A season of frustration finally comes completely apart with the Sounders going out of the playoffs in the deciding game of the first round, 3-2, at 10-man Chicago. Seattle is in front, 1-nil, when Sting star Arno Steffenhagen is sent off just before halftime. Still, Chicago scores two quick goals to open the second half and eventually gets a third before Kevin Bond's late reply. The Sting go on to win their first NASL title.

Washington beats Oregon, 1-0, at Husky stadium for a record 17th win. Mike Park scores shortly before halftime. It's the Huskies' sixth straight win, however only one win came against Division I opposition, and the losses were to Westmont (NAIA), Simon Fraser (NAIA) and Seattle Pacific (Div. II). UW does not earn an NCAA tournament berth.

The Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association sets the first girls' championship tournament for the fall. Some families express concerns that it may force some players to choose between playing for their school or their club, which traditionally conducts a fall season as well.

An original and ever-popular Sounder, Pepe Fernandez is signed for the upcoming indoor season. Fernandez, 38, returns after a five-year absence. He was released in 1976 after two injury-shortened seasons and has been involved in auto sales in Everett.

Seattle Pacific wraps-up an epic 15-day Florida road trip by defeating Northeast Louisiana, 1-0, in Jacksonville. It's the longest trip ever taken by a Northwest college, and the Falcons emerge undefeated (3-0-2) after five games. One was canceled due to a flooded field. Raney scores six times in those matches, including a hat trick vs. Jacksonville the previous day.

If anyone needed a reminder that the WIAA tournaments encompass schools of all classifications, there is a round of 16 game matching a minnow vs. shark. San Juan County's Lopez High School, Northwest B champion with an enrollment of 44 students in grades 10-12, faces Highline (1,400). Lopez, missing two of its best players, starts two eighth-graders in a 12-0 loss to the AAA Pirates.

George "Whitey" Craggs, the ubiquitous referee and longtime officials administrator, is inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in his hometown of Seattle. Craggs, five days shy of 52, joins his father, Edmund, in the Hall. He becomes the state's fourth inductee. The ceremony is held in conjunction with the U.S.Soccer Federation's 65th AGM.

After commenting on-air that the match was "boring" and that Alan Hinton's strategy of using striker Roger Davies to mark Cosmos playmaker Vladislav Bogicevic in the Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup final, Cliff McCrath is fired as Sounder broadcast analyst. Producer Mick Tacher tells McCrath he was being too negative.

Shorelake Thunderbirds continue to dominate all comers statewide, winning their unprecedented fifth straight state cup in Renton, defeating Lake Washington Dynamics, 4-0, in the girls' U16 final. Scott Hayes's Thunderbirds have yet to lose a game in-state. Their only losses have come at regionals.

In their first competitive international match, Seattle Sounders defeat England's Southampton, featuring two-time European Player of the Year Kevin Keegan. Three second-half goals deliver the 3-1 victory in the first round of the Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup before over 22,000 at the Kingdome. All four goals come in a 10-minute span, beginning with Seattle's David Nish in the 63rd. Mick Channon replies for Southampton, but an own goal and Jeff Bourne tally two minutes apart lift the Sounders.

Veteran midfielder Steve Buttle becomes the Sounders' career leader in appearances across all competitions in Seattle's shootout win over Portland before more than 24,000 in the Kingdome. Buttle surpasses Adrian Webster with his 121st game. Jeff Stock delivers the winning shootout goal following a 1-1 draw.

Two girls' teams win their third state cup championship at the Washington State Youth Soccer Association finals at Renton Stadium. Federal Way's Hot Socks defeat Highline Silver Streaks, 2-1, in U11 on goals by Dianne Byrd and Nicole Erickson. In the U17 title match, Lynda DeBoer and Jo Braun give Avionic Flyers a 2-0 victory over Federal Way Sweeney's Meenies. Sandi Gordon is named the tournament outstanding player after leading Tacoma Cozars to the U19 crown.

A day after their record signing, Seattle Sounders spend big again, buying defender Kevin Bond from England's Norwich City. Bond, 23, was Norwich captain and scored 11 goals. From the outset it is rumored this will be a temporary move, with Seattle selling Bond to Manchester City, where his father John is manager. Indeed, on September 4, that sale occurs.

Steve Daley, 27, becomes the Sounders' new record signing. Daley is purchased from Manchester City and signed to a three-year contract. Five months earlier Daley was sold by Wolverhampton to Man City for 1.4M pounds ($3.5M). Seattle pays a reported $700,000. After scoring 37 goals in 212 appearances for Wolves, Daley managed just two for City.

