The Hazen Highlander soccer team is headed back to the state tournmant after beating Shelton 3-0 on Saturday.

Hazen scored at the 18-minute mark when senior midfielder Devin Sando placed a through ball past the Shelton defense to a running senior captain and forward Sam Bunnell for a goal. Bunnell picked up his second goal just four minutes later, assisted on a cross by senior forward Marcelo Castro.  Castro then picked up a goal of his own with eight minutes left off a ball from junior defender Tony Lopez.

“Shelton surprised me a little. They played well against our passing game and loaded the outside,” said Hazen Coach Ken Matthews in an email. “No one has made our outside mids work that much all year.”

Senior keeper Freddy Jeronimo earned the shutout and was named Man of the Match.

“It sounds like a tidy little game, but Shelton pushed our defense all day. We couldn’t get a consistent rhythm going out of the back. We put Freddy under a little pressure at times but, as usual he was up to the task,” Matthews said.

The win puts Hazen in “The Dance” for the second year in a row. Matthews joined the team mid-season in 2011. Before that, the Highlanders had been to The Dance in 2005 and 2007 – when they won the state trophy. They hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2007 and hadn’t had a winning record for a few years.

“I get asked all the time about the last two and a half seasons and the difference in the team. From day one, it has always been about expecting our players to give their best for each other on and off the field,” said Matthews. “The team last year got it and this one does too.”

Hazen will play Mountain View High School from Vancouver in the first round of state at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Renton Memorial Stadium. Mountain View finished second in the GSHL league and earned their spot with a 4-0 win over North Thurston.