Two days earlier, Stanwood ended the Dragons’ five-game winning streak in Friday Harbor 7-6, forcing a three-way tie for second in the Division II Skagit Conference and putting the Dragons on a precarious path to the playoffs.

But Saturday, the Dragons shook off the loss and defeated Lynnwood 10-9 at home. The victory was particularly sweet because the Dragons defeated Lynnwood, who defeated San Juan 12-5 in the second game of the season. And the victory gave the Dragons (6-3) sole possession of second, behind undefeated Mukilteo (7-0).

“The biggest thing was, we needed that win,” senior attack Isaac Taylor said. “It was like a huge burden was lifted off our shoulders. Lynnwood came into it thinking they were going to walk all over us. They’re a big school, they’ve got a good feeder program and they start really young. We have a lot of second-year starters.”

It was arguably the most exciting game of the season. The score seesawed throughout the game, with San Juan down by two with just over 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Key saves by goalie Calen Mehrer and a rejuvenated San Juan offense enabled the Dragons to score three late unanswered goals.

“Lynnwood has our full respect,” Dragons Coach Rob Cuomo said. “Referee Jesse Savage had the tough task of being alone, and did a great job.”

Forest Dayton led the Dragons’ offense with four goals and five ground balls. Taylor had two goals and one ground ball. Weston Hedin had two goals and one ground ball.

Dylan Galligan scored one goal and had five ground balls. Ryan Guard had one goal, one assist, and one ground ball. Alex Michael had one assist and five ground balls.

All told, Mehrer faced down 31 shots on goal by Lynnwood and notched 22 saves for a save percentage of .710. His counterpart, Lynnwood’s Tyler Carson, had eight saves on 18 shots.

Next: The Dragons face North County (1-6) at Bender Fields today at 5 p.m. The Dragons meet Mukilteo at Kamiak High School Saturday at 3 p.m. They close out their regular season May 8, 2 p.m., by hosting Whatcom.

— With reporting by Norris Palmer