The University of Washington, under pressure to address gender equity issues, adds women's soccer as a 12th varsity sport, with play to begin in 1991. Softball, also announced, will start in 1994. The Huskies will offer a full complement of 11 scholarships in soccer. UW will become the 10th women's varsity team in the state and the second Division I, joining Washington State. A club program has played regularly since the mid-Seventies, initially in the state league and later in the NCSC.

Twice a runner-up, O'Dea claims its first boys' state championship, beating Franklin Pierce, 2-1, in the AA final at Sammamish High. Mike Henderson takes a pass from brother Ed Henderson for what proves to be the winner in the 48th minute. Ed Henderson puts the Irish (19-0-3) ahead in the 15th minute only to have Sean Huff answer for the Cardinals just three minutes later. Pat Raney is in his 18th season at O'Dea. Son Matt Raney scored two goals in the semifinal.

Reigning Soviet champion Dnepr gets a strong performance from FC Seattle but ultimately prevails, 2-1, in a friendly before 5,300 at Memorial Stadium. The Ukrainians score in each half, with Eduard Son and Yuri Gudimenko setting-up each other for goals. Wade Webber pulls the Storm within a goal in the 72nd minute, heading in Chance Fry's free kick off the crossbar.

Behind Vidar Plaszko, Pacific Lutheran scores the game's final three goals to upset Washington, 3-2, at Tacoma. Plaszko scores twice, including the winner two minutes into overtime. The victory snaps the Lutes' 17-game losing streak against UW, dating to the first meeting in 1971.

Kenmore's Paul Holocher is named offensive MVP of the West Coast Conference after leading Santa Clara in assists (12) and total points (30). Holocher, a senior, finishes his collegiate career with 29 goals and 32 assists, both ranking No. 3 all-time.

Vasco Rubio scores all three of his goals in the second half as No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific beats No. 9 Tampa, 5-3, in Spartanburg, S.C. Rubio's first goal at 51:13 makes it 3-1. He adds what proves to be the game-winner at 73:11. Brad Owens opens the scoring after just 23 seconds. The tournament's second game is canceled after a tropical storm dumps 6 inches of rain.

Two young Washingtonians, Chris Henderson and Kasey Keller, are named to Bob Gansler's U.S. squad for the upcoming World Cup. Henderson, 19, is the youngest player in the tournament. Both he and Keller, 20, are still in college. As amateurs, rather than a $10,000 bonus they receive $25 per diem. Neither player sees action in the tournament. The Americans are returning to the world stage for the first time since 1950.

Chris Henderson's second successful penalty shootout in as many days helps UCLA win the NCAA championship over Rutgers, 0-0 (4-3), in Tampa. Henderson, who missed two months with a stress fracture of his foot, converts to put the Bruins up, 3-2, in the tiebreaker. He had done the same in the third round of penalties vs. North Carolina State in the semifinals. Sean Henderson, Chris's younger brother, is also on the team. UCLA wins its second national title despite not scoring a goal in the tournament's final 270 minutes.

Bournemouth, the English club with perhaps the closest ties to Seattle, visits Memorial Stadium for a friendly, with the Storm ending on top, 1-0. The Cherries, slated for relegation from the Second Division, are led by assistant manager Jimmy Gabriel, FC Seattle's founding coaching director and former head coach. Harry Redknapp, like Gabriel a former Sounder, does not make the trip. Chance Fry scores the game's only goal. Bournemouth had hosted the Storm on its 1987 British tour and later signed Brent Goulet.

Peter LaBarge scores three second-half goals in Western Washington's comeback, 5-4 overtime win over Simon Fraser. The Vikings trail 4-1 at halftime. LaBarge's hat trick forces extra time, and Dennis Lapchis nets the winner.

Whitworth pulls off the biggest upset in program history, coming from behind to defeat Washington, the No. 15 team in Division I, 3-2 at Pine Bowl. Jim Martinson puts the Pirates ahead early in the second half, and Dave Griepp scores to make it a two-goal lead. Shaun Wagner also tallies for the Bucs, ranked 16th in NAIA. Jason Dunn and Chris Sarver score for the Huskies.

Everett's Henderson brothers can all be found playing around the world this day. Pat, the eldest at 24, starts for the San Diego Nomads in an APSL match. Chris, 19, is part of the U.S. World Cup team playing a warm-up game vs. Partizan Belgrade of the Yugoslavian first division. Sean, 18, scores the winning goal in Cascade High School's state semifinal playoff against University of Spokane. Dick Henderson, their father, is the Cascade coach, and mother Mary is cheering in the stands.

