Before a boisterous capacity crowd of 27,396 - the largest at Portland Civic Stadium in 20 years - Kasey Keller returns to the Northwest as captain of the U.S. National Team in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Costa Rica. Keller's sixth shutout in qualifying action requires just three saves. Having played as a collegian at the University of Portland, the crowd doesn't surprise him. Former Tacoma Stars legend Preki substitutes in the second half and four minutes later helps set-up Tab Ramos for the game's lone goal.

Five months after helping the United States win a second World Cup title, Michelle Akers returns home to be inducted into Seattle's Walk of Fame. Akers joins 28 notable local figures, from Jimi Hendrix to Bill Gates, whose footprints have been bronzed into the sidewalk surrounding the Nordstrom downtown flagship store. On the same day, Akers and the rest of the USWNT are named as Sports Illustrated's Sportswomen of the Year.

Leif Erikson Vikings become just the second Washington club to reach the West Regional finals of the National Challenge Cup by dispatching San Francisco Scots, 3-1, on the road at Balboa Park. It's a comprehensive performance, with Geoff McKeown, Reider Olsen and player/coach Bob Hough tallying goals. Johnny Moore's penalty in the final minute averts a shutout for the Scots. Seattle Hungarians made the West finals in 1966.

Pacific Lutheran's Keeton Heggerness converts two penalty kicks in a 4-0 home defeat of Linfield, which gives Lutes coach John Yorke his 200th win. Yorke is in his 18th season at PLU, and his teams have won or shared the past two Northwest Conference championships.

A golden goal caps a furious comeback and propels Western Washington past host Concordia, 3-2, in a second-round NCAA women's match in Portland. The Vikings trail 2-nil with less than five minutes remaining in regulation but score twice in 63 seconds to force overtime. The rally begins with senior defender Hattie North connecting with net from 23 yards out at 85:20. With the Vikings pressing after the ensuing kickoff, Gabriela Pelogi gains possession and beats the keeper from 18 yards at 86:23 with her 45th career goal. In the eighth minute of sudden death, Emily Bunnell heads home the improbable winner.

It's a sudden change at the top for Seattle Reign, with Laura Harvey resigning as coach and GM and being replaced by ex-Kansas City coach Vlatko Andonovski, 41, on the same day. Harvey, 37, had led the Reign since its inception, taking the team to the best record in NWSL in 2014 and runner-up finishes in 2014 and '15. Andonovski's FCKC had beaten Seattle in both finals. Harvey moves to Utah, where the Kansas City shifted following the season.