If a girls soccer player made it through the entire season in 2007 without injury, she was in the minority. Eleven out of 18 players missed time last year due to torn ACLs, twisted ankles and a litany of other ailments that made the team look like a traveling emergency room. The result was a frustrating season that saw Mercer Island miss the playoffs and slide to the bottom of the division with just five wins.

“It was hard,” said Mercer Island Coach Adam Gervis. “We’re bigger this year, so we can deal with the injuries.”

The fact that the team will come into the season with nearly everyone at 100 percent is a stark contrast to last season.

“I can’t believe how hard these girls work,” said Gervis. “We are miles better than last year. It really is amazing how much difference a year can make.”

Some of the same faces will be on the field from last year, and others have just gotten healthy and returned to the field. The result is a faster and more physically intimidating team.

“We’re bigger now,” said Gervis. “Last year, we struggled in games where we were pushed around. But this year it is like, ‘Bring it on.’”

With the return of so many injured athletes, Gervis has been able to put some of the girls back into positions in which they can excel and not just place girls to fill holes. One position that is still up in the air is goalkeeper. Islander Tyler Ledbetter, who tore her ACL last year against Mount Si, has healed quicker than originally expected and is challenging Susan Schuman for the starting position. But the difficult decision is one that Gervis welcomes.

“We can expect to win every game and that is the mindset I want them to have,” said Gervis.

But Gervis knows that changing the mental part of the game will only come with wins.

Wins will not be as difficult to come by as the realignment of the league eliminates bigger schools such as Skyline and Issaquah, opening up the league for more competitive play.

“Our league is good but it is really deep,” said Gervis. “We won’t have the 6-0 Issaquah blowouts, and every team has a shot at the league title.”

A league title has not been on the radar for the Islanders in recent years, but a shift in the team’s approach and chemistry is taking shape.

Mercer Island junior and second-year captain Erin Bourguignon said she felt different at the preseason camp.

“All the girls were working really hard, and we are tougher than last year,” said Bourguignon. “I don’t think there is much that will hold us back.”

The team will have three captains, Bourguignon, junior Mary Hill and senior Kara Lungmus. Being a team leader as a junior is a lot different than her role last year, said Bourguignon: “It was hard to tell the upperclassmen what to do last year. But all the girls tell me they have respect for me this year, and we all respect and support each other.”

Bourguignon said that the chemistry on the team grew during the preseason camp and friendships grew stronger.

“I think we want it more this year,” said Bourguignon. “The camp changed our entire mindset.”