A week removed from his last game with the Tacoma Stars, Brent Goulet makes his season debut for the Seattle Storm and scores two goals in a 3-1 home win over California. Goulet, seeking to earn a spot on the U.S. World Cup squad, volleys from 12 yards at 26:42, then seals the result with 90 seconds left after running onto Chance Fry's long ball. He has eight goals in seven games playing for the Storm following six goals in six 1989 appearances. Still, Goulet never receives a call-in from U.S. coach Bob Gansler.

Kennedy takes the state AA-A title by unceremoniously unseating defending champion Hanford, 3-0, at Shoreline Stadium. It's the second championship in three years for the Lancers (14-2-5), 1988 winners of the AAA tournament. They snap a 36-game win streak for the Falcons (19-1-0). Leah Zielinski begins the onslaught by firing home from 25 yards. Minutes later DeeDee Robertson doubles the advantage, and Teri Shimoda scores in the closing minutes.

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announces that the boys' state AAA and AA quarterfinals, semifinals and final are moving from Seattle's Memorial Stadium. Bellevue's Sammamish High School will now host. The reasoning: Sammamish's new turf and wider field is more suited to soccer. Memorial has hosted the final since the WIAA tournament's inception in 1975.

Chris Henderson's first-half goal gives UCLA all the offense necessary to dispatch Southern Methodist from the NCAA quarterfinals. Henderson's fifth goal of his sophomore season comes in the 27th minute. The Bruins go on to win their 39th straight at home, 2-0.

Preki, long the face of the Tacoma Stars, opts to sign as a free agent with the St. Louis Storm. In five seasons, Preki, 27, scored 219 goals, leading the MISL in goals in 1988-89 and in assists for two seasons. He was MVP in 1989 but was released in June to comply with a league ruling lowering the maximum salary from $90,000 to $72,000. Tacoma offers the max salary, but Preki chooses a fresh start in St. Louis.

Scoring the opener and assisting on the eventual winner, Michelle Akers-Stahl stars for the United States as they win the Canadian Invitational in Winnipeg, 4-2, over Norway. Amy Allmann and Shannon Higgins also start the final, and Lori Henry plays during the group stage.

A hat trick from Greg Ion fuels the Tacoma Stars in an 8-2 win over Cleveland. It's the third straight road victory for Tacoma, off to an 11-5 start. Mark Karpun, who had played 65 seconds as a sixth attacker, comes on in relief of injured goalie Cris Vaccaro at 2:49 into the first quarter and gets within 10 minutes of recording the MSL's first shutout of the season.

Washington ventures east of the Rockies for the first time, traveling to Dallas to play Southern Methodist. The 2-1 loss is part of the Huskies’ three-game, four-day swing through Texas, including a 4-3 win vs. North Texas and a scoreless draw at Texas Christian.

Michelle Akers-Stahl scores twice and adds an assist in the first 50 minutes of the Olympic Festival Gold Medal match at Blaine, Minn. She leads the USWNT – playing as the North – in a 10-0 crushing of the South. Shannon Higgins adds an assist. In all, nine Washington players play in the women’s tournament. Akers-Stahl finishes as the top scorer with five goals.

Chance Fry breaks out of a four-game scoring slump and FC Seattle Storm deal the Vancouver 86ers, the top team in the Canadian Soccer League, a 3-2 defeat at Memorial Stadium. A pair of second-half goals by Fry allow Seattle to overtake the eventual CSL winners, who had only lost one game previously. Fry's header ties the match with 30 minutes to go, and the winner comes as he unleashed a 30-yard drive over 86ers keeper Rob Merkl in the 78th minute. Fran O'Brien opens the scoring by scoring directly from a corner kick at 8:30. Domenic Mobilio, one of five Canadian internationals in the lineup, puts the visitors in front, 2-1, by scoring twice before halftime.

Michelle Akers-Stahl is named 1990 Female Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Soccer Federation after scoring 14 goals in 11 matches with the national team. Akers-Stahl, 24, is the sixth recipient and second from Washington, joining Sharon McMurtry (1985). Because of injuries, this was the first summer she played with the national team in two years. She led the USWNT to wins over No. 1-ranked West Germany, England and Soviet Union and also scored five goals to lead the North to the Olympic Festival title.

Freshman Kim Lynass finishes the season with another hat trick in Washington State's 4-1 win at Gonzaga. It gives Lynass 30 goals and WSU 14 wins in their second season of varsity play.

