Boys Soccer: Mercer Island's Season Ends with Loss to Lake Washington

The Mercer Island boys soccer team won nearly statistical battle against Lake Washington on Wednesday night.

Corner kicks? Check. Time of Possession? Check. Shots on goal? Big check.

Unfortunately for the Islanders, the only category they lost was the only one that matters: goals scored.

Justin Manao scored on a penalty kick in the 35th minute and Lake Washington ended Mercer Island's season with a 1-0 victory in the championship game of the KingCo 3A boys soccer tournament on Wednesday night at Mercer Island High School.

The Islanders did not want for chances in the game, controlling the ball for close to 75 percent of the time. But Mercer Island failed to put one in the back of the net despite 11 shots on goal.

"Big players play big in big games and some of them didn't show up," Newman said.

Lake Washington's only real scoring opportunity turned out to be the only one they needed. Taylor Stapf took advantage of a momentary lapse by the Islanders defense and made a 60-yard run late in the first half. Stapf was bumped from behind by Mercer Island defender Nick Goelz as he attempted a shot in the box, leading to Manao's penalty kick. Islanders goalkeeper Nico Terentjev got a finger on the ball, but it found the back of the net for the games only score.

"It wasn't pretty, we just ran," Lake Washington head coach Shaun Warner said. "This team has a tremendous amount of heart."

Lake Washington spent nearly the entire second half in its defensive third, turning away chance after chance of the Islanders. Mercer Island put six shots on goal in the second half, plus numerous others that just flashed over the cross bar, but ultimately could not beat the Kangs back line and goalkeeper Andreas Verduzco. 

Matt Grohnke had perhaps the best chance for Mercer Island, putting a low shot on goal after Jordan Morris' cross attempt was deflected by Verduzco in the 50th minute. But Verduzco corralled Grohnke's shot while laying on the ground and the Islanders remained scoreless.

"We didn't finish the chances we had and the keeper came up big," Newman said.

The loss ends the season for the Islanders, which finished second in the KingCo 3A/2A division during the regular season. The KingCo conference was only allotted one automatic bid for the state tournament this year, which went to first-place Sammamish, meaning the Islanders needed to win three games in five days to nab a state playoff birth. Mercer Island beat Bellevue 1-0 on Monday night, but will go no further.

"It's a tough loss because we deserved better than this," Newman said. "We should be going on Saturday, we're the better team, but hats off to those guys."