Seattle gets two goals from Leighton O'Brien to beat Calgary, 4-0, tying the A-League win record of 23 with two games remaining. Finishing 13-1 at home, the Sounders proceed to finish 23-4-1 and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Portland wins its first NCAA women’s championship, 2-1 over Santa Clara in overtime in Austin, and a couple former Washington are part of the celebration. Seattle’s Jennifer Bosa is a reserve for the Pilots while Wynne McIntosh serves as an assistant coach. Portland coach Clive Charles had begun coaching women while with FC Seattle Cozars in 1988.

Scoring in the final minutes of each half, Chris Henderson gets his second MLS career brace in Colorado's 2-0 win over D.C. United. Henderson, returning to the Rapids after four years, is on his way to a career-best 11 goals, plus seven assists.

It's a dream start to Brian Schmetzer's tenure as Sounders coach as Seattle beats arch-rival Portland for the second night in a row, 4-1, at Memorial Stadium. Jason Farrell's 30-yard shot snaps the 1-1 tie, then Darren Sawatzky and Craig Tomlinson each connect in the final four minutes. The season began the night before with the Sounders quieting the PGE Park crowd of 8,775 to the tune of 2-0. Sawatzky, who played for Portland a year ago, also scores in the opener. The result also qualifies Seattle for the U.S. Open Cup.

Washington State all but clinches a postseason berth by beating 15th-ranked USC, 4-1, and extending its win streak to a school-record four straight Pac-10 matches. The Cougars take charge in the first six minutes on strikes from Kim Morgan and Mariette Boyce. The win streak started with a victory over No. 7 California. WSU makes the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years under Dan Tobias, who is voted Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

Eastlake notches its first girls' state championship in any sport as the Wolves (17-2-1) defeat Everett's Cascade, 1-0, at Lakewood. Junior defender Jessica Martinez gets her second goal in as many games, heading in from Meghan Blume's cross. Martinez had also scored in the semifinal win over Richland. Eastlake is in just its ninth year of existence in Sammamish. Cascade is appearing in its first girls' final since 1983-84.

First teams to play in Seahawks Stadium are the Sounders Select Women and Vancouver Breakers, who play prior to the A-League men’s match. Sounders Women win in overtime, 4-3, on Nikki Gamble’s 93rd-minute goal. Seattle native Jodi Campbell scores the historic first goal. Shelby Brownfield and Janelle Munnis contribute the team’s other goals

Kennedy becomes the first Washington high school to win five championships at the 3A/4A levels by overpowering Bellingham in the second half to triumph, 4-0, at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood. Junior Vicky Rodriguez kick-starts the Lancers (17-3-2) by breaking the 0-0 deadlock in the 51st minute, and two minutes later. Krystle Jalalian capped the Lancers' dominant state performance with goals in the 68th and 70th minutes. Kennedy last won the crown in 1994. Coach Doug Stamnes, who also led the Lancers' boys teams to championships in 1997 and 2000, runs his total to seven.

Gus Zadra finds the net in the 71st minute as Western Washington stuns Seattle Pacific, 1-0, at Interbay Stadium. The teams are tied for fifth in the region and vying for one of four NCAA tournament slots. It's the Falcons' first home loss this season.

C.J. Klaas scores the game-winning goal in double overtime, giving Washington a 2-1 upset victory at No. 3-ranked UCLA. It's the first Pac-10 loss for the Bruins and their first home loss in 12 matches dating back to last season. The goal by Klaas, U.S. U20 international, is his first of the season and comes in the 108th minute. The Huskies took an early lead through Brett Wiesner in the 24th minute. UW goalkeeper Danny Waltman makes eight saves, including key stops in the last 10 minutes of regulation. Washington finishes with its first losing season in 34 years. UCLA goes on to win its third NCAA championship.

Melissa Bennett's hat trick powers Washington past No. 15 USC, 5-0, in the final regular season game, and senior Hope Solo posts her 18th and final career shutout. Still, the Huskies (9-8-3) are left out of the NCAA tournament field, despite seven of their eight defeats coming against ranked opposition. It's their third win over a top 20 foe. Bennett adds her UW record 18th assist on the final goal.

