Sporting the captain’s armband means the world to Interlake High senior Nick Peterson.

From his defender spot on the pitch, Peterson has helped lead the Saints to a stellar season.

Following a 2-1 overtime loss to Bellevue in the 3A KingCo title match on May 7, the Saints stormed back into action and registered a 6-0 victory over visiting Juanita on May 9 in a loser-out contest. The Saints — 13-5-1 overall — qualified for state with a 2-1 victory over Ballard on May 11.

“It means more than I think I let on,” Peterson said of his captain’s role. “My father’s the coach. I’ve been watching him coach these teams for as long as I can remember and I’ve always wanted to play under the lights and have that kind of rush.”

Getting back in the win column against Juanita was crucial for Interlake, which received a pair of goals from senior Sybren Russell and one each from seniors Mason Sainsbury-Carter and Nainoa Loschky and freshman Adrian Moreno. Juanita let in an own goal as well.

“We’ve all been working really hard during our trainings and we really felt like we had a point to prove after an unfortunate game at Bellevue,” Russell said. “We just have a lot of workhorses on this team, and we’re always gonna outwork the other team, that’s never gonna be in doubt.”

Peterson said he doesn’t want the season and his Interlake career to end, so the Saints are playing for each other, remaining unselfish and trying to deliver passes that lead to goals.

“I just wanna keep playing and make sure that I can keep going to practice and have fun every day with my friends,” Peterson said.

Russell notes that Interlake rose in the league standings and took second because the team works for each other.

“We like each other, we wanna do the best for each other,” he said.

From left, Interlake sophomore Shloak Dutta, Juanita junior Sam Martin and Interlake senior Evan Gueye-oue compete in first-half action on May 9. Andy Nystrom / staff photo