Soccer Game Preview: Mercer Island vs. Eastlake

The Mercer Island Islanders will head out to square off against the Eastlake Wolves at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Mercer Island's last five matchups have been decided by no more than a goal, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Mercer Island is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Mount Si, who was ranked 13th at the time (Mercer Island was ranked fourth). Neither the Islanders nor the Wildcats could gain the upper hand on Tuesday so the two teams had to settle for a 2-2 draw. The result kept Mercer Island happy, as they haven't lost a game yet this season.

Meanwhile, for the first time this season, Eastlake was forced to settle for a draw. They played to a draw too, finishing 0-0 against Issaquah.

Eastlake's draw gives them a new season record of 5-4-1. As for Mercer Island, they moved theirs to 5-0-2.

Mercer Island was able to grind out a solid win over Eastlake in their previous meeting back in March, winning 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Islanders since the squad won't have the home-pitch advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.