A controversial non-call sends the United States out of the World Cup, 1-0 to Germany at the quarterfinal stage in Ulsan, South Korea. Kasey Keller, expected to split time in goal with Brad Friedel, never plays a minute in five matches. He had not been Tottenham's outright starter during the season and was plagued by minor knee and elbow injures prior to the tournament. Gregg Berhalter's attempt to equalize in the 49th minute is handled on the goal line by Torsten Frings, but no penalty is whistled.

Tiffeny Milbrett erupts for a record-tying five goals – all in the first half – as a crowd of 21,522 celebrates the first USWNT appearance in Seattle, a 9-0 Gold Cup win over Panama. Milbrett, raised in Portland and a collegiate standout there, achieves a hat trick in the first nine minutes as the outcome is never in doubt. The five goals ties a record first set by Seattle's Michelle Akers and equaled by Brandi Chastain. Milbrett never has a chance to break the record. She twists her left knee landing after heading the ball in the 56th minute and leaves the game.

A hat trick from Cindy Parlow gets the U.S. off the mark in a 7-0 win over Costa Rica before 10,079 at Safeco Field, a victory that secures the defending champion Americans' passage to the 2003 World Cup. It's close (1-0) for the first half, but Parlow's third goal makes it 3-0 in the 52nd minute, and the floodgates open in the Gold Cup semifinal. Kristine Lilly and Shannon MacMillan each contribute a goal plus an assist.

Freshman Heidi Jacobson scores early in the second half and Gonzaga holds on to defeat Oregon, 1-0, at Eugene to halt a stretch of 29 matches (0-27-2) without a victory. Ashley Haugen makes five saves to record her first career shutout for the first win over the Ducks in four tries. The Zags' last win had been Sept. 19, 2000.

Two late goals lift Western Washington to a 2-1 comeback victory over Seattle University at Civic Stadium for the Vikings' first GNAC championship. Paul Nissley delivers the game winner, his league-leading 15th goal of the season, in the 84th minute off an assist from Gus Zadra. The defending champion Redhawks play without two of their top three scorers. Although Western wins its final seven games, they miss making the postseason. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which WWU beat earlier, is given a berth. Nissley, a sophomore from Mount Vernon is voted GNAC player of the year and Travis Connell is coach of the year in his second season.

Puget Sound pushes deeper into the NCAA tournament by blanking Chapman, 1-0, in the regional final at Santa Cruz, Calif. The Loggers parlay Beth Taimi's 13th-minute and Erin Williams's shutout to reach the Division III quarterfinals for the first time. UPS had beaten Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 4-0, the previous day behind the brace of freshman Cortney Kjar.

The Sounders announce their 2003 home matches will be played at Seahawks Stadium. Eight of their first nine A-League seasons had been played at Memorial Stadium, Seating will be limited to the east side of the stadium’s lower bowl, with season tickets starting at $140.

Playing for the national team in his home state for the first time, Kasey Keller makes a key save early and the U.S. proceeds to put away Honduras, 4-0, before 38,534 at Safeco Field. With his team up 1-nil in the 28th minute, Keller denies a breakaway by Saul Martinez from 10 yards. Landon Donovan doubles the lead a minute before halftime. After Clint Mathis finishes his brace Donovan adds his second in the 67th minute. It's Keller's 28th career international shutout, and he's unbeaten in his last 16 appearances dating back to 1998.

Although Seattle Pacific beats Humboldt State, 5-0, for its 11th win, the Falcons unable to earn an NCAA men's tournament berth for the second year in a row – the first such occurrence in Cliff McCrath's 33 years as coach. It also leaves McCrath three wins of overtaking former San Francisco coach Steve Negoesco (543) for the all-time lead in coaching victories.

Devvyn Hawkins of Olympia returns from injury to score for the second game in a row, a 3-1 Santa Clara win over Michigan in the NCAA quarterfinals. Hawkins, whose head needed 11 stitches after coming out of the second-round win over Arizona State, had also nodded in the winner vs. Nebraska in a third-round win on Nov. 23.

