Hazen Soccer Advances to 3A Quarterfinals With 3-2 Win

This story was written by Dave Nelson.

Hazen Junior Midfielder Luis Puga knew his team had to win; and he took it upon himself to make sure the Highlanders advanced to the 3A boys soccer state quarterfinals.

Puga, who already had one goal in the game, chased a loose ball down the field toward the near corner. He kicked the ball into the net with less than 11 minutes to go, giving Hazen a 3-2 win over Mountain View (Vancouver) on Wednesday night and sending the Highlanders to the Elite Eight to face Shorecrest at Renton Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

“The whole game we couldn’t get our passing going with the consistency we wanted. Luis’ second goal was just hard work – he chased a ball down in the corner, beat a man, and scored from a bad angle,” said head coach Ken Matthews. "The guys worked hard on a night where we didn't have our best. That makes the win a little sweeter."

The Highlanders (14-1-4 overall) have outscored their opponents 65-13 this season, and Wednesday night was no different. Marcelo Castro scored the first goal of the game for Hazen in the fourth minute from an assist by Casey Guay. Castro, who scored a hat trick during their Sub-district game against Auburn Mountainview last week, was recognized by the WIAA as the Athlete of the Week for boys soccer.

On Wednesday, Mountain View answered right back in the seventh minute when Febian Celestin scored off an assist by Rylan Berriman. Puga scored his first goal of the game for Hazen with an assist from Devin Sando in the 17th minute.

Mountain View was given a penalty kick after a Hazen foul; Marshall Hartley found the right side of the net to tie the game.

After Puga scored the go-ahead goal, Mountain view had several attempts to tie the game with less than 10 minutes left, including when Hazen keeper Freddy Jeronimo found himself too far away from the goal, only to watch the ball cut across the entire length untouched.

Jeronimo had multiple saves in the game, including four within 15 seconds.