One and done.

For the Bainbridge High varsity boys team, though, it proved more like one and one more.

The iron-clad rules of the varsity lacrosse playoff season are clear: one loss and the year’s over.

That was a hurdle, though, happily leapt through by the BHS team, who battled their way to a 16-7 win against the Woodinville Falcons Tuesday, May 17, in the first outing of the postseason. The victory brought the island squad one game closer to the coveted state title, and earned them at least one more outing this year.

The Spartans entered the playoffs tied with Eastside Catholic for the top spot in the Metro Division I standings, with a league record of 7-1 (12-4 overall), and the home win Tuesday not only kept them in the playoffs, but also still tied with EC. Both teams now boast 8-1 league records.

Perhaps there’s a showoff brewing in the future, but first the BHS team will host Skyline High at 7 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the second round of postseason play.

“I knew we have it in us and we’re finally clicking on all cylinders,” Spartan offensive coach Jacob Hayashi said Tuesday.

“We want to be aggressive and take it to them. You try to take them out of the game as soon as possible and I think our offense did a really nice job with that.”

The Falcons are no slouch of a squad, Hayashi added. The team boasts an 11-3 overall record and is known as a young, hungry team.

“They’re a good team,” he said. “They fight hard. They’re pretty young, they’re a bunch of juniors, so they’re a pretty tough team.”

Not tough enough, however, as the Spartans scored first and stayed out front for the long haul Tuesday.

The island team scored first, with about 8:30 left in the first quarter, and would be the only team on the board until literally just before the half — when the Falcons squeaked through two goals in rapid succession.

The game entered the third quarter 10-2 BHS.

The plan was to reenter the game is if they were down a few goals, Hayashi said, and not to be too comfortable in the lead.

“We were fired up the whole game,” he said. “It was great.

“We’ve been in the games where we’ve gotten a lead and we’ve lost,” Hayashi recalled. “They did a nice job [Tuesday]; just kept pushing, kept pushing, it was awesome to see.”

The Falcons snuck through a few more points, about half as many as the Spartans, in the third, and the game entered the final quarter 15-4.

In the fourth, the guests saw their biggest gains, putting up three more goals before the final buzzer, but it was not enough.

The win was especially gratifying, Hayashi said, coming on the heels of the squad’s two consecutive non-league losses during the recent trip to Oregon.

“In Oregon, we went up and I feel like they felt like they put the game away, they had it in the bag, and they let off the gas,” he said of the island squad.

“So I think they learned you go up big and you’ve got to keep the pressure on until it’s over.”

Lesson learned, it would seem.

“It’s been a challenge for us to fight all four quarters for some of our guys,” Hayashi said. “And this game we played all four, and just kept the pressure on.”

The Spartans are more excited than ever now, Hayashi said, having taken one more critical step toward the state title game.

“It just motivates them all the more,” he said.

“They are so fired up before the game and they were just all really into it, which is nice to see.”

Hayashi said that he and the other coaches knew early on that something special was coming together with this year’s roster.

“The last few year’s it’s been kind of lackadaisical,” he said.

“The seniors came in and they pumped us up from the beginning.

“They wanted to do something big this year and they’ve done a good job,” he added.

For all the latest information about the team, coaches and alumni, visit www.bainbridgelax.com/home.php.