By defeating No. 7 Willamette and doing so by 3-0, Puget Sound not only wins a share of the Northwest Conference women's crown but also clinches an automatic NCAA berth at East Field. "Going in, I was confident we could win," says UPS coach Randy Hanson. "But I would have never imagined we'd defeat a team like Willamette 3-0." It's the Logger's 30th consecutive home win. UPS got its first goal from Bridget Stolee in the 19th minute. Perrin Schutz and Cortney Kjar tally in the second half to clinch the playoff tiebreaker.

Hosting an MLS side for the first time in U.S. Open Cup play, the Sounders nearly pull off an upset of the San Jose Earthquakes. A record crowd of 1,275 at Interbay Stadium (plus about 300 more watching from the hillside) sees Seattle push the Earthquakes to the limit before falling, 4-3, in extra time in the tournament's third round. Brian Ching scores for a 3-2 lead in the 60th minute. At that point the Quakes insert stars Landon Donovan and Ariel Graziani, the fourth-leading scorer in MLS. Ronnie Ekelund's second goal, a penalty, forces overtime, where Graziani finishes a rebound after Preston Burpo initially parries Dwayne DeRosario.

Kent's Shannon Higgins-Cirovski becomes just the third woman and, at 34, the youngest player ever inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. Higgins-Cirovski starred both as a collegian and in the first U.S. World Cup championship in 1991. She had orchestrated four undefeated NCAA championships at North Carolina from 1986-89, earning the Mac Hermann Trophy as a senior. Two years later she set-up both Michelle Akers goals in the 1991 World Cup final before retiring and entering coaching.

Chris Raymond earns his 100th career point as Puget Sound clinches the Northwest Conference championship, 2-0 over Willamette. Raymond, a Tacoma senior, launches an 18-yard rocket 12 minutes into the match for the lead. Tyler Niemack adds a 35th minute goal and Ben Meckel posts his 12th shutout. Raymond, who earns NWC player of the year honors, finishes his career with 41 career goals.

Nichole Sauvageau rises to the top of Seattle University's career scoring list while beating Western Oregon, 2-1. Sauvageau connects in the 54th minute with her 45th goal, surpassing Ingrid Gunnestad (44).The victory also moves Seattle U into first place in the GNAC, ahead of Western Oregon.

Megan Lienhard's goal 12 minutes into sudden death overtime lifts Seattle Pacific to a 2-1 victory over host Seattle University, clinching the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship for the Falcons in just the program's second year. Lienhard, a freshman from Everett, scores both SPU goals. Despite winning the final nine matches and going undefeated in 11, Seattle Pacific (13-4-2) is denied an NCAA berth.

Down a goal with 22 minutes to go, a determined Decatur of Federal Way scores twice in three minutes to repeat as state 4A boys champion, 3-2 over Spokane's Lewis & Clark at Everett Memorial Stadium. Alex Chursky delivers the game-winner after Kyle Colbath ties it. The Tigers had forged a 2-1 lead through Grant Lundberg and Matt Ross penalty. The Gators' (20-0-2) unbeaten streak reaches 44 games. Their coach, Jimmy McAlister, watches the final minutes from the stands after being sent off for complaining about rough play.

Bryan Chud scores three times, including the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute, as Northwest College beats Evergreen, 4-2, at Olympia in a Cascade Conference match. Chud goes on to score a record 22 goals during his final season and graduates as the career scoring king with 55 goals for the Eagles.

Sounders midfielder Leighton O’Brien, 26, is introduced as the A-League MVP. A Federal Way native, O’Brien scored 13goals and a record-tying 11 assists to finish third in total points (37). Eight days earlier, Brian Schmetzer was voted coach of the year in his first season by his peers.

Marcus Hahnemann continues to shine for Reading, recording his seventh straight clean sheet in a scoreless home draw with Portsmouth. Hahnemann, in his first full season after a loan spell with the Royals, has not allowed a goal in 698 minutes of First Division play. Four months earlier he was released by Fulham after three years.