Seattle Pacific is credited with only three shots but converts two of them for a 2-1 semifinal victory over host Florida Tech in the NCAA Division II Championships at Melbourne, Fla. Vasco Rubio scores his 12th goal in the first half, and Brad Owens gets the Falcons' game-winner with less than 27 minutes remaining. Freshman goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann turns back seven FIT shots, allowing only a penalty kick. The Panthers average more than four goals per game.

Western Washington successfully defends its NAIA District 1 title by beating Simon Fraser, 2-0, in Bellingham. Peter LaBarge scores both Vikings goals, beginning with a penalty kick in the dying seconds of the first half.

Chris Henderson scores his first international goal for the United States in a 4-1 exhibition win at Liechtenstein. Henderson’s goal comes following a through ball from Neil Covone that Henderson tucks away in the 75th minute and Kasey Keller pockets the win. Three days later, Keller starts Henderson is a sub in the final warm-up match, a 2-1 loss to Switzerland.

Pacific Lutheran, getting four goals from Wendy Johnson, blanks host Western Washington, 6-0, in an NAIA District 1 semifinal at Bellingham. Gina Mortimer scores three goals, leading 8th-ranked Seattle University to a 3-1 win over Whitman in the other semifinal. PLU goes on to beat Seattle U., 3-0, to win a third straight district title. Goalkeeper Kate Wheeler goes on to finish her career with a record 37 shutouts.

Dang Pibulvech is Washington's choice to start the new women's varsity program. Pibulvech, 37, arrives from Colorado College where four of his teams reached the NCAA semifinals or final, with seven playing in the postseason. His 1990 team finished 16-3-2 and lost to North Carolina 2-1 in the NCAA semifinals. He is 187-61-18 (.754) in his 15-year collegiate varsity head-coaching career. Only two of 10 finalists for the UW job are women.

Runner-up a year before, Sammamish comes all the way back to seize its first state girls' AAA crown by toppling the nation's No. 1-ranked team, Federal Way, 1-0, at Shoreline Stadium. Melinda Minstrell, a defender who collected two goals in the Totems' (15-0-2) come-from-behind 4-1 semifinal win over Mead, nets the game's only goal in the first minute of the second half. The Eagles (20 1-1) entered the game undefeated following a 4-0 win over Roosevelt.

Sloan Harris makes eight saves in Central Washington's division-clinching, 1-0 win over Washington. Betham Boyle gets the game-winner in the 65th minute. The victory earns the Wildcats the NCSC Silver Division trophy and promotion to the Gold Division in 1991. Washington's new varsity program will supplant the club program next season. Erin Murphy, whose two goals helped beat Gonzaga, 5-0, the day before, finishes with a new record of 13 for the season.

Soccer America magazine announces its all-decade team for collegiate women, and three Washingtonians are in the XI. Michelle Akers (Central Florida), Lori Henry (North Carolina) and Shannon Higgins (North Carolina). Akers and Higgins were the first two winners of the MAC Hermann Award. During the Eighties, Akers was a four-time All-American, Henry and Higgins two each while winning three and four NCAA championships, respectively.

A strong performance from Seattle native Todd Strobeck in goal, combined with a goal from ex-Storm star Peter Hattrup gives the Portland Timbers a series sweep of FC Seattle, 1-0, at Civic Stadium before 6,100. Hattrup scores from a throw-in, and Strobeck makes seven saves, including two reflex stops of Eddie Henderson and Chance Fry. Hattrup had also scored in a 3-0 Timbers win in Seattle on July 18. He's one of five ex-Storm players now in Portland while five former Timbers (four with Puget Sound roots) came north. Seattle has lost six in a row while scoring three goals.

Bob Gansler puts Chris Henderson, 19, in the starting XI for his senior international debut vs. Iceland at Fenton, Mo. Henderson goes 66 minutes on the outside flank and Kasey Keller starts in the 4-1 U.S. win.

A pair of overtime goals from Shari Rider pushes Pacific Lutheran through to the NAIA women's championship game, 2-0, over Lindenwood (Mo.) in Due West, S.C. Rider, who later is voted tournament MVP, finds the game's first goal 13:24 into the first extra period. Nine minutes later, she seals it. It's the Lutes' 17th shutout and third straight trip to the final.

Freshman Janko Gil scores the only goal and Danny Marquett gets the shutout as Central Washington upsets Simon Fraser, ranked 10th in NAIA, in Ellensburg. Marquett saves two Clan shots, and Gil takes the Wildcats to the lead in the 58th minute. He's coming off his fourth hat trick of the year three days earlier vs. Evergreen. Gil finishes with 15 goals.