Seattle Pacific silences Oregon, 2-0, as senior goalkeeper Sergio Soriano earns his record 42nd career shutout at Memorial Stadium. Dennis Kain and Mike Smith score second-half goals for the playoff-bound Falcons.

Jeff Durgan holds Chicago's Karl-Heinz Granitza scoreless, but his New York Cosmos lose their grip on the NASL championship. The Sting prevail in a shootout following a scoreless draw in Toronto. Granitza came into the game having scored 12 times in the last 12 games. Durgan, 20, marks Granitza tightly, allowing only three harmless shots.

Whitman wins its first Northwest Conference men's championship by defeating Willamette on the road. The Missionaries' Tom Delong scores on a cross from Mike Mann in the 13th minute for the game's sole goal. It’s Whitman’s first outright league title.

Playing its first year of varsity, Highline wins the state prep championship by blanking undefeated Sammamish, 2-0, at Memorial Stadium. The Pirates (15-1-1) go up early with top scorer John Klein intercepting a back pass to score in the seventh minute. In the 53rd, German exchange student Guido Ingendaay provides insurance. The Totems entered the game 19-0-0.

Steve Daley scores from the edge of the box in the 69th minute and the Sounders go on to beat Minnesota, 3-2, with the backing over of 30,000 Kingdome fans. Daley, who also scores Seattle's opener, bags his second brace in four days. He also scored twice in a shootout loss (2-2 2-1) at Bloomington.

Roger Davies can't stop scoring. Davies collects his second hat trick in four days, scoring a record-tying four times in the Sounders' 6-3 comeback indoor win over Vancouver before 5.158 in the Kingdome. He had three goals against San Diego and has scored in all six games to date. Seattle is down 2-0 after one quarter, but Davies gets the game's next three goals. Mark Peterson's goal late in the third quarter gives the Sounders the lead for good. Davies tallies his fourth and assists Alan Hudson in the final frame.

Bruce Raney's brace gives Seattle Pacific, the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II, a 2-0 win over Washington to clinch the Sounders Cup series at Memorial Stadium. It's Raney's fifth multi-goal game of the year and raises his total to 17 while the Falcons are now 10-2-3. The two teams had tied, 2-2, 11 days earlier.

Mike Parish takes a pass from Mitch Cook in the 90th minute, fakes the keeper and drills his shot into the upper right corner from 10 yards and Central Washington defeats Whitworth, 1-0, for the Northwest Intercollegiate League title. Steve Cook gets shutout. The Wildcats finish 7-4-1. It’s their fourth league title since 1976.

All-NASL sweeper Bruce Rioch, 33, is released by the Sounders, allowing him to return to the United Kingdom and serve as assistant coach and player for England's Fourth Division Torquay United. He had played there on loan during the NASL offseason. Rioch, less than halfway through a three-year deal in Seattle, had been benched since June 3, when it was learned he wanted to leave.

A hat trick from Linda Adams paces the Bellevue Blue Angels to a 5-0 U.S. Masters Division semifinal at Memorial Stadium. Gerry Wens and Bonnie Maletta also score for the defending national champions. In the Open Division semifinal, FC Ramlosa beats Camp Springs of Maryland, 4-2, in a very physical matchup. Ellen Griep gets the opener, and Joan Dunlap goals on either side of the interval help the Seattle squad pull away. Kathy McMahon adds a late score.

Sounders center back scores in Canada's World Cup qualifying match versus Mexico, a 1-1 draw in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Bridge, a Victoria native who had earned his first cap just a month prior, then scores again in the next game, a 2-1 loss to host Honduras.

Joan Dunlap's early breakaway stands as the lone goal in FC Ramlosa's 1-0 victory over River City Kickers of St. Louis in the U.S. Open Division championship game before 2,000 at Memorial Stadium. The Seattle team repeats as champion, as does its sister squad, Bellevue Blue Angels. The Blue Angels come from behind to win the over-30 crown, 2-1, versus the Irving Flash of Texas. Dunlap scorers her third goal of the finals in the 13th minute, breaking free just inside the halfway line. Patty Cox earns the shutout. For the Blue Angels, Linda Adams and Marcia Tampourlos combine for both goals. Adams equalizes in the 38th minute, then crosses to Tampourlos for the 68th-minute winner.

By foot and by head, Roger Davies keeps Seattle's season alive with a second-half brace to square the playoff series with Chicago at a game apiece. The Sounders beat the Sting, 2-0, to force a deciding game four days later in the Windy City. It's the Sounders' first win in six games, and it comes against a Sting team that shared the best record in the regular season (23-9) with the Cosmos.

