A brief defensive lapse proves ruinous for Pacific Lutheran as the bid to win an NAIA women's championship at home is denied by Lynn, 1-0, at Tacoma's Sprinker Recreation Center. The defending champion Lutes allow a free header to Dorte Nielsen from a corner kick in the 49th minute. PLU (19-3-3) out-shoots the Floridians, 14-9. It's the fifth straight year Pacific Lutheran plays in the national final but the first time it hosts. Cheryl Kragness, who finishes with a career record 62 goals, just misses an open first-half header.

Everett's Chris Henderson is injured in one of the final United States training sessions prior to the Olympic Games opener. Eight days before the first match versus Italy, Henderson collides with Claudio Reyna and suffers hyperextended knee ligaments. He is unable to recover in time to see action in his team's three group stage matches. The U.S. (1-1-1) fails to reach the quarterfinals.

Shorecrest gets six saves from goalkeeper Amy Bemis, plus another stop in the shootout, and the Scots earn their first girls' AA-A state championship in seven years, 0-0 (4-3), over Gig Harbor at Shoreline Stadium. Shorecrest, who ended Kennedy's two-year reign in the semifinals, goes unbeaten (19-0-2) while the Tides finish 19-1-0. Bemis ends the season with 16 shutouts and allowed only three goals. Erin Mayovsky, who scored 25 goals for the Scots, converts one of the penalty kicks.

Tamara Browder makes a record 14 saves, and Washington upsets Michigan State, 2-1, on Emily Thompson’s goal in the fourth minute of overtime at Lansing. Christine Keeley puts the Huskies in front in the 28th minute before the Spartans tie it before halftime. Keeley assists on Thompson’s score. Browder stops eight first-half shots, five in the second period and another in extra time. MSU out-shoots UW, 24-9.

As expected, Seattle is not among the nine venues selected for 1994 World Cup matches. Seattle's bid organizers needed $2.5 million toward reaching an agreement with the University of Washington for rental of Husky Stadium, which would require a temporary grass surface installed. Soccer America cites an abundance of West Coast venues and the business community's lack of will to support the bid. Governor Booth Gardner rejected a request that he spearhead a fundraising drive. World Cup USA selects Chicago, Dallas, East Rutherford, N.J. Foxboro, Mass., Orlando, Pasadena, Calif. Pontiac, Mich., Stanford, Calif. and Washington, D.C.

Seattle University ascends to a tie for No. 2 in the NAIA women's coaches' poll following a pair of lopsided wins. It's an all-time best for the Chieftains, who are 8-2-1 following wins over Evergreen and Linfield by a combined score of 16-0.

Three matches into the season, Kasey Keller is installed as Millwall's regular starter in goal. His first start is a 3-1 First Division (second tier) defeat of Oxford at The Den. Five of Keller's next seven starts in all competitions result in shutouts.

Bryan McNiel ends a scoreless stalemate 53 seconds into overtime and gives Washington a 1-0 victory over Stanford for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship at Husky Stadium. Dusty Hudock makes seven saves for the Huskies. It's his 11th shutout. McNiel heads in a free kick from Paul Hurme. With the MPSF title comes an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. UW beat Cal State Fullerton, 3-1, in overtime, in the semifinals. Stanford eliminated UCLA on penalties.

Jan Smisek, the West Region high school coach of the year, is named women's head coach at The Evergreen State College, replacing Ruth Frobe. Two months earlier, Smisek guided Bellevue's Forest Ridge to the first 1A/2A girls state championship, finishing 10-0-0. The Geoducks have averaged just 3.5 wins the previous 10 years.

Gary Heale scores with 22 seconds left in regulation for Tacoma's fourth straight win, 5-4, over Wichita. Earlier, Heale's first goal gives the Stars a 3-0 lead before the Wings rally to pull even at 4-4.

Michelle Rhodes scores as Seattle University holds Pacific Lutheran, the No. 1-ranked and defending champion NAIA team, to a 1-1 tie. Debi Johnson-White gets the Lutes' goal. Afterward, the Chieftains break into the top 10 national rankings (No. 7) for the first time in the program's 11 years.

Seattle University strikes for five unanswered first-half goals en route to a 6-3 win over No. 12 Azusa Pacific in an NAIA regional semifinal at Olympia. The 8th-ranked Chieftains quickly race to a 3-nil lead on goals from Jamie French, Michelle Rhodes and Paige Gordon.