FC Seattle's sixth straight win, 3-0, over Real Santa Barbara, takes the Storm to the top of the APSL West's Northern Division. Eddie Henderson and Jim Weber strike two minutes apart in the first half, and Scott Benedetti adds a late tally to close out a perfect five-week home stand in which the hosts scored 26 goals. Benedetti accounts for nine of the goals. Now 9-4 in league play, Seattle will play five of the next six away.

Georgia's Berry scores twice in the first five minutes of overtime to dethrone Pacific Lutheran, 3-1, in a rematch of the NAIA women's championship game in Due West, S.C. The result comes less than 18 hours after 16 members of the travel party were stricken with food poisoning during their thanksgiving dinner at the hotel. Wendy Johnson ties it in the 61st minute, beating two defenders and shooting from 18 yards. But Tina Conway and Nickie Courtney-Greene put Berry ahead by two goals. It's a reversal of the 1989 final, won by PLU. The Lutes had been unbeaten in 20 games.

Tacoma native Dale Mulholland, 25, signs a contract to play with Lokomotiv Moscow, becoming the first American to play in the Soviet Top League. He goes on to play some 30 competitive and exhibition games for Lokomotiv. Mulholland, who attended Warner Pacific, played for the ASL Orlando Lions in 1989. Already Mulholland has played for teams in the United States, West Germany, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Twins James and Jason Dunn score four minutes apart late in the second half to lift North Thurston over Cascade, 3-1, in the boys' state AAA final at Sammamish High School. The Rams, coached by Gary Dunn, the twins' father, finish a perfect 20-0-0. Trailing for 50 minutes after a Sean Henderson goal, NT pulls level through a James Dunn free kick in the 72nd minute. He then finds Jason for a header and the lead before Jeff Spaulding salts the title away.

Seattle Pacific clinches its first Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference championship in 10 years with a 1-1 draw with Washington at Husky Stadium. An own goal in the fourth minute puts SPU in front until Shannon Murray levels it with 7:39 left in regulation. Marcus Hahnemann saves nine UW shots. The result gives the Huskies an 0-2-2 mark in the final four games, ending their postseason hopes.

The United States and Michelle Akers-Stahl make a strong statement by beating reigning European champion West Germany, 3-0, to win the North American Cup in Blaine, Minn. Tournament MVP Akers-Stahl scores two second-half goals to finish the tournament with seven. She also fired a brace vs. England two days earlier. A Shannon Higgins corner kick feeds April Heinrichs for the other U.S. score. It completes a breakout year for Akers-Stahl, with nine goals, nearly double her previous four seasons combined. The U.S. completes the year 6-0-0.

Two weeks after entering the race, Los Angeles lawyer Alan Rothenberg easily wins the U.S. Soccer presidency. With 343.9 votes Rothenberg out-polls incumbent Werner Fricker (169.66) and USSF treasurer Paul Stiehl (69.2). With the World Cup coming to the United States in four years, FIFA leadership recruited Rothenberg to the race.

It’s a most memorable first cap for 20-year-old Kasey Keller. In the consolation match of Miami’s Marlboro Cup, Keller first holds Colombia to a single deflected goal, then finds himself taking a penalty kick in the shootout following the 1-1 draw. He makes a strong save in 78th minute, blocking Bernardo Redin from close range. With the U.S. trailing 9-8 in the 10th round of penalties, the University of Portland junior steps up and drives his attempt off the crossbar. Eric Wynalda, also making his senior debut, scores for the United States in the fourth minute.

Linda Velie of Lynnwood becomes the first woman to referee a U.S. professional men’s match, working the APSL West game between FC Seattle Storm and New Mexico Chiles before 4,100 at Memorial Stadium. Velie, 44, has refereed since 1983 and is the state's director of referee instruction. She assesses 46 fouls and issues one caution. Seattle wins, 4-3. Twelve hours after making history, Velie conducts a clinic in Fife.

Bo Oshonyi saves three Seattle Pacific penalty attempts in the title-determining tiebreaker, and Southern Connecticut wins the NCAA Division II championship, 0-0 (4-3) in Melbourne, Fla. The top-ranked Owls conclude the season undefeated at 22-0-1, but it is the first time they have been held scoreless. Nick Booth gives Southern the lead in the shootout's sixth round, firing low and to the left of Marcus Hahnemann. Ninety minutes of regulation and 60 minutes of overtime failed to produce a goal. It's the longest game ever played by SPU, which needed 129 minutes to win the 1978 championship.

