On their third attempt, the Tacoma Stars clinch their first-ever MISL playoff berth by trouncing the L.A. Lazers, 9-2, in Inglewood. Steve Zungul scores five goals and adds three assists, giving him 50 and 57 for the season. The Stars had been tied for the league’s worst record before a series of midseason moves resulted in a coaching change and the acquisition of Zungul and other top talent. They go 14-9 down the stretch.

Tacoma clinches its first round series in four games (3-1), by beating the Wichita Wings for the third straight game, 3-2 before 17,094. The Stars get goals from Preki, Gary Heale and Fran O'Brien and score the game's final three goals. Wichita finished the regular season with the second-best record (27-21).

San Diego erupts for six fourth-quarter goals to wipe-out a three-goal deficit and beat the Tacoma Stars, 8-5, to win the best-of-five MISL semifinal series, 3-1. A record Tacoma Dome crowd of 19,746 roars when goals by Steve Sharp and Preki put the Stars up, 5-2, going into the final frame. Seattle native Brian Schmetzer, who became a first-time dad a day earlier, scores the tie-breaking for Sockers goal with 10 minutes to go – only his second score of the season.

Jimmy Gabriel announces he’s resigning as FC Seattle coach and returning to Britain following Storm’s season-ending, 1-0 win over Edmonton at Renton Stadium. Seattle (6-6-2) finishes second to Hollywood in the Western Soccer Alliance. Shortly after returning to England, Gabriel joins AFC Bournemouth as assistant manager to former Sounder Harry Redknapp.

FC Seattle Storm hosts Canada’s World Cup-bound national team at Shoreline Stadium five weeks before Mexico ’86. A gathering of 660 fans see Canada prevail, 3-2, on Randy Samuel’s 67th-minute winner. Dale Mitchell and Randy Ragan made it 2-0 before Seattle’s Peter Hattrup and Kevin Iverson countered. Jimmy Gabriel played all 18 of his available players.

Alan Hinton's debut on the Tacoma Stars bench is a long, long night. The Stars blow a 5-3 lead in the fourth quarter and lose at Wichita, 6-5, at 8:14 of the second overtime. In all, the contests lasts 83:14, making it the longest for Tacoma. Preki scores twice to help make it 5-3, but the Wings rally and tie it with 42 seconds left. Frank Rasmussen's shot is deflected into the net by Joey Waters for the winner, send the Stars to their 12th defeat in 16 games.

Shelly Simmons hits the winner with four minutes left as 6th-ranked Puget Sound defeats No. 1 Pacific Lutheran, 2-1. It’s the first two goals allowed by the Lutes in 11 games.

Seattle Cozars ease their way back to the U.S. Women's Amateur Cup finals for the third year in a row by winning the West Regional final 5-1 over Colorado Comets at Memorial Stadium. Jeanne Oak scores four times and Denise Boyer adds the other.

Two of the state's most storied teams end their run short of a championship as the southern California sides dominate the USYSA regional at Sixty Acres in Redmond. Cal South accounts for five of the eight champions with Cal North winning another. Highline's Pepsi Stompers win the girls' U19 consolation final, 2-1, behind goals from Sandy Carter and Kerri Tashiro. Goalpost is among three Federal Way third-place teams, the former U16 national champs going out 4-0 victors in the boys' U19 consolation.

Shelly Simmons strikes again, scoring her 19th goal in Puget Sound's 3-1 win over Western Washington to clinch the District 1 championship. Simmons finishes the year with 20 goals.

Tacoma's Brent Goulet, 21, starts in USMNT debut vs Canada (0:0) in Miami. A junior at Warner Pacific College, Goulet has scored 81 goals in his first three collegiate seasons.

Tacoma native Brent Goulet scores the 107th goal of his career, believed to be a collegiate record, in Warner Pacific College’s 3-0 win over Pacific (Ore.). Goulet surpasses the 106 of Erskine’s Sam McGinty, set in 1970. He finishes with 108.

Betty Ellis, a grandmother and first female to officiate a U.S. professional game in 1980, coaches Tahoma girls to state AA title, 2-0 over Edmonds after upsetting undefeated Mountlake Terrace, 5-1, in the semifinal. Stephanie Johnson scores both Bears goals in the final.

U.S. Youth Soccer West regionals begin at Redmond’s Sixty Acres with Gov. Booth Gardner serving as honorary tournament director. Over 1,100 hotel rooms are booked on the Eastside. Over 200 volunteers are enlisted to work event operations. Some $100,000 in costs are covered through vendor exhibit fees and concessions.

Marty Lackey delivers the decisive goal with just over six minutes remaining to give Liberty the state boys' AA championship, 3-2 over Fife at Memorial Stadium. The Trojans twice tied it up and last pulled level in the 69th minute through J.R. Voshell. Fife had upset defending champion Nathan Hale in the semifinals. Lackey, who scored in a semi win over North Kitsap, scores the Patriots' opener, and Cliff Lewis made it 2-1 at 32'.

