE of the crease and he snuck an improbable shot past Brian Bernstein for a hat trick.  The Islanders switched their offense to a 1:4 to capitalize on their match ups.  Mercer turned the tied on their transition as they started riding Bellevue tough.  Doug Mahony stripped his clearing defender and scored, pushing the score 8-5.  A late hit on Bernstein gave Bellevue an unnecessary roughness call and Mahony found Robbs on the EMO.  His goal sealed the nail in the coffin.   Boyd continued to make good saves on the Islanders who attempted to extend their lead.  He came out of the cage to double team and try to get the ball back.  However, it was to no avail.  Mercer Island sealed a 9-5 win over Bellevue.  The Islanders advance to their third state final appearance in a row against Bainbridge Island.  It comes down to a classic 'Battle of the Islands'.  The last time these two teams met in a state final was in 2007, where Bainbridge won 9-7.   

Players of the Game

Connor Bernal (MI)- 4g

Austin Boyd (Bell)- 14 saves