The Islanders prevailed over a plucky Puyallup team 14-13 to take third place in the boys water polo state tournament at Curtis High School Saturday, Nov. 14.
“It’s a great way to end the season,” said head coach Andrew Smith-Jones.
The Islanders began the state tournament with a dominating 18-4 win versus Kentridge in the quarterfinals. The Islanders led 7-1 after the first quarter and stretched the goal gap each quarter with little resistance. Sophomore Sammy Vacca was on fire as he led the effort with 7 goals, 2 assists and 4 steals. Mercer Island dominated possession throughout, punctuated by a team high 18 take-aways during the contest.
The Islanders faced undefeated Curtis in the late-card Friday night semifinals, falling 11-5. Curtis stunned out of the blocks with a relentless shooting attack, taking a 5-0 lead in the first quarter. The Islanders dug deep, locking down on defense in the second to hold the Vikings scoreless while putting three goals in the net to end the quarter down 5-3.
The third quarter was a scoring drought for both teams until the final minute. Curtis broke open the dam, scoring on a man-up play at 48 seconds. The Vikings regained possession at 17 seconds and sunk a buzzer-beater to close the quarter up 7-3.
Curtis carried their tempo into the fourth quarter. Although the Islanders held tight for nearly three quarters, they could not rally and were outscored 4-2 in the remaining minutes. Indicative of Curtis’ effectiveness, only two Islanders scored during the contest. Conner Vacca had 3 goals and Sammy Vacca had 2. Jacob Guedel led the defensive effort with 2 steals, a field block and 3 Offensives drawn. Hunter Peshkin had 8 saves on the game.
The Islanders faced Roosevelt in the back bracket a mere 12 hours after the disheartening defeat against Curtis. Smith-Jones related, “One of the hardest things is to remove a bad memory and rebound and be ready to play the next day.”
The Roughriders scored first and the toll of the previous night showed as the Islanders fired off 10 attempts, sinking only 1 goal in the first 6 minutes. Goalie Hunter Peshkin blocked a point-blank Roughrider shot at 54 seconds that seemed to energize the team. Sam Nair scored with 9 seconds left in the first quarter giving the Islanders their first game lead, 2-1. Finally shaking off the previous night, the Islanders stepped on the gas and pounded Roosevelt 17-7 to advance to the 3rd/4th place contest. Sophomore Sam Nair had a breakout game, scoring the first three Islander goals and leading the offense with 4 goals, 1 assist, 1 steal and a field block. Hunter Peshkin had 8 saves and Cole Nielsen had 3 saves.
The Islanders appeared confident and in firm control during the Puyallup game, leading 12-8 at the end of the third quarter. However, penalties and ejections began to pile up. By the beginning of the fourth quarter, Islander senior captains and team leaders Conner Vacca and Ford Witman both fouled out. In the fourth quarter, two more blows were dealt as Islander Sammy Vacca fouled out and defensive specialist Jacob Guedel was neutralized with 2 ejections charged.
The Vikings were emboldened by the absence of three Islander starters, but the Islanders hung on for the victory. Erik Raisys had 5 goals, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 field block and drew 3 ejections. Hunter Peshkin had 4 saves.
Smith-Jones concluded, “Our team showed real character. Our two team leaders were excluded and our guys came off the bench and got it done. The last three weeks have been an absolute blast. Did you notice the team cheers of ‘family?’ We became one unit – we had each other’s backs.”
Four Islanders were named to the All-State teams. Conner Vacca was named to the first team, Hunter Peshkin and Ford Witman earned second team honors and Erik Raisys earned honorable mention.
