Hazen soccer captain Sam Brunell had five points Friday in a game Coach Ken Matthews called a “tune-up” for a big week of Seamount League play.

As defending league champions, the Hazen Boys’ Soccer team has had the first week of April in the back of their minds since the schedule was announced last fall.

This week, the league-leading Highlanders have what Matthews called “two crucial games against teams expected to battle for the top Seamount spot this year,” with matches set against Kenendy and Tyee.

On Friday, Hazen Soccer tuned up for the week with a 7-1 win against Lindbergh. Senior season captain and forward Bunnell had four goals and an assist. Senior midfielders Devin Sando and Nils Fenske and senior defender Eddie Time also added goals.

Freshman Game Captain and midfielder Reyes Garcia, junior mid Isaiah Blount, and senior forwards Ezequiel Ochoa and Marcelo Castro had assists.

Sophomore goalie Jaime “Chino” Martinez got a knock on the head during the game, though Matthews was not worried about the Highlnaders netminders.

“We’re keeping a close eye on him. Freddy (Senior Keeper Freddy Jeronimo) is coming into form,” Matthews said. “We’ll be fine at that position.”

By week’s end, Hazen will have made it through the first half of their league schedule. Matthews said the two games this week will likely have a heavy impact on the season.

“You never want to be the team trying to catch the league leader. Probably nothing will be decided until the last week of the season but a couple of wins next week makes our lives a lot better,” he said.