Kate Wheeler posts her 12th shutout and Pacific Lutheran advances to the NAIA Area 1 final with a 3-0 defeat of Azusa Pacific in Salem. The Lutes, unbeaten in 17 games, get goals from Kirsten Brown, Wendy Johnson and Cheryl Kragness.

FC Seattle Storm break out of a slump and into the Western Soccer League record book with a 10-2 beatdown of the Arizona Condors at Memorial Stadium. Seattle, coming off three straight losses, outshoots Arizona, 33-8. Scott Benedetti leads the way with a hat trick, and Fran O'Brien's three assists ties a Storm mark. Jim Weber has two goals and two assists. Brent Goulet, coming off the bench, scores twice in the final 14 minutes.

Beginning a season with a full complement of scholarships for the first time in the program's 28-year existence, Washington upsets 20th-ranked Connecticut, 2-0, in Portland. Glenn Howell's free kick sets UW on its way and freshman Brand Deyarman adds insurance in the 88th minute, and Rolf Norton gets the shutout. Following a 4-2 win over Wisconsin Green Bay in which he scores another goal, Howell is voted Umbro Invitational MVP.

Twenty-two hours and 1700 miles after keeping their fragile playoff hopes intact, the fatigued Tacoma Stars see those hopes vanish in St. Louis. The Storm, scoring a season-high behind Thompson Usiyan's hat trick, beat the Stars, 10-6. Tacoma had been extended to overtime in a 3-2 win over Wichita the night before, then flew a red-eye to reach St. Louis by 11 the morning of the game. The Stars never recover from allowing two goals in the first 76 seconds.

After scoring only twice in the first nine games, Gary Heale breaks out for five goals in Tacoma's 11-2 romp over East Division-leading Kansas City. The West-leading Stars (8-4) get after it early before the Tacoma Dome crowd of 7,110, with Joe Waters scoring in the third minute. Heale scores in each quarter and adds an assist on the 11th tally.

Michelle Akers-Stahl collects her first international hat trick in an 8-0 rout of the Soviet Union at the North American Cup in Blaine, Minn. All three goals come in the first 35 minutes. Shannon Higgins also gets on the scoresheet, converting an 8th-minute penalty, and Lori Henry sees action as a substitute.

Chance Fry wraps up the APSL West gold boot race and FC Seattle Storm defeats Colorado, 2-0, in its final game before 4,300 at Memorial Stadium. Fry's penalty kick with 12 minutes left is his 16th goal. Jim Weber puts the Storm ahead in the 39th minute. It's only the second goal allowed by the Foxes in eight games. Seattle, which had lost six in a row (two by shootout), finishes 13-13 and out of the playoffs.

The Western Soccer League, of which FC Seattle Storm is a member, and the American Soccer League, whose members are all eastern teams, announce they have merged into the American Professional Soccer League. The leagues will operate independently with their champions meeting Sept. 22 to decide an overall title this year. Each league will consist of 11 teams, with limits of two non-North Americans and a $100,000 team salary cap.

Washington's unbeaten run to start the season continues in Portland, with an own goal defeating the Pilots, 1-0, before 2,360 on Merlo Field's dedication day. Chris Sarver's corner kick is misplayed by the UP defense in the 67th minute. It's UW's fourth win (third on the road) in eight days and raises the 20th-ranked Huskies' record to 7-0-2. Rolf Norton gets the shutout when Scott Sagar hits the crossbar and post before deflecting off the heel of the keeper.

A new-look FC Seattle Storm begins its seventh season by taking the APSL West favorite San Francisco Bay Blackhawks to overtime and penalties on the road. Seattle squanders a 2-nil lead and the Blackhawks prevail, 2-2 (3-0), via the shootout. Chance Fry scores two goals for the Storm, whose players are now paid (Seattle eventually spends $75,000). There are 10 new signings – many connected to coaching director Clive Charles, who is University of Portland head coach.

Dominic Garguile reaches 100 career wins at Western Washington with a 2-0 road victory over Regis. Garguile (100-37-11) in his 10th and what proves to be his final season with the Vikings.

A return trip to NAIA nationals is not in the cards for Western Washington as Warner Pacific wrestles away the Area 1 crown with a 2-1 overtime victory in Bellingham. Peter LaBarge's penalty ties the score six minutes into the second half. It's his 21st goal, breaking his record set a year earlier. Dennis Lapchis fires a tying attempt, but it's saved as time expires.