Phil Gauglitz’s penalty kick with 37 seconds left in the first half proves the difference as Shorecrest beats Seattle Prep, 1-0, for the state high school championship at Memorial Stadium. Kit Favorite is tripped in the box and, later, a red card forces Shorecrest to play shorthanded for the final 21 minutes. Prep had beaten the Highlanders, 2-1, in the Metro League title game a week earlier. Tacoma’s Stadium defeats Seattle Christian, 3-1, for third place.

Seattle acquires 21-year-old Fredy Montero on loan from Deportivo Cali, where he was two-time scoring leader in the Colombian first division. Montero joins the Sounders as they conduct their first training session in frigid temperatures at Virginia Mason Athletic Complex.

A national high school all-star tournament, the first-ever Puma Cup Invitational, selects Walla Walla's Kevin Stein and West Seattle's Ian Russell to represent Washington. The tournament is held in Oneonta, New York. Stein will play his college soccer at Duke while Russell is committed to Washington.

The Seattle Sounders Women find themselves without a league when the USL W-League ceases operation after 21 years. The USL reasoned that not enough teams had committed to 2016 after finishing 2015 with 18 teams. The W-League was once the top flight of women’s soccer in the United States.

Northwestern Senior League forms with Seattle AFC, Wanderers, Thistles, Fort Lawton and Tacoma. Port Blakely, though owning an active team, opts out.

Mike England, a legend at London's Tottenham Hotspur and with the Welsh national team, signs to play full-time for the Sounders. England, 33, won four major trophies in 300 appearances with Spurs and served as Wales captain. A central defender, his arrival enables Jimmy Gabriel to move into defensive midfield.