Bellevue registers dominating win against Mercer Island

Wolverines nab top seed out of KingCo with convincing win against Islanders

May 16, 2016 3:30 pm
Bellevue's Augie Fratt (5) charges through Mercer Island defender Will Bassett on May 13. The Wolverines defeated the Islanders 14-3 to earn the No. 1 seed out of KingCo going into the postseason.
Bellevue's Augie Fratt (5) charges through Mercer Island defender Will Bassett on May 13. The Wolverines defeated the Islanders 14-3 to earn the No. 1 seed out of KingCo going into the postseason.

BY JOE LIVARCHIK
Reporter Newspapers

Mercer Island drew first blood in the Islanders’ rivalry match against Bellevue Friday at Islander Stadium.

And then, it was all downhill from there.

Getting eight goals from junior midfielder Augie Fratt, Bellevue stormed past Mercer Island 14-3, claiming the No. 1 seed out of KingCo Div. 1 in the state tournament. With Issaquah winning its league finale over Eastlake 12-6, Mercer Island will head to the postseason as the No. 3 seed out of KingCo. Both Mercer Island and Bellevue were tied atop the division standings leading into Friday’s contest, though the Wolverines (17-3, 13-1 in KingCo) looked very much the aggressor, creating turnovers throughout and capitalizing in transition. Bellevue forced Mercer Island (14-5, 12-2) into 11 first-half turnovers, with seven coming in the opening quarter.

“They played fundamentally better than us,” Mercer Island coach Chris Long said. “They protect their sticks, they move their feet, they run fast, they have great shooters. They outplayed us and I’m very disappointed for our boys today.”

Mitchell Mandt needed less than a minute to put the Islanders on the board to open the game, but Bellevue would score the next six goals, with four coming from Fratt. The Wolverines got two-for-one from Fratt to end the first quarter, with the junior midfielder scoring and drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Islanders in the process. Fratt would score on the ensuing power play to give Bellevue a 5-1 lead at the period’s end.

“We were trying to run up the score as soon as possible,” Fratt said. “We know Mercer Island is super talented and if we got ahead, it’d be harder for them to come back.”

The Wolverines extended their lead with four more goals the following quarter to claim a 9-3 halftime advantage, and it proved to be more than enough for the Bellevue defense. The Wolverines held Mercer Island scoreless throughout the final half of the game, keeping the Islanders at bay with the physical defensive play of long stick middie Jack Albrecht and defender Michael Medzegian.

“They’re two of the better poles in state,” Bellevue coach John Baumann said. “We have the ability to press out and create turnovers and that’s working to our advantage right now. It just fits in our personnel.”

Joe Bethke registered two goals, two assists and picked up two ground balls for Bellevue, and Albrecht tallied an assist while collecting seven ground balls. Johnny van der Velden and Jonny Osman both scored for Mercer Island, while Ezra Tillinger recorded 15 saves in the net.