A brace from Jeff Bourne fuels Seattle's 2-1 Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup win over Celtic at the Kingdome. Scottish champion Celtic, which replaced Ukraine's Donetsk Shakhtyor five days earlier, strikes first through star Charlie Nicholas. Bourne ties it in 38th minute, heading in cross from Alan Hudson. In the 71st, Hudson's cut back gives Bourne an open shot from 10 yards.

Alan Hudson assists on an NASL record seven goals as Seattle and San Diego combine for 19 goals in the Sounders' third straight indoor win. Seattle goes up 7-3 in the third quarter only to see the Sockers pull even on Julie Veee's shorthanded score. Roger Davies scores a hat trick, his third goal restoring the lead to 9-7 in the fourth period. Tony Crudo's rebound poke proves to be the decisive goal with 2:05 remaining.

Alan Hudson engineers Seattle's third straight indoor win, 9-8, at San Jose and former Sounders coach Jimmy Gabriel. Hudson twice finds Jeff Bourne on power-play scores. Steve Buttle caps his hat trick with the game-winner with 2:08 remaining. The Sounders proceed to lose four in a row and miss the playoffs by one game, with a mark of 9-9.

Intent on coming home to defend their respective national titles, Seattle's FC Ramlosa and the Bellevue Blue Angels win the Far West Regionals in Albuquerque. Ramlosa defeats Colorado, 2-0, in the open division after crushing New Mexico (6-0) and Utah (11-0) earlier. The Blue Angels beat Oregon, 3-1, for the over-30 berth in the national semifinals. They have eliminated Utah (6-0) and New Mexico (2-0) in the first two rounds. The U.S. championships will be held in Seattle six weeks later.

Meadowdale wins the first WIAA girls' state championship, via penalty kicks, over previously unbeaten Hazen at a windy, rainy Auburn High School. The Chiefs come from behind in regulation and decide the title in penalties, 2-2 (4-3). Wendy Zeeben (20') and Shannon Waters (37') twice give the Highlanders a first-half lead. Linda DeBoer twice brings her team back, first on a penalty kick (35') and a 25-yard shot four minutes into the second half. In the fifth round of the tiebreaker, following a Hazen miss, Karen Turner scores to complete an unlikely run for the third-place team from Wesco.

Despite Kevin Bond's 11th penalty kick, the Sounders's slide continues with a fourth straight loss, 3-2, in overtime at Calgary in the final league match of the regular season. Not only is Bond a perfect 11-for-11, but his 16 goals make him the first defender to top Seattle in scoring. The Sounders waste a 2-1 lead and finish 15-17 but still make the playoffs. The Boomers, who feature Tacoma's Danny Vaughn in central defense, earn the division's No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Mark Stockwell, a freshman from Brier, bangs a record five goals past Evergreen in Pacific Lutheran's 8-0 victory.

With a penalty kick on the half-hour, Kevin Bond sets a new NASL record for spot kicks and lifts the Sounders to their first league victory in four weeks, 1-0 over Tulsa. Following a Roughnecks handball, Bond boots the penalty into the upper left corner. The NASL mark of eight has stood since 1976. Bond has not missed from the spot, with conversions in five of the last seven games. It snaps Seattle's three-game losing streak (one by shootout).

Freshman Mark Stockwell erupts for four goals and Pacific Lutheran’s attack shows no mercy in a 14-0 rout of Linfield. A week later, Stockwell and the Lutes bury Lewis & Clark, 5-0, as he contributes a brace. Stockwell finishes with a record 21 goals.

Representatives of states and associations throughout America attend the opening of the 65th annual U.S. Soccer Federation Annual General Meeting at Seattle's Park Hilton Hotel. Over 300 delegates are present for the week of meetings. President Gene Edwards reports a net loss of $173,000 for 1980 with a projected surplus of $200,000 by 1982. State senior associations vote unanimously to give equal status to state youth associations, bringing about a new voting structure. Senior and youth are now equal with the professional division. Lowenbrau/Miller Brewing announces sponsorship of Open, Amateur and Women’s cup competitions.

Federal Way's Totem Force takes a circuitous route to become the state's first regional champion in the Sacramento heat. The Force, who became Washington's representative in the boys' U12 via a qualifying tournament, defeat a team from nearby Livermore, 1-0. Mike Simpson scores midway through the second half from a corner kick to the near post. Bill Sarver's team had beaten Arizona, 3-0, and then Colorado, 4-0. Tournament officials said they were the first regional champion not to allow a goal. The Force, who took third in the state cup, shut-out all four opponents in the qualifying games.

Sounders forward and reigning NASL MVP Roger Davies runs third in Seattle Sports Star of the Year balloting. Sonics center Jack Sikma wins the 46th annual award with 227 votes. Washington football coach Don James is next with 182, followed by Davies (76) and Seahawks kicker Efren Herrera (73).

