Michelle Akers, after leading the USWNT to a historic gold medal in the first Olympic tournament for women, is voted Sports Star of the Year by a wide margin. She becomes only the second soccer winner and first female. Cliff McCrath won in 1986.

Seattle Christian claims the first Washington Interscholastic Activities Association-sponsored Class A-B state girls' tournament, beating Bellevue Christian, 4-0, in the final. It's the fifth straight state title for the Warriors, whose previous four Class A titles were unsanctioned. The WIAA is holding the tournament because 24 schools are now sponsoring the sport. Bellevue Christian had beaten and tied Seattle Christian earlier in the season.

Seattle Pacific hosts the inaugural match at Interbay Stadium, defeating Sonoma State, 3-2. The Falcons’ Vadim Tolstolutsky scores the stadium’s first goal in 9th minute. Geoff Martin and Dana Garner get goals.

Kasey Keller is named US Soccer Athlete of the Year. His club, Leicester City, wins the League Cup and finishes ninth in the Premier League table after being promoted. Keller also posts three shutouts and two wins during World Cup qualifying.

Seattle University wins its first national championship, beating Rockhurst (Mo.), 2-1, on George Czarnowski’s 20-yard shot 17 minutes into overtime. Kurt Swanson opens the scoring for Seattle U in the 7th minute, and Jason Palmer makes 11 saves. The Chieftains finish 25-1-2.

Mount Vernon upsets previously perfect Lakeside, 1-0, for girls 3A crown at Federal Way. It is the Bulldogs’ (22-1-0) first state title and 22nd straight win. Junior midfielder Ali Skjei scores in the 56th minute. Lakeside had been unbeaten in 48 and two-time defending champs.

Bellevue Christian snaps Seattle Christian's 70-game unbeaten streak, 1-0, in the championship game of the Tournament of Champions at Juanita High School. The Warriors last lost in October 1992, 2-1 to North Mason. Becky Ylvisaker scores BC's lone goal and goalkeeper Catherine Kraayveld earns the shutout despite Seattle Christian outshooting BC, 27-3.

A reduced-strength Sounders go out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup ignominiously with a 11-0 beating by Cruz Azul in Guatemala City. Seattle, which left its coach Neil Megson and five other top players at home or sent to the A-League All-Star Game, had earlier lost 2-0 to Comunicaciones and 4-1 to Necaxa.

Geoff Aunger strikes 2 minutes into overtime as Sounders rally late to tie and beat Milwaukee, 2-1, for their sixth straight win.

Marcus Hahnemann starts and makes six saves for Colorado in MLS Cup final, a 2-1 loss to D.C. United. Brothers Chris and Sean Henderson also start for the Rapids.

John Olu Molomo’s hat trick enables Seattle sweep of Portland, 6-5. Dick McCormick ties it in the fourth quarter and 54 seconds later Olu Molomo beats two defenders to win it. The SeaDogs won the opener in Portland, 8-2.

Nortac Junior Soccer Club begins bringing in former professional players such as Gary Heale, Tony Chursky, Mark Peterson and Tony Crudo as paid coaches. The concept causes a break between Nortac and the Tacoma-Pierce County Soccer Association.

Referendum Bill 48, requesting $300M in public funding for a football and soccer stadium on the site of the Kingdome, is set for a June 17 statewide vote. If successful, Paul Allen will buy the Seahawks and contribute the balance toward the $425M stadium featuring natural grass surface. Independent polling indicates the referendum has support of only 43 percent of voters.

After two seasons, the Everett BigFoot move south to become Puget Sound BigFoot, playing PDL home games in West Seattle and Bellevue.

SeaDogs reel off 7th straight win to open their third CISL season, 4-2 over Anaheim. Tom Bialek, Bruce Broughton, Jason Dunn and Seth Spidahl score for Seattle.

The Sounders split tiebreaker shootouts with Vancouver 86ers, first prevailing (0-0, 1-0) to force a mini game, then succumbing (1-1, 3-1) to end their season in the second round of the playoffs. It ends Seattle's two-year reign as A-League champion. Dusty Hudock makes six saves in the opening game to notch his record 19th shutout in the opening game. He also saved thee attempts in the subsequent shootout. The Sounders allow just 23 goals in 27 regular season and playoff matches.

