In a much anticipated rematch, Mercer Island Water Polo squared off against nemesis Bellevue on Oct. 14 at Woodridge Pool. It was a tight game through three quarters, but ultimately the Islanders fell 12-6. Mercer Island previously lost to Bellevue 12-8 mid-September.

The Islanders charged out of the gate strong, putting one in the net on its first possession when Ford Witman scored off a Sammy Vacca pass. Bellevue’s Sam Geffe tied it up at 5:30. The Islanders answered back with a Witman tip-in to the bottom right corner at 4:47.  Connor Vacca made it three for the Islanders with a skip shot at 13 seconds remaining on the clock to close the first quarter 3-2.

The second quarter was all Bellevue. The Wolverines scored three goals while shutting down the Islander offense. Bellevue went into the half leading 5-3.

The Islanders regrouped and scored the first two goals of the third quarter to tie it up at 2:10. The Wolverines called time-out at 1:50 and successfully neutralized Islander momentum. Bellevue’s Zack Rossman scored at 1:36 and Sam Geffe connected at :06 to put the Wolverines back on top 7-5 going into the final period.

Bellevue rattled off four straight goals in the fourth quarter until Islander Sammy Vacca landed a 5-meter shot at 1:37. Bellevue bagged the final goal of the game at :50 to finish as the winner 12-6.

Ford Witman led the Islanders with three goals, Hunter Peshkin had eight saves on the game. Cameron Hayes led the Wolverines with three goals. The Islanders have three remaining league games and two tournaments before entering postseason play. More details on upcoming contests can be found at mercerislandwaterpolo.com.