Two late goals by Chico State spell disaster for Seattle Pacific. The Wildcats oust the Falcons from the NCAA Division II tournament, 3-2, in a first-round game at Chico, when David Vierra scores with 49 seconds to go. Bruce Raney's record 22nd goal gives the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute. He also finishes atop the career list with 68. Chico State ties in 84th and goes on to eliminate SPU for the fifth time in 11 years.

Just when the Seattle Sounders' season was tracking upward, it begins devolving with a 3-1 home loss to lowly Dallas. Wolfgang Rausch scores two penalties versus 10-man Seattle, which loses goalkeeper Jack Brand in the 13th minute after he overtly protests referee Ian Foote's first penalty decision. Big screen replays indicate Ian Bridge's foul occurred two yards outside the box. Brand is judged to have pushed Foote. In the dying minutes, Bridge is sent off for his second caution. These are the first career red cards for Brand and Bridge.

Seattle slams seven goals past Edmonton – all in the second half – to earn their biggest margin of victory in two years, 7-0. Mark Peterson breaks out of a slump with two goals and new acquisition Shaun Elliott, making his first start, also gets a brace. Alan Hudson and Jeff Bourne, who also scores, assist on three goals each.

Sounders original general manager Jack Daley resigns under pressure after eight seasons and amid declining attendance and community interest. He is immediately replaced as GM by Jack Rebney, a former network TV executive and Issaquah Youth Soccer Association president.

Kevin Bond scores a pair of goals, and Roger Davies gets what proves the game-winner in Seattle's 3-2 road win at Vancouver to take the division lead. The Sounders go down in the first four minutes, but Bond ties it just before intermission, then converts a penalty. Davies makes it 3-1 on a looping shot in the 63rd. It's Seattle's first regular season win at Empire Stadium since 1974.

After threatening to expel U.S. Soccer for not bringing its top league into line on international rules, FIFA grants the NASL permission to continue use of two modified rules – the 35-yard offside line and three substitutions – until the end of the 1981 season. Beginning in 1982, the NASL will conform and use the halfway line for offside. The USSF had been warned in 1980 to wrap-up experimentation and fall into line.

Seattle Sounders come from 2-nil down in hot, humid Washington, D.C., to beat the Diplomats, 3-2, in overtime. It's Seattle's fifth win in six games following a slow start. Malcolm Waldron put the Dips ahead on a pair of first-half goals. Early second-half strikes from Stan Cummins and Kevin Bond (penalty kick) pulls the visitors even after 55 minutes. Jack Brand makes several outstanding saves, and Ian Bridge stops a potential Washington winner on the goal line. Just over three minutes into overtime, a Roger Davies header from a Steve Buttle corner seals the comeback.

Bernie James and Edmonton Drillers complete a two-game sweep of Chicago to win the NASL Indoor Championship at home before over 16,000. The Drillers went 10-8 in the regular season, barely making the playoffs, then swept all six postseason games against Los Angeles, Vancouver and Chicago (47-30 GD). James, a Bellevue native and former Sounder, has one assist during the final series.

At its annual meeting Bellevue, the Washington State Referees Association honors eight for outstanding career service: Doug Howard, John Hart, Jim Simmons, Vern Warren, Ray McLean, George Clifton, Sid Ryles and the late Emmett Brennan.

Seattle native and O'Dea graduate Robbie Zipp, 18, returns home to sign with the Sounders after the Washington Diplomats fold. Zipp reunites with former Lake City Hawks youth teammates Fred Hamel and Brian Schmetzer. In all, seven NASL teams ceased operations after the season.

A second-half burst of three goals erases a 2-nil deficit and the Sounders hang on for a 3-3 draw at the Cosmos to win the Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup. Kevin Bond heads in Jeff Bourne's cross in the 54th and converts a penalty in the 57th to tie it. Steve Daley ends his seven-game drought by scoring from 15 yards in the 67th, putting Seattle in front, 3-2. Giorgio Chinaglia's second goal in the 75th is not enough, with the Sounders prevailing in the four-team tournament on goals scored.

Denny Buck and Todd Schilperoort, both assistant coaches at Washington, depart for Saudi Arabia. Buck, 27, and Schilperoort, 24, have been hired by the U.S. Sports Academy to coach the Royal Saudi Air Force team and develop other programs.

Still smarting from a premature exit from the 1980 playoffs at the hands of Los Angeles, the Sounders race to an early lead and hammer the Aztecs, 3-0, in their opening game. Mark Peterson and Roger Davies put Seattle on top, 2-nil, in the first 16 minutes before 30,328. Newcomer Kevin Bond scores a penalty kick in his debut.