SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia —The looks ranged from brief glances to full-blown, turn-of-the-head gazes. And as the 10 Mercer Island High School (Wash.) lacrosse players made their way down the escalators and through the Admiralteyskaya metro station in the heart of Saint Petersburg, Russia — the deepest station in the city that has the deepest average metro system in the world — there was plenty of time for the boys to steal the attention of Russian locals while carrying their sticks and gear.

It wasn’t an unusual reaction given the circumstance, but it demonstrated a nation unfamiliar with the sport.

“In the U.S., we might still get looks,” middie Zach Freidlander said. “They would understand that this is lacrosse and they could come up to us and ask, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ In Russia, all you can do is look. … We have no idea what they could say about it, but there were definitely some looks.”

“We’re so clearly American,” defenseman Jimmy Thompson joked. “It’s not even funny.”

On Saturday, Mercer Island players and family members herded into a red line train for two stops, then the purple line for three more. Then came the 20-minute walk from the Narvskaya metro station through Ekateringof Park — where Mercer Island took part in a little piece of lacrosse history.

Waiting for coach Ian O’Hearn and his team were 20 players from various different backgrounds, most only now learning about lacrosse and developing skills in Russia. Among them were players of the country’s two major club teams, the Saint Petersburg White Knights and Moscow Rebels, plus a pair from the newly founded Yaroslavl Bears.

It is believed to be the the third time a team from outside the country traveled to face Russian competition and first from the United States — a country that has endured a tense relationship with the Russian government for decades. O’Hearn conducted an hour-long clinic before his team competed against the Russian team in a friendly game on the turf field beyond a line of trees along the Ekateringofska River on the western side of Saint Petersburg.

The visiting Islanders won 10-2, but the biggest benefits were felt on the opposing side. Russian players, many of whom were still mastering basic skills of the game, were exposed to relatively high-level lacrosse, both from instruction and game action. It was the first of two meetings on Mercer Island’s two-week trip to Russia.

Some highlights from a historic lacrosse game between @MIBoysLacrosse and Russian lacrosse players yesterday in Saint Petersburg. it! pic.twitter.com/ORBVvc9anx

— Matt Hamilton (@Matthamilton92) July 30, 2017

“It was a very experienced team we played against,” said Artur Ventsel, a Russian national team member who picked up the sport years ago. “We learned a lot, thanks to Coach Ian. He prepared a few nice drills for us, which was a good experience. It was a tough game, but we scored two times. … I’m looking forward to having the guys in Moscow [this Saturday] and do some team building. It was great. We saw real lacrosse.”

O’Hearn, a former Albany long-stick midfielder who has coached lacrosse in countries like Germany and Australia, was no stranger to the moment. However, he was excited to see the turnout in a country that boasts fewer than 200 lacrosse players.

“Australia was a small community, but well established,” O’Hearn said. “Germany was farther along when I was there than Russia is now. It was very similar to the first team I had in Bonn. … I was impressed with the number of guys that came out. I was expecting 10, and 20 guys came out. It was awesome. They were all super enthusiastic. Russia sport culture has the right mindset for lacrosse. Hockey is such a prominent sport here.”

The Mercer Island boys first met Spokane, Wash., native and White Knights captain Johnathan Melvin, who is based in Saint Petersburg working as director of the study abroad program at Saint Petersburg State University. He and Ventsel translated O’Hearn’s instructions to the Russian players throughout the clinic.

“We’re really glad you’re here,” Melvin told the Mercer Island boys. “The great thing about sport is that you don’t have to speak the same language to help each other out.”

And that was evident on Saturday. In fact, Russian players had borrowed phrases like dodge, slide, “yellow” or “I’m hot,” and needed no translation. It’s the language of lacrosse.

“Copycats,” joked defenseman Derrick Hicks. “It was really cool to play against them and see the difference. They were really athletic, fast and strong.”

After the clinic, the teams prepared for the game that was months in the making. O’Hearn joined the Russian team, and Mercer Island borrowed a couple short sticks to complete the two teams. 

With a handful of onlookers snapping photos of the historic game and a local youth soccer club practicing nearby (looking confused), Mercer lsland and the Russian players commenced with the first chapter of the cultural trip.

Signs of the growing interest of lacrosse in Russia were not hard to find. Serving as the lone referee was Alexander Zarubin, who began playing lacrosse in 2013 at the suggestion of Eugene Arkhipov, president of the Russian Lacrosse Federation. Zarubin tore his ACL last year, but still wanted to give back to the game, so he attended a refereeing clinic hosted by the Estonian Lacrosse Federation and got a Level I certificate in the country’s capital of Tallinn.

“I am very glad that the Mercer Island team came to Russia, because this is really a historical event,” Zarubin said. “Hope the American guys also got some new experience and had fun.”

The team exchanged gifts after the game — the Russian players getting shirts that read “Mercer Island Lacrosse USA” in both Russian and English, and the Mercer Island players getting a wooden “lacrosse player.”

Russian players gleefully took photos with their new shirts and headed off until their next meeting. Now, they'll have 550 pounds of extra equipment, courtesy of the Mercer Island program and its supporters. All of the equipment traveled with the players and their families on the 11-hour trip from Seattle to Saint Petersburg.

For a Russian Lacrosse Federation that boasts just two established programs and a small number of youth players, the contribution could go a long way in making it sustainable.

“The equipment is so great,” Ventsel said. “There’s so much there, it’s enough for two more teams. It means so much for the youth teams and the adult teams. It’s the biggest donation we’ve ever had.”

Both sides enjoyed part one of Mercer Island’s lacrosse trip — which has also included tours of Saint Petersburg and entertainment like “Swan Lake” and a Russian folk show, where to the delight of the rest of the team, Freidlander was called on stage to dance. The group left for Moscow on Wednesday night and will participate in games and clinics over the weekend.

For Mercer Island, it’s a cultural exchange and a chance to help build the Russian lacrosse program.

For Russia, it’s a chance that it will seldom get to learn about the sport from citizens of the country where it is most popular.

Stay tuned for more from Moscow.