Mercer Island boys water polo started the season with back-to-back wins facing off against non-league opponents Curtis and Auburn-Riverside.

The Islanders beat Auburn-Riverside 18-11 in an effort that saw 11 different players score.

In a rematch of last year’s state semifinal game, Mercer Island bested Curtis 7-5 at the Vikings’ home pool in a come-from-behind victory.

The Islanders struggled against Curtis on both sides of the ball in the first half, picking up four ejections and garnering only two goals out of 11 shot attempts. Topher Lacrampe got the Islander offense started with a lob shot to the right corner at 2:16 in the first quarter. Lefty Jack Larkin made the Islanders’ second goal at 5:34 in the second quarter, but that was it as the Islanders entered half-time down 2-3.

The Vikings held the Islanders scoreless in the third quarter, increasing its lead 5-2. Mercer Island was unable to convert a 5-meter and man-up opportunity and exited the quarter with no goals on five shot attempts.

The fourth quarter was a different story as Islander Jack Larkin launched an offensive flurry. Larkin scored 4 of his 5 game goals in the final quarter, including three goals in a two-minute stretch to open the period. Conner Vacca scored the go-ahead goal with 2:01 left and Larkin finished it off at 1:04 for a final score of 7-5.

Coach Andrew Smith-Jones said, “It’s nice to win but there’s a lot that we still need to work on to achieve the goals we made for ourselves. When we were behind in the Curtis game, it was an opportunity to see if we can dig deep in the 4th and get after it.”

The Islanders begin league play this week and will face Roosevelt at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night at the Mercer Island Country Club.  A complete boys water polo schedule is available at www.mercerislandwaterpolo.com.