South Snohomish County Youth Soccer leaders allow Marc Forsythe, 15, of the Mountlake Terrace Grizzlies to wear a soft foam rubber helmet. Forsythe, who suffered a fractured skull as a toddler, had first worn a hard-shell bicycle helmet. Rules prohibit players to wear “casts, splints and hard guards, jewelry, watches or any hard object. Goalkeeper Alan Mayer wears a soft helmet for San Diego in the NASL.

A twice-delayed NCAA West Regional final is finally played at noon on a Tuesday in a neutral stadium. Still, Seattle Pacific retains its Best in the West mantle for the third year running. The Falcons get goals from Jim McKay and Bruce Raney to beat San Francisco State, 2-1, at Husky Stadium. Snow had left Memorial Stadium unplayable the previous three days.

West Germany’s TSV Reichenbach U17 boys visit the Edmonds UFOs at Woodway High School. It’s a return visit after the UFOs visited West Germany in 1977. Other TSV games are set for Everett, Lynnwood, Wenatchee and Mercer Island.

Ex-Husky star Danny Vaughn scores twice for Detroit in 10-0 rout of San Jose at the Pontiac Silverdome. It’s the first professional goals for Vaughn, a rookie defender from Tacoma. Express teammate Trevor Francis ties an NASL record with five goals.

A day after graduating from Stadium High School, Jeff Stock, 17, signs an Olympic ($50 per week) contract with the Sounders. Six days later, fellow Tacoman Mark Peterson, 18, signs out of Wilson High. Both are youth national team players and members of the Norpoint Royals.

Cindy Breed can’t stop scoring, totaling nine goals in U19 Highline Dirty Dozen’s 19-0 West semifinal rout of Nevada. Dirty Dozen are coming off their fourth state championship in six years. However, they fall to the NorCal champion in the regional final, 4-2.

Tacoma native Danny Vaughn, the Washington Huskies scoring king with 52 goals, is the 13th selection of NASL first round by expansion Detroit Express. Vaughn will begin training with Detroit in England the following week. Leif Redal (Tacoma/UCLA) goes to LA Aztecs with 20th pick. Jose Reyes (Bakersfield/SPU) of SPU to Sounders in second round, Cliff Brown (Tacoma/UW) chosen by Seattle in third round, SPU’s Todd Shilperoort (Seattle) in 4th.

Founded in 1966, Washington State Junior Soccer Association modifies its name to the Washington State Youth Soccer Association to conform with its national governing body, the United States Youth Soccer Association.

Alan Hudson becomes Seattle’s biggest signing to date, with the former England international midfielder transferred from Arsenal for $200,000. General manager Jack Daley says the price is more than all the previous transfer sums combined. Hudson, 27, signs a three-year contract.

Two playing fields at Redmond's Marymoor Park are dedicated to Fred Pingrey in honor of the man who ‘brought soccer to the Eastside.’ Pingrey, on medical leave from King County Police, has been involved with teams for 20 years. He is VP of youth development for Washington State Youth Soccer Association. He played a key role in establishing the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association. “He was a pathfinder, a missionary who went to untouched areas,” says Tom Webb.

Shorewood (AA) scores two quick goals in first half and holds off Sammamish (AAA) to win the state all-division championship, 2-0, before 1,146 at Memorial Stadium. Dan Nugent makes nine saves to earn the shutout. Greg Burk scores from 35 yards just 70 seconds into the game, his third tournament goal. Tom Jordan adds the second in 30th minute.

Interlake Porsche Audi gets an early score from Bruce Walyor to beat Serac, 1-0, for the Washington State Soccer League Challenge Cup at Memorial Stadium.

Dave Augustavo scores twice in the second half, and John Vukelich tallies what proves to be the winner in Seattle University’s season-ending 3-2 upset of Seattle Pacific, denying the Falcons the NCSC championship and instead handing the trophy to Simon Fraser by one point (16-15). At 9-5-1 and third in the conference, it is the Chieftains’ best season in five years.

A crowd of 29,105 celebrates the Soccer Bowl ’77 runners-up and while the victory over Colorado, 3-0, is the club’s best season-opening performance, it’s marred by the loss of stalwart center back David Gillett. A four-year starter in his prime, Gillett had scored the game’s first goal sustains compound fracture of his left leg in collision with Matt Bahr and is out for the season.

Five days after signing, former England World Cup captain Bobby Moore debuts for Sounders in a 3-0 win over Los Angeles. Moore, 37 and a veteran of over 500 first division games in England and 108 for his national team, had been playing for Edmonton Black Gold when Seattle coach Jimmy Gabriel reached out. The defensive midfielder and sweeper is a former West Ham teammate of assistant coaches Bobby Howe and Harry Redknapp. Moore had played against the Sounders while with San Antonio in 1976. Micky Cave gets two goals, and the defense, riddled with injuries to David Gillett and Adrian Webster, posts its record 10th shutout (Tony Chursky's career record 25th) and third straight at home. The Sounders win for the third time in four games to finally climb to .500 (12-12) and into the conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.

