1988

Mountlake Terrace becomes the state’s first repeat WIAA girls champion at any level, beating Olympia, 6-0, at Renton Stadium. Janelle King caps her 12-goal postseason with a hat trick in the AA final. Kennedy (20-0-1) defeats Issaquah, 1-0, for AAA girls title. Dee Dee Robertson scores the only goal.

John Hamel scores twice in the final 20 minutes at San Jose win to clinch the WSA regular season title for FC Seattle, 3-1, and home-field advantage in the championship game.

Preki, 24, returns to Tacoma, taking a pay cut from his $75,000 salary. Portgual’s Estra De Amdadora had signed him to a three-year contact during the summer but the Stars negotiated his release.

Tacoma is officially readmitted to MISL. Jim Manza, Fife restauranteur, heads a new group of investors who negotiate with the City of Tacoma for $400,000 in concession revenue, flexible Tacoma Dome scheduling and a waiver of dome rental fees and staffing charges.

After not scoring during the regular season, Bob Bruch scores twice in first eight minutes of the WSA championship match as FC Seattle smashes San Jose, 5-0, before 4,321 at Memorial Stadium. It’s the fifth straight win for the Storm, who leave the following day for a five-match tour of England and Scotland.

A Tacoma Dome crowd of 17,251 sees West, behind Preki’s hat trick, beat East, 9-3. Preki scored twice in the first quarter, after which West lead, 4-0. Preki is voted MVP over teammate Steve Zungul, who scored twice. Another Stars representative, Mike Dowler, makes 15 saves. It’s the second-largest crowd in MISL All-Star history.

Thomas Jefferson reclaims AAA boys title, beating defending champ Cascade on penalties after drawing, 3-3. The Bruins score three times in the final 13 minutes to lead, 3-2, before the Raiders tie in the final minute. `In the history of high school state championships, this game has to be put down in every book,'' said Jefferson Coach Jim Judson.

In the second leg of their Champions Cup series, Seattle Mitre Eagles hold Mexico’s Cruz Azul to a scoreless draw in a steady rain at Memorial Stadium. The Eagles finish with a 15-5 advantage in shots, 8-1 in corner kicks. Attempts by Paul Retchless and Peter Hattrup hit the post and crossbar, respectively. Most of the estimated 500 fans root for Cruz Azul.

England rallies from a 3-0 halftime deficit to beat defending champion El Salvador, 4-3 in the indoor final of the Amputee Soccer International World Cup at the Woodinville Soccer Center. In the outdoor final at Shoreline Stadium El Salvador defeated Seattle, 3-0. Teams from four nations compete in the third annual event. The English national team features three former pros.

Tad Willoughby scores twice as the Storm’s England tour ends with a 2-2 draw at Second Division Hull City. FC Seattle had lost to Oldham (2-0, 2nd), Middlesbrough (3-0, 1st) and Sunderland (3-0, 2nd) and also drawn, 2-2, at Lincoln City (4th).

Following an unsuccessful, last-minute season ticket drive with an objective of 2,000 new sales, the Tacoma Stars fold. They are joined by Chicago and, since the season ended, St. Louis and Minnesota. “The grass-roots support for this team was tremendous,'' said board chairman Lowry Wyatt. ''But the business marketplace was just not able to support this size of an operation.'' 'It's an incredible loss,'' said Nancy Mendoza, a 13-year resident of Tacoma who organized 100 volunteers in an effort to meet the goal of selling 2,000 season tickets. ''The Stars provided the energy that a community needs to move forward. Now we just have to regroup.''

Freshman goalkeeper Kasey Keller of Olympia is among several Washington state players who lead the University of Portland to the NCAA Division I finals in Bloomington, Indiana. The undefeated (21-0-0) Pilots, who also feature WA products Garrett Smith, Jason Russ, Wade Webber, Jim Weber and Robb Sakamoto, are the first Northwest program to advance that far. Portland loses to eventual champion Indiana, 1-0, in the semifinal.

Tacoma Stars seek $500,000 from new investors by June 30 or they will either fold or suspend operations. The Stars lost $1 million the past season and nearly $9 million since starting in 1983.

King County Parks rejects the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association’s request to construct another 12 fields on county-owned land in Redmond’s undeveloped Sixty Acres Park. LWYSA already has 19 fields for 13,000 youth players.

The Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference votes to adopt a two-division men’s format, with the Olympic Division comprised of the top six teams from 1987 and the Cascade consisting of the remaining six. Following the 1988 season and from thereafter will be promotion and relegation.

At 4:21 a.m. Pacific Time, FIFA executive vice president Harry Cavan announces from Zurich that the 1994 World Cup will be coming to the U.S. Morocco and Brazil finish second and third in the balloting. A gathering of soccer community leaders and players gather with local media at Seattle Pacific University, where coach Cliff McCrath predicts soccer will take “center stage” in the nation by 2000. Husky Stadium is among 18 stadia in 16 cities under consideration to host matches.

Peppering Portland with a league-record 33 shots, FC Seattle rallies to win in overtime, 3-2, before its largest crowd in four years – 6,427. Peter Hattrup’s goal in the 13th minute of extra time seals it and clinches a playoff berth.

With a 17-18 start following a runner-up finish the year before, Tacoma Stars fire Alan Hinton and replaces him with Jimmy McAlister, 31. The team, reportedly rife with dissension in the locker room, goes 10-11 the remainder of the regular season.

FIFA technical group completes a weeklong inspection of Husky Stadium, which is included in U.S. bid for 1994 World Cup. Paul Stiehl, head of US organizing committee, claims natural turf can be successfully laid over existing artificial surface. UW athletic director Mike Lude wants assurances that the sand, gravel and sod won’t damage the football field.

Michelle Akers, who prepped at Shorecrest and now plays for Central Florida, is named the college player of the year by the NCAA and the National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association of America. Also named to the Division I All-America team were Lori Henry of North Carolina (Shorewood), Colorado College's Kerri Tashiro (Interlake) and Shelley Separovich (Shorecrest), and California's Kathy Ridgewell (Evergreen).

A crowd of 12,218 greets the resurrected Tacoma Stars on opening night. The Stars, featuring Schmetzer brothers, Brian, Andy and Walter, lose to Dallas, 6-5, in triple overtime. Peter Ward scores three goals for Tacoma. Walt Schmetzer is stretchered from the field in the fourth quarter with a season-ending knee injury.

Former Sounders star and FC Seattle coach Bruce Rioch brings recently-promoted Middlesbrough of the English first division to Memorial Stadium to play the Storm as part of a four-match U.S. tour. Seattle wins, 2-1, on goals four minutes apart by Chance Fry and Eddie Henderson.

Led by Ben Erickson and Todd Haley goals, Mount Rainier runs unbeaten streak to 35 games by winning AA title, 3-0 over Spokane’s West Valley at Memorial Stadium.

Cruz Azul, featuring five Mexican internationals, drubs Seattle Mitre Eagles, 9-0, in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The Eagles’ flights are delayed and connections missed. Instead of arriving the night before, their bus arrives at the stadium 20 minutes before kickoff, in 100-degree heat.

Pacific Lutheran becomes the state’s first women’s collegiate champions, taking the NAIA title, 2-0, over Hardin-Simmons, in Abilene, Texas. Laura Dutt and Sonya Brandt score for the Lutes, and Gail Stenzel gets her 15th shutout. Brandt is named the tournament’s most outstanding player, and PLU’s Colleen Hacker is voted coach of the year.

Finnair Mavericks end the four-year reign of Cozars as state women’s champions. Bonnie Broughton scores the only goal in the final.

Alan Hinton returns to coach born-again Stars, six months after being dismissed by former owners. His contract of $72,000 is nearly $50,000 less than what he was paid the first time around.

Kent’s Shannon Higgins scores three goals to lead North Carolina to its third straight NCAA title, 4-1 over North Carolina State in Chapel Hill. Higgins, the Tar Heels’ leading scorer with 13 goals and 17 assists, is named the most valuable offensive player after four goals and two assists in the semifinal and final.

In the first Sounders reunion game since 1982, the Seattle alums beat their Timbers counterparts, 1-0, behind Roger Davies goal. The game is held prior to the Seattle-Portland Western Soccer Alliance fixture. Among former NASL players returning are Davies, Tommy Hutchison, Jimmy Gabriel, Frank Barton, Steve Buttle, Tony Chursky, Ray Evans, Pepe Fernandez, Dave Gillett, Tommy Jenkins, Jimmy McAlister, Neil Megson, Tommy Ord, Mark Peterson, Roy Sinclair, Mike Ivanow, Adrian Webster, Jack Brand and Peter Ward.