After 24 seasons of part-time coaches, inferior scheduling, underfunding and under-appreciation, the Washington men's program turns the corner. Dean Wurzberger, an assistant coach at 1991 NCAA runner-up Santa Clara, is named the Huskies' first full-time coach. He replaces Ron Carter, who resigned to devote more time to his job as a Boeing engineer. Wurzberger played at San Diego State and was head coach of the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks of the American Professional Soccer League from 1989-90. The Blackhawks won the Northern Division both seasons. From 1986 to 1988, Wurzberger was an assistant coach to Sigi Schmid at UCLA.

FC Seattle Storm, after suspending play for 1991, announces it will cease operations. A year earlier, the APSL club went on hiatus after seven seasons. At its height, FC Seattle operated both high-level men's and women's senior teams, an amateur city league, plus camps and clinics. Owner Bud Greer estimates he invested $500,000-700,000 annually. The APSL has shrunk from 22 teams in 1990 to five for upcoming 1992 season.

Seattle's Meegan McMullin leads Duke to its first appearance in an NCAA championship game at Chapel Hill, N.C. McMullin, an all-Southeast Region forward, leads the Blue Devils with seven goals. When North Carolina fouls her on the edge of the box, Duke scores on the resulting free kick for a 1-nil lead in the 29th minute. It's all Tar Heels after that as they go on to win, 9-1. Mia Hamm scores three goals as UNC wins its 57th straight.

Seattle Pacific coach Cliff McCrath is selected for induction into the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association's Hall of Fame. McCrath will be inducted along with inductees to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. in 1993. McCrath has served as secretary-editor of the NCAA Rules Committee for 18 years.

John Carroll's two goals give FTI a 2-1 win over the defending national champion Dirty Dozen of Los Angeles in the Over-30 men's West regional championship game in San Francisco. Carroll is one of four ex-Washington Huskies on the Seattle team.

Going down to the wire for a playoff berth, the Tacoma Stars bow to Baltimore, 7-2, in what proves to be the final game in the MISL franchise's nine seasons. Domenic Mobilio scores his fourth hat trick of the season as the Blast wrap-up fourth place, one game in front of the Stars (18-22), to finish the regular season. Jim Gabarra and Mark Karpun tally Tacoma's goals.

Carl Valentine delivers the overtime winner as the Tacoma Stars beat Cleveland, 5-4, in the final home game to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. A crowd of 6,089 turns out, taking the season average to 4,853. The Crunch builds a 4-2 lead with four consecutive second-half goals. Fourth-quarter power-play goals from Bill Crook and Gary Heale tie the score. Valentine finds the low left corner at 5:24 of overtime.

JoDee Stumbaugh scores the tying and go-ahead goals to give Pacific Lutheran its fifth straight District 1 championship, 3-1 over Puget Sound. The previous day, the Lutes dispatched Seattle University, 2-1, behind an assist and penalty kick, with five minutes left in overtime, from Debi Johnson-White.

Chris Henderson is the only regular member of the U.S. National Team chosen by Lothar Osiander for the 20-man Olympic team. Henderson, 21, has played 29 times for the USMNT and was the youngest player on any 1990 World Cup roster. Only players 23 and under are eligible for the Olympics. Kasey Keller, 22, is not selected as Osiander goes with Brad Friedel and Ian Feuer as goalkeepers.

Shawn Medved and the Colorado Foxes complete the APSL double by defeating Tampa Bay, 1-0, for the championship in Englewood, Co. Medved plays the final 20 minutes as a substitute in the final. He had scored in both the regular season finale and semifinal shootout win over Fort Lauderdale. The Foxes also defeated Tampa Bay for the Professional Cup on Sept. 19.

Chris Henderson scores the second U.S. goal in a 3-0 defeat of Mexico in Bethlehem, Pa., to clinch qualification for the Barcelona Summer Olympics. Steve Snow accounts for the Americans' other goals. Henderson finds the net in the 36th minute on an assist from Cobi Jones.

A longtime staple of men's collegiate play, the Seattle intracity series is pared to a single match. Seattle Pacific defeats Seattle University, 1-0, on a Marcus Hahnemann shutout and John Heimbigner goal at Memorial Stadium. It's the fifth shutout win in a row for SPU. Washington has opted not to play either the Falcons or Chieftains for the first time since 1967.

Seattle Pacific finds a late equalizer but is eliminated from the NCAA Division II tournament at the semifinal stage on penalties to top-ranked Southern Connecticut, 1-1 (5-4), in Tampa. James Dunn takes a pass from Nate Daligcon and whistles a firm shot into the upper right corner with 4:53 left in regulation, tying the game. The Owls convert all five of their penalties while SPU, which had beaten SCSU earlier in the year, misses once.

Washington State's Kim Lynass registers her fourth career four-goal game in a 7-0 beating of Gonzaga. Lynass scores a pair in each half. The non-scholarship Bulldogs are relatively pleased with their improvement, having lost 15-0 to the Cougars a year earlier.