Five WA natives play in Dallas-Colorado game at Cotton Bowl. Wade Webber starts, and Peter Hattrup is a substitute for the Burn while Chris Henderson starts, brother Sean Henderson plays a half and Marcus Hahnemann makes his debut for the Rapids.

Former Washington Governor Booth Gardner is named commissioner of the National Soccer Alliance, a proposed 8-team women's professional league scheduled to begin play in 1998. Thirteen members of U.S. Olympic team pledge to play, including Michelle Akers. However, the NSA requires U.S. Soccer approval.

Highline Community College women’s team features a mother-daughter combination on the roster. 48-year-old Jean Wilcoxen is a freshman sweeper and mother to two of her teammates, Tracy and Farah Wilcoxen. HCC coach Shari Anderson claims Jean is one of the fastest players on the team if not the league. She has been playing since age 24. "I love playing soccer with my mother," says Farah. "It's an experience I will never forget."

Jean Harbor’s hat trick helps Seattle beat Arizona on the road, 6-5, to clinch the CISL Western Division with four games remaining in the regular season.

Justi Baumgardt, 21, and a senior-to-be at Portland, comes off the bench to score in the U.S. National Team’s 3-1 win over Australia in Bathurst. It’s the first international goal for Baumgardt, who three days earlier returned to the team after a four-year absence.

Jason Boyce notches his second hat trick in three games for No. 8 Washington in a 3-0 victory over Santa Clara. Boyce had four goals vs. Evansville one week earlier.

Meotis Erikson of Kennewick scores two goals, and No. 2 Notre Dame shells No. 6 Nebraska, 6-0, to reach the NCAA quarterfinals in South Bend, In. Erikson scores 22 goals and adds 12 assists during her freshman season to help the Irish reach the national semifinals.

Kasey Keller keeps a clean sheet as Leicester City claim their first cup in 33 years, defeating Middlesbrough, 1-0, in extra time of League Cup final replay at Hillsborough. Keller, in his first season with the Foxes, denies Boro’s Emerson late on to preserve result. The two sides initially played to a 1-1 draw at Wembley 10 days earlier, with Leicester's Emile Heskey forcing the replay by scoring in 118th minute.

Jeff McAllister of Gonzaga is a unanimous pick for West Coast Conference player of the year and Einar Thorarinsson repeats as coach of the year. McAllister wins the offensive WCC triple crown by leading in goals (19), assists (8) and points (46) as the Bulldogs earn a share of the regular-season title with Santa Clara. However, the Zags are bypassed for an NCAA at-large tournament berth for a second year in a row.

Sandra Hunt becomes Washington's fifth U.S. Soccer national referee after completing her certification in St. Davis, Pa. Hunt, whose goal is to referee at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, joins Frank Gorog, Oscar Myre, Mo Sagakhaneh and Mohammad Zarrabi-Kashani.

Third-ranked nationally, Eastlake boys complete a second straight season undefeated (17-0-0) by beating Ferris, 1-0, for the Class AAA championship. The Wolves outscored opponents 83-4 and feature three youth national team players (Nick Downing, Mike Casale, Matt Flynn).

George Czarnowski scores the tying goal with 1:40 left and Arne Klubberud gets the game-winner seven minutes into overtime as Seattle University seals its first trip to a national tournament with a 3-2 win over Simon Fraser in Salem, Ore. The Chieftains are unbeaten in 23 games and, at 22-1-1, own the nation’s best record.

Jean Harbor of the SeaDogs scores 2 first-quarter goals and adds an assist to earn MVP honors while leading the West to a 6-5 win in the CISL All-Star Game at Sacramento. Fernando Clavijo of West-leading Seattle is the winning coach. Dick McCormick, John Olu Molomo and Juan de la O also represent the SeaDogs.

Morgan McCoy’s goal in the 3rd minute of overtime lifts Washington into the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 home win over Stanford. Jason Boyce had staked the Huskies to a 1-0 lead.

