The MIHS Boys Soccer team dominated against the Bellevue Wolverines, winning in a 5-1 victory after a senior-night match on Tuesday, May 2.
Before the game, the seven seniors were celebrated as they were given flowers and gift boxes filled with blankets along with photo collages before walking down to the field to take pictures with their family members and with the coaches.
The match began with MIHS going from offense to defense, slowly getting more aggressive on the field, and by the two-minute mark, junior Woody Brown and senior Sam Cadicamo almost secured the first goal.
Unfortunately, the game went south when senior captain Kaleb Rawson collided with one of the Wolverine players on the head, resulting in Rawson being badly injured and temporarily stepping down the field, letting sophomore Cole Nicholson sub in for him.
During the 36-minute mark, it became apparent that Perrenoud was struggling after missing the first goal, especially with sophomore Ben Park in the same spot as Perrenoud, also struggling.
However, that didn’t stop the adrenaline rush when Perrenoud scored the first goal for the team, the only freshman to score for the second time.
The first half consisted of multiple sub-ins, free kicks, closing goals, and saves, ending with Mercer Island up by a score of 1-0.
After the break, Park almost secured a goal. However, during the second half, the fans were excited when Nicholson scored a goal in a tight position close to the opponent’s net. Especially when junior Nick Chou scored another in a row for the team. Soon following junior Oliver Bellin scored a goal, leading towards a domination against Bellevue.
Chou also scored another on a header in a tight position against multiple of his opponents. Unexpectedly, Bellevue received a penalty after a collision with junior Alex Findlay, leading the team with a penalty kick.
It was also the first time for a goalkeeper sub as junior Lucas Moraca entered the field after senior Jackson Barker decided to take a rest and step down to watch the final moments of the game.
The game ended with Mercer Island up by a score of 5-1, obtaining another victory for Mercer Island.
“It’s been great for us as a team, we felt like we [came] closer. We don’t know each other personally at school but with soccer, it’s our best play,” Rawson said.
For their next match of the season, Mercer Island will be playing away against Juanita on Thursday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m., hoping to extend their winning streak.
