On Wednesday May 13, the Mercer Island Boys Soccer team defeated rival school Bellevue High School with an unforgettable comeback at home, earning the title of 3A League KingCo Champions.

“Sometimes we’ve underestimated our opponent,” senior Ben Park said. “We beat them 4-0 last time, but we definitely didn’t underestimate them and we came into the game and we put in our all.”

This win was unforeseeable, with much of the game proving to be somewhat anticlimactic. The scoreboard held a steady 0-0 throughout the first half; freshman goalkeeper Adam Kiviat made one save after another to keep the Islanders’ clean sheet. With both sides in reach of taking the game, the team and the crowd was fired up, hoping for it to be MI. However, their opponents quickly dominated the attack in the second half, taking a 2-0 lead. The Islanders had numerous attempts on the goal, but were unable to secure one in the back of the net for what seemed like would be the rest of the game.

With under six minutes left on the clock and players and fans losing hope, senior Cole Nicholson scored a goal off of Park’s cross, bringing the score to 2-1. The team was overjoyed to be back in the game, with newfound momentum. Upon the whistle to start the play again, a frenetic scene overtook the field in the race against the clock to stay in the game. Park highlighted senior Henry Newcomer as a game-changer for his contribution to this energy at the end of the game.

“He [didn’t] have that much time but he came in and impacted the game with his header and just attacking the goal … and that was a standout [player],” Park said. With senior Kai Parker serving quality crosses into the box time and time again, senior Bryce Martin was able to get on the end of one in the final minutes of the game, preventing Bellevue from taking the win during regulation time.

“Our resilience to come back when we were 2-0 down with [under six] minutes left was insane, and that’s what we strive for,” Park said. “We strive for never giving up and just always coming through with it.”

Describing this comeback as nothing less than electric, senior captain Charlie Frink reiterated how meaningful this success was for the team.
“I think our strength is definitely our heart as a team and our fight to the end,” he said.

After having fans on the edge of their seats for 10 minutes in overtime play with the score still resting at 2-2 and concluding in a stalemate, the game advanced to a penalty kick shootout. Their fate rested in making the best of five shots, the stakes being the KingCo Championship. Floods of maroon rushed to the edge of the stands by the goal to cheer on the five shooters that would represent Mercer Island: in order; Frink, Parker, Nicholson, Park and sophomore Noah Zenden.

With Kiviat protecting the goal, Bellevue was only able to make three of their first four shots, while Mercer Island made all four. There was rampant anticipation knowing that if the Islanders scored their fifth shot the game would be over. With all eyes on Zenden as he stepped up to take the shot, he scored.

“Zenden with the little pressure pen at the end, bagging it in, it’s great to see,” Frink said.

At this magical moment, the stadium went ballistic. Their supporters stormed onto the field, the team celebrating with the faces of sheer joy as the team was crowned KingCo champions for the first time since 2012.

“[It was] insane,” Park said. “It was just like … chills.”

The team is not stopping there, but planning to continue their high-intensity training, working toward another moment like this one. With more competitive playoff matches in the upcoming weeks, MI Boys Soccer has a state championship on their radar.

“We just got to stay energetic… and keep winning,” Frink said. “Now we’re KingCo champs and we’re going to state.”