Seattle Pacific and Seattle Parks break ground on $3.3 million, 900-seat Interbay Stadium. SPU pays for the construction and annual maintenance for 25 years and receives priority in scheduling games and training. The playing surface is a hybrid SportGrass.

SeaDogs come from behind and win opening game of CISL Championship series, 6-5 in overtime, over Houston Hotshots on John Olu Molomo second-chance goal before 8,018 in KeyArena. After Houston went ahead 4-1 in the fourth quarter, Bill Crook, Gaston Pernia and Jean Harbor tie it up.

Gonzaga’s Jeff McAllister leads the nation in scoring after scoring in a 2-1 West Conference opening loss to Loyola Marymount. McAllister totals 11 goals in eight games after which the Zags are 6-2-0. He scored four times in a 10-1 win over Evergreen Sept. 10.

Meotis Erikson, a senior forward and three-time state player of the year at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, is named Player of the Year on Parade Magazine's All-America High School Girls Soccer Team. Erikson also helped FC Royals win the 1996 U17 national title. Tammy Westinghouse, a senior defender from Seattle's Lakeside, is also named to the team. Erikson, who will attend Notre Dame in the fall, scored 31 goals and had 12 assists for Kamaikin during the fall of 1996. She finished with 132 career goals and 49 assists.

Three teams leave the CISL, forcing the league to fold and leaving the champion SeaDogs’ future uncertain. Seattle was coming off not only a championship but increased attendance and merchandise sales.

Vancouver Indoor Sports Arena, doubling its number of players after one full season, is up to 190 teams with a waiting list and operating from 6 a.m. to past midnight on weekends.

Gonzaga beats Portland for only the second time, 2-1, at Martin Field on goals by Mike Thompson and Jason Kuska, to clinch a share of its first West Coast Conference championship. Playing in a steady rain before about 350 spectators, Thompson stakes the Zags to a lead in the 37th minute by heading home from 10 yards. Gonzaga scores again just 44 seconds into the second half when Kuska's shot bounces off the leg of Portland keeper Brian Casola and into the cage.

Husky Soccer Stadium opens with the Washington women losing to Portland, 5-0. Two Washingtonians factored in the No. 3-ranked Pilots’ romp. Wynne McIntosh of Seattle and Roosevelt High, scores twice on assists from Federal Way’s Justi Baumgardt.

Mike Enneking, 36, restarts his pro career after 10 years, joining the Sounders and coming off the bench vs. Vancouver. He last played semipro for the Seattle Storm in 1987 and professionally for the Tacoma Stars in 1985. Enneking had set state scoring records at Bellarmine in 1980 and graduated from Washington as career total points leader in 1983.

A Dana Garner first-half hat trick helps SPU upset 19th-ranked Portland, 4-3, in the rain at Interbay. After the Pilots rallied to tie, Greg Brisbon’s second-half header is the game-winner for the Falcons, 20th in Div. II.

Washington State Youth Soccer president Jim Hughes names Tony Screws as the organization's first executive director.

Kei Kinoshita comes on as Sounders first-half substitute vs. Colorado, becoming first Japanese player to play professionally for a U.S. team. Kinoshita, 25, had played for Vissel Kobe of the J League.

Richland's Liz Heaston, a junior and defender on Willamette's soccer team, accepts an invitation to join the Bearcats' football team as a placekicker. After playing a soccer game, she changes uniforms and minutes later converts the first of two extra points to become the first female to score in a college football game, before an overflow crowd vs. Linfield.

Michelle French, 20, and a sophomore at Portland, earns her first U.S. National Team cap vs. England (6:0) on her collegiate home, Merlo Field.

Soccer community makes difference in statewide Referendum 48 passing for new Seattle football and soccer stadium. The public will fund $300M with Paul Allen to cover the balance for the estimated $425M. Allen will also purchase the Seattle Seahawks from Ken Behring. The election was decided by 36,535 votes, (819,305-782,770), which is 51 percent to 49 percent.

Dick McCormick and Jean Harbor score two goals apiece and Seattle wins, 7-1, at Houston to sweep the CISL Championship series. The SeaDogs finish the playoffs 6-0 and 27-7 overall in their third season.