Erik Penner's goal on the hour mark is the difference as No. 4 Washington takes out No. 18 Portland, 2-1, in an NCAA first round game at Merlo Field. Penner's header is his 14th goal and completes a comeback for the Huskies' seventh straight win. Darren Sawatzky gives the Pilots the initial lead after only 3:04, but Gerd Strom equalizes.

George Czarnowski scores twice to fuel Tahoma's run to the AA state boys' championship. The Bears, winning their 16th in a row, come from behind to beat Mountlake Terrace, 4-2, at Pullman for their first crown. Czarnowski's long-range blast with 16:35 to go puts Tahoma ahead for good. Jason Willson and Eric Gaither also score while Darren Watters connects on two free kicks for the Hawks.

Pacific Lutheran and Western Washington battle for nearly four hours and then six rounds of penalties to decide the NAIA District 1 title at Parkland before the Lutes claim their first championship, 2-2 (5-4). Bjarte Skuseth converts the deciding penalty. The game is tied 1-1 after regulation, 2-2 at the end of 30 minutes of overtime and it remains knotted following another half-hour of sudden-death.

Central Florida honors Michelle Akers-Stahl by retiring her No. 10 jersey. Akers-Stahl completed her career (1984-88) as the Knights' career scoring (52) and assists (30) leader. Ten months later, she is named interim coach while UCF seeks to replace Bill Barker.

Seattle University, ranked No. 13 among NAIA teams and newly promoted to the NCSC Olympic Division, stuns San Francisco in its first road game. Brett Bowers gets the equalizer and Jonathan Stember scores in overtime for a 2-1 upset of the Dons, ranked seventh in Div. I. Two days later, the Chieftains earn a 1-1 draw at San Jose State.

Doug Wolvert's state-leading 20th goal of the year is enough for Mountain View to repeat as AAA boys' champion with a 1-0 victory over Richland at Sparks Stadium. Brian Wohlsein's corner kick produces a Wolvert header that goes under Bombers keeper J.P. Reck with 90 seconds left in the first half. Mountain View (18-1) becomes the first AAA team to successfully defend a title since Jefferson won its fourth consecutive title in 1986.

Washington Reign beats the British Columbia Alumni, 4-1, at Redmond High School to complete their second Pacific Coast League season with a perfect 16-0-0 record. Vasco Rubio, Brent Bowers, Drew Thompson and Mike Minor score.

Gina Cassella of Everett scores in her debut weekend for the U.S. Women's National Team. Making her first start, Cassella brings the Americans level with Norway in the 69th minute, although the U.S. would eventually lose, 4-2, in Medford, Mass. She made her first USWNT appearance as a substitute in a 3-1 loss to Norway two days earlier. Michelle Akers-Stahl misses both games to be with her ailing grandmother.

Justi Baumgardt and Federal Way close out the year in sensational style with a 3-0 triumph over defending champion Sammamish in the girls' AAA state final at Shoreline Stadium. Baumgardt, playing with a hairline fracture in her right forearm, sets up Jill Bruyere's opener and later scores her 98th career goal as the Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the nation, complete the year 19-0-0. Julia Popich adds a first-half goal. Federal Way gets its second title in six years, and made at least the semifinal round each year in between.

Jimmy Dunn becomes the first Pacific Lutheran men's coach to reach 100 victories as the Lutes hammer Evergreen, 6-0. Andy McDirmid scores a brace and adds an assist. Dunn, a former PLU player, is in his ninth year, with a record of 100-63-12.

It's been an impressive week for Seattle Pacific two-sport standout Jon Swanson. In the Falcons' 6-0 win over Simon Fraser, Swanson scores his second goal and adds an assist. When soccer games don't conflict, he's also the top SPU cross country runner, and won a race versus Seattle University and Hawaii Hilo a few days earlier. Three hours later Swanson was at evening soccer training.

Andy Schmetzer scores the United States opening goal and adds another in a 6-3 quarterfinal win over Argentina at the FIFA Five-a-Side Championships in Hong Kong. Dale Ervine also scores a brace for the Americans, who eventually finish runner-up to Brazil. Schmetzer is among three former Tacoma Stars players on the U.S. squad, captained by Jim Gabarra and also featuring goalkeeper P.J. Johns.

Tacoma stops a three-game slide in impressive fashion, returning home to smash Wichita, 11-6. Dale Mitchell sets a record with five assists, and Jim Gabarra scores three as the Stars tie their record for most goals in a game. With 48 seconds left, Ralph Black is in the middle of a bench-clearing brawl. It's the sixth of seven meetings with the Wings over the season.