FC Seattle hosts former Sounder Nicky Reid and first division Manchester City before 1,561 at Memorial Stadium. City gets a 1-0 win by scoring with 31 seconds remaining. Man City manager Jimmy Grizzell notes Seattle’s sometimes overly physical play. A total of 46 fouls are whistled. The game counts in the Western Soccer Alliance standings, as does the following Storm game vs. Dundee.

A fireworks rocket shot into Memorial Stadium sparks an early morning (1:40 am) fire that causes $100,000 damage to the playing turf. Consequently, FC Seattle is forced to move its remaining four home games to Renton Stadium.

Bobby Howe, coaching director of Washington Youth Soccer, is named the assistant coach to Roy Rees for the U.S. U16 Boys' National Team. As part of sweeping changes by the U.S. Federation, Anson Dorrance is chosen as head coach of the Women's National Team, replacing Mike Ryan. Cozars coach Berhane Andeberhan is named Dorrance's assistant.

Dennis Gunnell continues his prolific stretch for FC Seattle with a pair of goals to beat FC Portland, 2-0, at Civic Stadium. Tad Willoughby's crosses lead to headers by Gunnell at 48' and 72', and Jeff Koch makes nine saves as Seattle reaches .500 (3-3-1) and second place in the Western Soccer Alliance. Seventeen of the match starters are from Washington.

After a stretch in which the Tacoma Stars (11-16) lose 12 of 14 games, they fire coach Bob McNab for a second time, and hire former Sounders coach Alan Hinton. Although Hinton and Stars president John Best have had troubles working together previously, those teams also won. In Vancouver, the Whitecaps had a 24-6 record and their attendance more than doubled from the previous year to 26,000. When Best joined the Sounders as general manager in 1982, the club was 4-9 and Hinton wound up guiding them to the Soccer Bowl.

Tacoma Stars midfielder Ricky Davis is named to the NBC Sports broadcast team for the network’s coverage of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Davis and columnist Paul Gardner will be analysts beside play-caller Charlie Jones for the seven games NBC airs.

Defending Division I champion UCLA, unbeaten in 24 games, visits defending Div. II champ Seattle Pacific for an exhibition. The Bruins win, 2-1, before 3,100 at Memorial Stadium after the Falcons’ Scott Cairns is sent off. Shaun DelGrande deflects in Paul Caligiuri’s blast in the 44th minute.

Goals by Chris McDonald and Mark Faller in first three minutes help SPU roll to 4-1 victory over Oakland before 4,100 at Memorial Stadium, making Falcons the first Div. II champion to repeat. After the Pioneers pull back a goal before the interval, Matt Smith restores the cushion at 56' and Bob Bruch strokes a late penalty kick. Scott Cairns and Glenn Lurie play in their fourth straight NCAA championship game. McDonald finishes a Cairns header against the crossbar at 2:02, and 52 seconds later Faller doubles it.

Seattle Cozars prove to be third time unlucky, allowing a late equalizer and then succumbing to Fairfax Wildfire (Va.) in the U.S. Women's Amateur Cup, 3-1 in overtime in St. Louis. Lisa Boyer put Seattle in front at 28'. Jennifer Baughman ties it with seven minutes to go. Marcia McDermott gets the go-ahead goal in the first extra period and a late own goal seals it. The game features 11 U.S. National Team players. It's their third straight championship game loss. Cozars avenged their 1985 defeat by beating Michelob Ladies the day prior in a semifinal, 5-4, in overtime. Denise Boyer gets the winner to complete her hat trick. Jeanne Oak scores two goals.

Seattle Mitre Eagles win the Northwest regional championship for the first National Amateur Indoor Soccer tournament, defeating Tacoma Soccer Center, 5-0. Both teams qualify for 16-team nationals, to be held April 12-13 in Dallas. Denver’s Colorado Comets wins the championship, 4-3, over Atlanta’s Datagraphic. The tournament began with 185 teams nationwide.

Steve Zungul scores the overtime winner, in 6-5 Tacoma Stars victory over San Diego, before 18,441. Zungul finds the game-winner at 6:31 of the second 15-minute overtime period. The Stars battle back from a 5-3 deficit in the fourth quarter on goals by Fran O'Brien and Gary Heale, who scored his 19th on a power play at 11:33. Tacoma completes a weekend sweep of the Sockers, having also beaten them the night before in San Diego, 8-7 in overtime. Without an injured Zungul, Heale scored four goals. The Stars will start 1987 with a 12-2 record.

