Richland’s Hope Solo becomes the first goalkeeper named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. Solo helped lead St. Louis Athletica to second in the WPS standings and was instrumental in the USWNT going undefeated throughout the year and allowing only one goal.

Second-half goals from Roger Levesque and Nate Jaqua earn the Sounders a playoff-clinching, 3-2 comeback win at Kansas City. Freddie Ljungberg is a factor in all three Seattle goals and earns two assists. Jaqua nets the game-winner in the 76th minute. A Ljungberg corner kick sets-up Levesque’s goal to knot the score in the 69th minute. Seattle becomes the first expansion team in 11 years to make the playoffs.

Nick Palodichuk scores two first-half goals and Spencer Richey gets the shutout as the U.S. clinches first place in their group with a 3-0 win over Honduras at the CONCACAF U17 Championships in Tijuana, Mexico. Palodichuk, from Battleground, scores in the 28th and 45th minutes. While the U.S. clinches a place in the U17 World Cup, the semifinals and final are canceled due to a swine flu outbreak.

Walla Walla achieves the first NWAACC champion to complete a season unscathed, defeating defending champion Columbia Basin, 1-0, in overtime at Starfire Sports Stadium. The Warriors finish 18-0-0 when Tahlia O'Loughlin scores a golden goal in the 94th minute.

John Wedge is hired as first head coach of the Kitsap Pumas. Kitsap Pumas clinch the PDL Northwest Division title.

Seattle acquires 21-year-old Fredy Montero on loan from Deportivo Cali, where he was two-time scoring leader in Colombian first division.

Freddie Ljungberg scores in his first start and rookie Steve Zakuani also gets a goal as the Sounders remain perfect, winning their road opener, 2-0, at Toronto.

Roger Levesque opens the MLS era of the Cascadia rivalry by scoring after 48 seconds, and Stephen King tallies what proves to be the U.S. Open Cup third-round winner, 2-1, in the 27th minute before a record crowd of 16,382 at PGE Park.

Clallam County Parks dedicates two soccer fields in Agnew, between Port Angeles and Sequim. The fields are made possible through Storm King Soccer Club, Agnew Helpful Neighbors Club and a grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office.

Kaycie Hutchins assists on a record five goals in Central Washington’s 8-0 rocking of Northwest University at Kirkland. Hutchins, who scored the Wildcats’ only goal in their first three matches, finds Monique Cornier to open the scoring at 5:42 and Cornier double the lead two minutes later. In the second half, Hutchins sets up Serena Tomaso (twice) and Gwenna Carie, all within a span of five minutes.

The Zackery Lystedt Bill is signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire in Olympia. It requires high school athletes who have sustained a concussion to be removed from practice and play and not to be allowed to return until cleared by a medical professional.

Sounders make Akron winger Steve Zakuani the first selection in the MLS SuperDraft in St. Louis.

Seattle’s Fredy Montero is named MLS Newcomer of the Year after finishing third in scoring with 12 goals. Montero’s teammates, Freddie Ljungberg and Kasey Keller were the other finalists for the award.

Seattle becomes the second MLS expansion franchise to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title with a 2-1 victory over D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Roger Levesque scores what proves to be the game-winning goal in the 86th minute on an assist by Sebastien Le Toux. Fredy Montero opens the scoring in the 67th minute after a Freddie Ljungberg shot was initially saved by United goalkeeper Josh Wicks. Moments after the goal, Wicks stomps on a fallen Montero and is sent off.

Skyline sophomore goalkeeper Tina Vargas makes two saves in the shootout, the Spartans' third tiebreaker in four playoff games, as they beat rival Issaquah (1-1, 3-1) for their second consecutive 4A state title at Lakewood. Issaquah had defeated Skyline, 3-1, three weeks earlier for the Kingco title.

Washington Youth Soccer names Terry Fisher as executive director and Chief Executive. As CEO, Fisher will oversee operations of the nation's sixth-largest association. He is the first executive director since 2002.

Brad Evans scores the game winning goal in the 84th minute as the Sounders cap the regular season with a 2-1 comeback win over FC Dallas. Seattle’s 47 points (12-7-11) earns the third seed in the Western Conference and fourth-best total overall. It’s also the 125th career win for Sigi Schmid, the most in MLS history. Freddie Ljungberg assists on both goals, beginning with Nate Jaqua’s equalizer. With a crowd of 33,108, Seattle sets an MLS season average attendance record (30,943).

Vinicius “Vini” Oliveira, a 20-year-old native of Brazil, Edmonds resident and player for Bellevue College, wins Sounders SuperSearch, televised live from Starfire Sports. Oliveira earns a preseason roster spot.

Jeremy Novack scores shortly before and after halftime in leading Shorecrest past West Valley, 5-2. It is the Scots’ second 3A state championship in the past five years.

MLS announces Vancouver to become 17th team in 2011. Two days later, Portland is admitted, recreating the Cascadia Cup rivalry.

A five-match, 9-day Sounders preseason tour of Argentina begins with a 3-1 training game win at Estudiantes in Buenos Aires. Fredy Montero scores two, Nate Jaqua one. Seattle goes 2-1-1 with one match canceled due to heavy rain.

Nick Palodichuk of Battleground scores the second-half equalizer but the United States exits the FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the knockout stage, losing 2-1 to Italy in Kaduna, Nigeria. Italy opens the scoring through Giacomo Beretta, but Palodichuk ties it in the 51st minute. Pietro Iemello puts Italy back in front for good five minutes later. Seattle's Spencer Richey is also in the U.S. squad.