Millwall FC manager Bruce Rioch signs Olympia's Kasey Keller to a multi-year contract just two months after the goalkeeper completed his collegiate career at Portland. Keller's deal runs through 1995. Rioch is a former Sounders player and FC Seattle head coach. The deal is made public several weeks later, once the British government and Professional Footballers Association issues Keller's work permit.

Brent Goulet continues his torrid scoring streak to start the German third division season, notching a hat trick in Tennis Borussia's 7-2 win at Viktoria 91. Goulet now has nine goals in Tennis's 6-0-0 start. He scored 31 goals for Bonner SC in 1991-92 before signing for Berlin's Tennis. Goulet goes on to score 19 times and lead TB to the league title and promotion.

Michelle Akers-Stahl returns to Sweden, signing with Tyreso FF. Akers-Stahl had first played for Stockholm area club in 1990. She spearheads Tyreso's run to the Swedish championship in the summer as the scoring leader. Akers-Stahl earlier signed an endorsement deal with Umbro, the English athletic equipment company.

Andy McDirmid scores a record six goals as Pacific Lutheran overruns Linfield, 10-0, at McMinnville, Ore. McDirmid is now up to eight goals for the Lutes (4-3-0). Adam White gets the shutout.

Jason Dunn scores with 10 minutes to go, sending Seattle Pacific to its ninth straight win and on to the NCAA Division II semifinals with a 1-0 win at Cal State Los Angeles. Dunn's header from a Jason Farrell cross is his 23rd goal and Farrell's record 17th assist. The No. 8-ranked Falcons and Marcus Hahnemann weather a furious assault by the No. 4 Golden Eagles in the dying seconds.

Financially beleaguered and with the MISL on generally shaky ground, the Tacoma Stars fold after nine seasons. Although losses had been trimmed, current ownership claims $4 million has been spent to keep the team afloat. The Stars' original ownership group ceased operations in 1988, only to have the franchise resurrected weeks later. The MISL, down to six teams, folds July 10. It leaves Puget Sound without professional soccer for the first time since 1973.

Kasey Keller, 22, makes his debut for Millwall in the final match of the league season. Keller gets the shutout, 2-0, over Southend at The Den. Thirteen days later, he starts his first USMNT game in two years, a 1-0 loss to Scotland in Denver.

Brenda Lichtenwalter gets the shutout and Pacific Lutheran gets goals from Debi Johnson-White and Jina Handrock to beat North Carolina's Elon, 2-0, in the opening pool play match of NAIA nationals at Sprinker Recreation Center. Johnson-White spins on a defender and scores from 18 yards in the 37th minute. Cheryl Kragness crosses to Handrock for a header at 61:18. Despite a 20-5 advantage in shots, the No. 2-ranked Lutes lose to Georgian Court, 1-0, two days later yet advance to the championship game on goal differential.

Pacific Lutheran reaches the NAIA national men's tournament for the first time by virtue of a 1-0 victory over Concordia in the Area 1 championship game. Adam White makes 12 saves for the Lutes, whose winning goal comes from an Andy McDirmid penalty in the 10th minute. PLU (12-7-0) is one of three unranked teams to make the national tournament in San Antonio.

Jim Martinson scores two of his three goals in the second half as Whitworth pulls away from Gonzaga, 4-0, in their intracity rivalry. Behind Kim Stabno's two goals and assist in the first half, the Pirates women also beat the Bulldogs, 7-0. Stabno adds a second-half goal for the hat trick.

Pacific Lutheran earns the distinction of becoming the first program to qualify for five straight NAIA national tournaments by defeating Seattle University, 3-2, at Olympia for the regional championship. The Lutes score the game's first three goals, then hold on. Rowena Fish and Cathy Martilla give PLU a 2-0 halftime lead, and Keri Allen tallies in the second half. The Chieftains pulls two goals back through Ingrid Gunnestad and Sheralyn Stackhouse. The Lutes will host the national finals in Spanaway while Seattle U earns an at-large berth.

Cliff McCrath becomes only the second coach in collegiate history to win 400 games as Seattle Pacific downs previously unbeaten Whitworth, 3-0, at Newport High School. McCrath, coach at SPU since 1970, joins San Francisco's Steve Negoesco in the 400 club. Jason Dunn, Jason Farrell and an own goal account for the scoring. The Pirates are ranked No. 3 in NAIA.

Jim Martinson and Zane Higgins each contribute hat tricks as Whitworth wins its 11th game in a row with a 13-1 rout of British Columbia's Selkirk College. The Pirates, who move up to No. 3 in NAIA afterwards, outscored opponents 43-6 during the unbeaten start.