John Polzin’s goal with 15 minutes left lifts Western Washington to a shocking 1-0 home win over Washington. John Reilly posts the shutout. “This is probably the biggest win in the history of our varsity program,” said Bruce Campbell. The Vikings had not beaten the Huskies since their formative club days, in 1974.

Jefferson’s Jimmy Weber connects on a header 8:48 into overtime for the Raiders’ fourth straight Class AAA state championship at Memorial Stadium. The 3-2 win over Mead is Jefferson’s 78th game without a loss. TJ lost 30-goal scorer Ray Hoff to an injury in the 11th minute.

Seattle Pacific topples No. 1-ranked Cal State Northridge, 2-1, on the road in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal, snapping the Matadors’ 14-game unbeaten streak. Jeff Storrs makes eight saves and Mark Faller gets the 81st-minute quarterfinal winner before 2,696 Northridge fans. The Falcons never trailed, going in front on Danny Machado's 27' goal. Faller scores his fifth goal in five games.

Sandy Carter, a freshman from Burien, scores a hat trick in just her third collegiate outing in Central Florida's 5-0 win over Florida International in Orlando. Carter adds another hat trick Sept. 27 and finishes her first season with 15 goals.

Tommy Jenkins is elevated to head coach of FC Seattle Storm two months after Jimmy Gabriel announced his resignation. Jenkins, a former Sounder, had been an assistant since the team began play in 1984.

Seattle CYO officials ban the St. Joseph’s fourth grade boys' team after using a 7-year-old girl through its first five games. The remaining games will be forfeited. Marisa Monroe is considered one of the team's top three players by St. Joe's coach Jere Carrasco. CYO officials say that while there is no rule prohibiting girls, it would “undermine the girl’s program and leave it high and dry.”

Tacoma wins a record eighth game in a row, 7-6 over Wichita, behind two goals apiece from Steve Zungul and Godfrey Ingram. The Stars avenge their opening-night defeat, the only blemish in their first nine games.

Avenging a loss a year earlier, Seattle Mitre Eagles end the U.S. Open Cup reign of San Francisco Greek Americans in a penalty-kick tiebreaker. The two sides finish regulation and overtime tied 2-2 in a regional semifinal at Redmond High School. The next day, the Eagles are eliminated by San Pedro Yugoslavs, 4-3, in overtime at Memorial Stadium.

Highline’s Pepsi Stompers claim an eighth state cup title in 10 years, winning a second consecutive girls U19 championship while Federal Way’s Cheetahs earn a fourth championship in six seasons, this time the girls U15. The Cheetahs have already begun fundraising $50,000 toward becoming the first U.S. youth team to visit China, June 27-July 14. They will play three games and also participate in clinics and cultural exchanges.

Big Kick III, the NCAA Division I championship game in the Tacoma Dome, is won by Duke, 1-0, over Akron. Tom Stone scores in the 47th minute. It’s the first NCAA championship for the Blue Devils in any sport. Duke features Everett’s Jason Weighter and Hermann Trophy winner John Kerr. Only 4,652 (8,000 had been projected) attend, and coaches of both teams criticize the artificial turf. NCAA officials, aware of complaints regarding the playing surface and disappointment in attendance, will ask for new host bids in 1987.

Finnair Blue Wings of Seattle secure passage to the U.S. Men's Over-30 semifinals after defeating San Jose Oaks, 3-1, in the regional final at Memorial Stadium. The match pits Finnair, featuring 10 former NASL Sounders, against an Oaks side packed with several ex-Earthquakes.

Steve Zungul, MISL career leader and five-time scoring leader, is acquired by Tacoma from San Diego. He debuts Feb. 7, receiving a 30-second standing ovation from 9,182, and scores his first goal against the Sockers, his former team, Feb. 9. The Stars pay $200,000 to San Diego and pay Zungul a $150,000 bonus on top of his $200,000 salary.

Jeff Storrs twice saves Seattle Pacific's season before an 11th-round penalty stop sends the Falcons forward to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. Ninth-ranked SPU outlasts longtime rival Chico State, 0-0 (8-7), in a first-round game at Memorial Stadium. After 110 scoreless minutes Storrs thwarts the Wildcats attempts to win in rounds 5 and 7. Danny Machado converts the clincher.

Eventual champion Fairfax Spartans beat Seattle Mitre Eagles, 4-1, in the U.S. Amateur Cup semifinals at St. Louis. Finnair falls to hometown favorite Kutis, 2-1, in the over-30 semifinal.

A scoreless stalemate is finally settled by penalty kicks, with Federal Way taking the girls' AAA championship over Issaquah, 0-0 (4-3), at Renton Stadium. Kerri Coplin and Michelle Dines convert the final two penalties for the Eagles while the Indians see two of their first four attempts sail high and wide. Coplin and Dines had also scored the previous night in a 3-2 comeback semifinal win over Cascade.

