MI Girls Soccer Team Falls to Bellevue Wolverines, 3-1

Hit by injuries and struggling to gel, the Girls Soccer team has been mostly down this season — and that continued Tuesday night at as the Islanders lost to Bellevue, 3-1.

Mercer Island (2-8-1) found themselves in a deep hole early, down 3-0 to the Wolverines (4-4-3) before Mercer Island sophomore Michele Day finally put the ball in the net shortly before half-time. Both teams went scoreless in the second half to end the match.

MI Head Coach Nicole Dahl Nelson said her team has had a problem letting other teams get a head start on scoring. While the Islanders have only secured 2 wins so far this season, Nelson noted that her team has "taken some of the league's best teams to overtime. We've lost a lot of games in the last 5 minutes," she said. "My team needs to work on finishing, getting the ball into the goal."

The Islanders started the season more than one "man down," when 3 potential starters, all juniors, had serious injuries before the season began: Alexi Odegard (ACL), Kara Dahlgren (ACL), and Savannah Reid (fractured leg).

Nelson praised goalie Corey Goelz as the "best in the league," continuing the form the junior goalkeeper played with last year when she was named an All-League "Honorable Mention" by the Seattle Times. There are 3 season games remaining: Oct. 20 at Sammamish 7:30 p.m., Oct. 25 v. Liberty at home 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 27 v. Mt. Si at home 7:30 p.m.

The coaches noted that with one more win, the team will make it to the first playoff round, and they are confident the Islanders will find a way to chalk up the needed win.