The Mercer Island boys golf team is on the precipice of finishing the season with just one loss. In a season when the Islanders have just two returning players, rebuilding seems like an afterthought.

“I had no idea how our team would perform this season after losing so many seniors,” said Islander coach Tyson Peters. “But our players have definitely played better than expected.”

Charlie Kern (35) and Kyle Code led the way, finishing first and second respectively on a par 37 course against Eastside Catholic High School on Thursday. The Islanders won the match by nearly 20 strokes.

Mercer Island began the week with a 30-stroke win over Bothell High School.

But the big surprise has been the strength of the Mercer Island depth.

“Our team is going in a really good direction,” said Peters. “But the encouraging thing is that we will be even better down the road.”

Islanders Crawford Leeds, Ryan Samp, Kirby Ingram and George Jiranek have stepped up to give the Islanders a solid top six players.

“Our depth has been a great surprise,” said Peters.

Six Mercer Island players will compete at the KingCo meet on Oct. 13, where Mount Si will be the Islanders’ biggest challenge.

“I think that we will get three players to districts,” said Peters.

One challenge that the Islanders had this season was playing on many new courses.

“It was like playing by braille,” said Peters. “It is hard to play to the top of their ability when on courses they, or I, have never seen. But we will play better on them next year. It was good experience for the future.”

Mercer Island will play its final meet of the season today at 3:45 p.m. at Twin Rivers Golf Course against Ballard.