Cliff McCrath, Seattle Pacific coach, is presented the NSCAA Honor Award in St. Louis. McCrath is coming off a third NCAA championship at SPU, and he has also served as NCAA Rules Committee Secretary-Editor.

Bellevue freshman Kerri Tashiro converts the clinching shootout penalty kick as Colorado College advances to the NCAA championship game over Massachusetts, 0-0 (3-1, in Fairfax, Va. Shoreline's Shelley Separovich gives the Tigers the shootout lead and Tashiro, scorer of a record 21 goals, converts the decisive attempt in the third round.

FC Seattle’s women finish a brief summer schedule at 3-1-1 under coach Kerri Hunt, defeating Richmond Cornerkicks, the Canadian national runners-up, 1-0, at Renton Stadium. All four home dates were played as part of doubleheaders with men’s team. The sole loss was to U.S. runners-up Cozars.

After reaching the women’s national final for the third year in row, Tacoma’s Cozars fall to Virginia’s Wild Fires, 3-1, in overtime in St. Louis. Lisa Boyer put Cozars ahead in the 28th minute. Five members of the Cozars are chosen for the U.S. National Team’s trip to the Mundialito in Jesolo, Italy: Gretchen Gegg, Lori Henry, Joan Dunlap, Cindy Gordon and Michelle Akers.

Shoreline freshman Lori Henry plays blanketing defense and Federal Way's Gretchen Gegg gets the shutout as North Carolina (24-0-1) defeats Colorado College, 2-0, for the NCAA championship in Fairfax, Va. Passes from Kent freshman Shannon Higgins led to the first two UNC goals in a 3-2 overtime semifinal win over George Mason. Henry, at right back, holds the Tigers' top scorer, Kerri Tashiro of Bellevue, to a single shot. Colorado's Shelley Separovich, also from Shoreline, makes the all-tournament team.

Mexico's World Cup begins, and Puget Sound area residents are able to watch 42 of 52 games via Group W Cable’s Channel 29, a public access channel. All audio is in Spanish.

Mike Hiatt and Kit Favorite each bag a brace and Seattle Mitre Eagles beat Tucson Gulf United, 7-0, at Memorial Stadium in the U.S. Amateur Cup regional final at Memorial Stadium. It is the third of four games in 35 hours for the Eagles, who are doubling up in the Open Cup. Peter Hattrup scores one of his four goals across the weekend's matches.

Matt Smith’s hat trick provides all the scoring as Tacoma wins the FC Seattle City League cup final, 3-2, over Eastside at Renton Stadium. In the women’s championship game, Valley Cities Hurricanes edge Federal Way, 1-0. Valley Cities and Snohomish effectively replace Renton and Everett, respectively. Olympic and Bellingham expand the league to eight communities.

Top-ranked St. Mary's (Ca.) fends off Puget Sound for the Area 1 regional championship, 2-1, in Forest Grove, Or. The 5th-rated Loggers had ousted host Pacific, 3-0, in the semifinals behind goals from Karen Mulkey, Shelly Simmons and Beth Nacrelli while Tresa McIlnay notched the shutout. St. Mary's, who defeated Western Washington by 3-1 in the semifinals, proceed to win the NAIA championship.

Seattle’s Joan Dunlap-Seivold scores in her U.S. National Team debut vs. Canada (2:0) at Blaine, Minn. Dunlap-Seivold was named to the team by Anson Dorrance, her collegiate coach at North Carolina, where she had been a 1984 second team All-American. It was Dorrance’s first game as USWNT coach and the first meeting with Canada. Three other Washingtonians play: Sharon McMurtry, Lori Henry and Cindy Gordon.

Two members of the Tacoma Stars, Bob Lenarduzzi and David Norman, start for Canada in its World Cup opener, a 1-0 loss to France in Leon, Mexico. Dale Mitchell and Ian Bridge, two other starters, had played for Tacoma in 1984-85. Canada later loses to Hungary (2-0) and the Soviet Union (2-0) in its first-ever finals appearance.

Fired for a third time in seven years of association with John Best, Bob McNab says he feels "betrayed" by the Tacoma Stars president and GM. Best understands McNab's anger and pain but adds that he's hired McNab three times. McNab says he slashed player payroll from $950,000 to an MISL-low $750,000. "Now I hear the club is prepared to pay $250,000 for (San Diego's Steve) Zungul. You can imagine the kind of taste that leaves."

Kevin Wilson scores four times and Linda Pederson has three assists as the Athlete’s Foot amputee team from Seattle wins at Portland, 5-3.

Washington’s Eric Guise sets a new team record with assists on all four goals of the Huskies’ 4-0 win over Whitworth at Husky Stadium. After finding Garrett Lordahl for the 11th-minute opener, Guise assists on all three of Craig Beeson’s second-half goals, and UW snaps a three-game winless stretch.