Washington, which is making its second postseason appearance in three years, is seeded No. 4 in the West. Originally it was paired with USF (24-1-0) ranked No. 2 nationally, however, both San Jose State and UC Santa Barbara are deemed ineligible, so UW meets Santa Clara at Buck Shaw Stadium, falling 2-0, in a cold rain.

Locals and visiting Soviets play “sportsmanlike” soccer at Lakeside School as organized by peace activist Dick Carbray. Tour arranged by youth travel agency Sputnik in USSR and Council of American-Soviet Friendship in U.S. It ends in 6-6 tie.

After falling one win short in three of the past four years, Seattle Pacific finally breaks through to win the state’s first national championship. Bruce Raney scores in the second overtime period, at 126:47, as the Falcons shock defending champion Alabama A&M, 1-0, for the NCAA Division II crown in steamy Miami. It’s Raney’s 16th goal and comes off a throw from Eric Benz and fellow freshman Sergio Soriano makes eight saves and watches a Bulldogs shot carom off the post. Alabama A&M had won its previous three playoff games by a combined 13-0. SPU is ranked 8th in the final coaches poll for all divisions.

Washington, behind junior Ron Dorn’s four scores, opens NCSC play by dropping a dozen goals on Pacific Lutheran, 12-0, at Husky Stadium. Mike Browne and Eric Anderson each add a brace in the Huskies’ fourth straight win since losing three in a row.

For the second time in a month, Seattle protests a loss. During a shootout tiebreaker at Portland, the Timbers’ Mike Flater is stopped by Tony Chursky, but then collects rebounds and converts. Referee Majan Raus (incorrectly) allows it, despite 5-second clock elapsing, and Portland prevails, 2-1. On May 17, Philadelphia used 10 foreign players when rules permit only nine. The Fury won, 1-0, in overtime. NASL Commissioner Phil Woosnam refuses to overturn the results. Consequently, Sounders GM Jack Daley resigns from all league committee assignments.

Puget Sound rewards coach Frank Gallo on his birthday with a stunning, 2-0 home upset of Washington. The Loggers strike early. In the third minute, Steve Norlin heads in Han Ulland's free kick, and Mike Finn adds another in the 17th minute. Mark Campbell makes nine saves for the shutout. Finn had scored a goal and two assists three days earlier in a 5-3 UPS comeback win over rival Pacific Lutheran.

All-NASL center back Mike England, wishing to renegotiate his contract, stages a walkout before the Sounders play at Vancouver. With David Gillett out injured, the Whitecaps deal Seattle its worst loss in five seasons, 3-0. England returns to training three days later with a new contract.

Cliff McCrath becomes the most talked-about soccer figure in the country, with stories and video chronicling his 2.7-mile crawl over Queen Anne Hill to the Space Needle. McCrath, the Seattle Pacific coach, is fulfilling a promise made to travel on his hands and knees from the campus to the city’s iconic landmark if the Falcons won an NCAA championship four days earlier. The trip takes 3 hours 10 minutes on a cold, raw morning. He then straightened-up and shaved his 7-year-old mustache, again as promised. McCrath went through a couple pairs of knee pads and gloves.

Two goals from Jocky Scott pave the way for Seattle’s 5-2 win over California before 27,000. It’s a season-best third win in a row and highest goal total in a year. Since acquiring Bobby Moore, the Sounders have won five of eight to finish 15-15 and make the playoffs for the fourth straight year. However, as the No. 8 seed in the National Conference, Seattle must visit the Cosmos in the first round, where they fall, 5-2.

Federal Way Tornado wins 111th consecutive game, taking the state U15 boys title, 8-0 over Mountlake Terrace Hot Rods. Jim Park nets a hat trick and Mark Hildebrand scores two. Four other Federal Way clubs also lift cups. Tigers win U11 behind two goals each from Ray Hoof and Jason Russ, 4-0 over Renton Ruffians. Other victors are U9 Totem Steelers, U12 Woodmont Warriors and U13 Thunder.

Mark Peterson, a graduate of Tacoma’s Wilson High School, becomes the fourth local teenager signed by Jimmy Gabriel, joining Bernie James of Bellevue, Seattle’s Eddie Krueger and Tacoma’s Jeff Stock. Krueger plays in seven matches, starting three, during his second season. Peterson, Stock and James play for the reserve team.

Sounders goalkeeper Mike Ivanow is released from California's Lompoc Federal Prison after serving 14 months of a three-year sentence for embezzlement from the Russian-American Credit Union in San Francisco. Ivanow, who played a key role filling-in during the 1977 NASL playoffs, has trimmed down from 240 pounds to 182 by regularly running 5-10 miles per day.

Franz Beckenbauer Day at Giants Stadium attracts 71,219 to see the Cosmos great against the Sounders in a Soccer Bowl rematch. Giorgio Chinaglia scores two of his three goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half as New York breaks open a tied match, 5-1. Beckenbauer assists on the final goal.

Mountlake Terrace boys hope for Guinness Record Book recognition after a 43-hour match that lasted from 10am on a Friday to 8:30am Sunday at Evergreen Playfield. Twenty-two players play, without substitution. Guinness Record is 42 hours, 6 minutes. Final score: 214-191.