When the final whistle blew, an epic celebration erupted along the Issaquah Eagles girls soccer team’s side of the field.

The Eagles completed an undefeated KingCo League regular season by earning a hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Skyline Spartans on Oct. 23 at Gary Moore Stadium in Issaquah. Before the game had even begun, players on both teams knew the winner of the contest would be league champions and the loser would finish in second place. Eagles’ goalie Anna Miller was glad to see her team come through in the clutch against one of their biggest rivals.

“This just feels so awesome. We have been working really hard this season and it all paid off tonight. It feels good to do this at home especially,” Miller said.

After a scoreless first half in which Skyline dominated most of the action, Issaquah turned up the intensity in the final 40 minutes of play. Lyrik Fryer gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead when she connected on a goal in the 45th minute. Fryer’s left-footed ground-ball shot into the lower right corner of the net from 20 yards out impressed Eagles’ head coach Tom Bunnell.

“It was big-game Lyrik against Skyline. Any time we play against Skyline she has a big impact on the game. In the past she has been known to have some good shots go over (the crossbar). I’m always harping on her to keep the ball down,” Bunnell said. “She kept that shot all the way on the ground and got it in. It was a great goal.”

Issaquah added an insurance goal on Devan Tally’s header goal in the 56th minute of play, extending the lead to 2-0. Skyline wouldn’t go away quietly. Kelli Sullivan’s free kick from close to 30 yards away from the right side of the field sailed over Miller’s head for a goal in the 78th minute, cutting Issaquah’s lead to 2-1. Skyline relentlessly tried to tie the game in the final minutes but couldn’t get the equalizer they needed. Despite giving up the late goal, Bunnell said Miller is the backbone of the team.

“Anna has been our superstar all year long. She is having an incredible season. She’s made a lot of big saves and has been just fantastic,” he said.

Miller made an acrobatic save in traffic with just 16 minutes left in regulation. Miller credited Eagles’ defender Kaylene Pang for shielding out a Skyline player in front of the goal.

“Kaylene did what she was supposed to do. It was the heat of the moment you have got to do what you got to do. I was able to get my hands on the ball,” Miller said.

Bunnell, who has been the Eagles girls soccer head coach for the past 11 years, said it was the first time his team has even gone through a regular season undefeated in league play. The playoffs are right around the corner and Bunnell thinks his team will cross paths with their rivals again down the road.

“We will probably play them again and it will be a great game. I hope we play them,” he said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com