Peter Fewing is named coach of Kitsap Pumas, who went 13-2-3 and won the PDL Northwest in their first season.

South Kitsap becomes the first Kitsap squad to capture a boys’ soccer championship, with the Wolves toppling previously undefeated Pasco, 2-1, in Lakewood. The Bulldogs entered the match with a 19-0-0 record. South Kitsap, the No. 3 finisher in the Narrows League behind Stadium and Bellarmine Prep, played the role of underdog with 14-3-1 record.

Lionel Messi scores a pair of sensational first-half goals before a record Pacific Northwest soccer crowd of 66,848 as reigning European champion Barcelona eases to a 4-0 win over Sounders FC in a friendly.

Five years after arriving as a defender, Janece Levien leaves her final, bold imprint on the Puget Sound record book. Levien scores her record 71st career goal to complete a brace at George Fox in a methodical 4-0 victory at Newburg, Or. Levien scored 66 of her goals after sitting out 2006 to recover from five concussions. Her 2007 total of 25 goals is also a standard. She puts the Loggers on top early, in the 12th minute. Levien assists on the UPS third just before halftime before scoring her second in the 54th minute.

Vlad Voin scores in the 75th minute and Saint Martin’s wins at Northwest Nazarene, 2-1, and clinch the Saints’ first Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s championship.

Kitsap Pumas draw, 1-1, with Tacoma Tide in first home game, played before 1,572 at Bremerton’s Memorial Stadium, which featured a new video scoreboard.

Sky River SC opens new, nine-field complex in Monroe – second only to Snohomish’s Stockers Fields among Snohomish County facilities. Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso of the Sounders are on hand for the opening.

A second-half own goal pushes Whitworth through to the NCAA Division III section final with a 1-0 win over Hardin-Simmons in Dubuque, Iowa. Brian Sherpe earns the shutout for the Pirates, who go unbeaten in 13 games (11-0-2).

Fredy Montero scores twice and Brad Evans adds another as Sounders win inaugural game, 3-0, over New York Red Bulls before a national TV audience and 32,523. Seattle played without Freddie Ljungberg. Four members of last season’s USL team – Zach Scott, Sebastien Le Toux, Sanna Nyassi and Roger Levesque - played. Kasey Keller, playing in his home state, made two saves to notch the shutout.

Cor van der Meer, founder and former longtime coach of men’s and women’s soccer at Community Colleges of Spokane, dies after a lengthy battle with lung cancer at age 74. Van der Meer was regarded as Spokane’s Mr. Soccer. He was CCS men’s coach for 20 years and 11 for the women. He also founded a five-a-side tournament now marking 25 years.

Sebastien Le Toux’s 89th-minute penalty, his 11th career U.S. Open Cup goal, gives Sounders a 1-0 quarterfinal win over 10-man Kansas City, 1-0, before 4,352 at Starfire. It extends Seattle unbeaten run to six games (4-0-2) in all competitions.

Real Salt Lake prevails on penalties to take MLS Cup (1-1, 5-4) over the LA Galaxy, the first played on artificial turf. Attendance was 46,011 the largest for a final since 2002 and the fourth-largest in league history. The crowd ranks No. 7 for soccer since Qwest Field opened in 2002 and No. 10 in Seattle history.

Robbie Rogers assists on two goals and scores a third as USMNT celebrates Independence Day at Qwest Field by beating Grenada, 4-0, in a CONCACAF Gold Cup group match. Freddy Adu, Stuart Holden and Charlie Davies also score, and Sounders midfielder Brad Evans makes his international debut as a 63rd-minute substitute

Seattle Pacific erupts for five second-half goals and Maddie Dickinson posts the No. 1-ranked Falcons’ 10th straight shutout – all wins – to open the season, after a 5-0 victory over Western Oregon.

Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard score first-half goals as FA Cup-holders Chelsea earns a 2-0 win over the Sounders in a friendly match played before 65,289 at Qwest Field. The crowd established a new Sounders FC record for attendance and it was the third-largest figure for a match played in Seattle.

Lake Washington YSA breaks ground on a $1.6M project that includes nine new fields plus other amenities at Sixty Acres South. By summer 2010, the entire complex will total 25 fields, making it the biggest soccer facility west of the Mississippi. The first 16 fields have been leased and operated by LWYSA since 1984.

A first-half goal from Roger Levesque and relentless effort at the defensive end enables the Sounders to snap Columbus’ MLS record 22-game home unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory at Crew Stadium. Making only his second start of regular season, Levesque staked Seattle to a lead in the 36th minute. The defending MLS champion Crew’s best chance to score came in the 81st minute. Guillermo Barros Schelotto sent his penalty kick wide of the left post. Tyrone Marshall figured in three pivotal defensive plays. He redirects Eddie Gaven’s shot off the crossbar and later Marshall’s overhead kick saved a header from Steven Lenhart on the goal line.

Stephen Phillips delivers a hat trick and Kitsap Pumas win their inaugural game, 5-0, at Spokane Spiders in Post Falls.

Hope Solo is named Best Player of Algarve Cup, allowing one goal in four matches. She is the first keeper to win the award in 14 tournaments.

Michelle French scores the game's only goal in the Seattle Sounders Women's road victory over the Colorado Force. It is French's first score since coming back from an October 2008 diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy, followed by radiation treatments, and later finishes as the team's top scorer and an all-W-League selection.

Stephen King scores the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of overtime to give the Seattle Sounders FC a 2-1 comeback win over the Houston Dynamo in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Starfire Sports Stadium before 4,895. Nate Jaqua, playing with a bandaged head, sends the match into overtime with a goal in the 89th minute.