Kasey Keller begins the World Cup year by anchoring a nearly impenetrable U.S. backline during the Concacaf Gold Cup. His fourth straight shutout comes in the final vs. Costa Rica, 2-0. Two days earlier he stopped two penalty kicks in the semifinal shootout with Canada (0-0, 4-2). In all, Keller allows just one goal in five starts as the USMNT wins its second regional trophy.

About six miles separate Bellingham's Sehome and Squalicum High Schools and the difference is a a pair of penalty kicks in a tiebreaker to settle the 3A championship at Everett. Brendan Carroll makes two saves for the Mariners (18-2-3) as they win the title 1-1 (4-2). Chris Jepson, whose goal with 9:28 left sent the match into overtime, also gets the final shootout conversion. Squalicum's Mason Webb had put the Storm ahead in the third minute. It marks the first time that two Bellingham high schools have met for a state championship since Sehome opened in 1966.

Seattle is stunned by Vancouver, crashing out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals after being beaten, 6-2, in the second leg. The Whitecaps, who go up 3-0 by halftime, sweep the two legs accruing an 8-2 aggregate scoreline. The Sounders struggled down the stretch, winning just once in their final six regular season and playoff matches.

Seattle clinches first place in the Pacific Division with its 11th straight A-League win, 2-1 over Milwaukee. Brian Ching is on the end of a free kick in the second minute for the early lead, and Andrew Gregor’s 14th minute goal turns out to be the winner. The Sounders have won 13 league home games in a row, dating back to 2001. They make it 12 four days later, against El Paso.

Devvyn Hawkins and defending NCAA champion Santa Clara reach the College Cup final by ousting North Carolina, 2-1, in a semifinal match at Austin, Tx. Veronica Zepeda scores both goals, but the Broncos are thwarted by Portland in the final. Hawkins, All-American holding midfielder and team captain, and Hermann Trophy winner Aly Wagner finish their careers 3-0-0 vs. UNC.

Second-half substitute Zach Scott makes his first professional goal count for the game-winner, with the Sounders winning their eighth consecutive match to start the season, 3-2 at Calgary. In the 90th minute, Scott, a rookie from Gonzaga, nods home an Andrew Gregor corner kick past Storm goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld in cold, rainy conditions. As it had in the past seven wins, Seattle scores first, in the 19th minute, when Viet Nguyen converts a Brian Ching assist. Jason Farrell puts the visitors ahead, 2-1, in the 57th minute on a free-kick. It marks the longest win streak to start a Sounders season.

An A-League record crowd of 25,515 cheers both the opening of $400 million Seahawks Stadium and a Sounders victory over Vancouver. First kick is delayed 30 minutes for fans filing through the gates, and Andrew Gregor greets them with the first goal after 23 minutes. Gregor’s second goal, in the 72nd, helps Seattle pull away for a 4-1 win. Approximately 5,000 were walk-up ticket buyers. It’s the largest crowd for a Sounders home match in 20 years. In the first seven home dates the average attendance had been 2,328. Soccer was also the opening sporting event for both the Kingdome and Tacoma Dome.

Second-half goals five minutes apart from freshman Josh Hedrick and Justin Hughes propel Puget Sound into the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament, 2-0 Linfield at East Athletic Field. The NWC champion Loggers (17-3) and runner-up Wildcats (15-2-2) had split two previous matches. Hedrick's opener came after a long run to the post to head-in Anthony Fioretti's cross. "I started about midfield on a dead-out sprint," Hedrick says. "I didn't know if I'd get there in time. I still had to dive to just get my head on it." The Loggers' postseason run ends at Redlands, 2-0.

Mountlake Terrace's Northwest Nationals Fusion wins the USYSA Region IV Girls' U13 crown by beating Bay Oaks (Ca.), 2-0, in West Jordan, Utah. It's the first regional title for a Washington girls' team in five years and the first overall for the Nationals. The Fusion had beaten Highline Eagles 88, 42, in overtime for the state championship.

No sooner does Seahawks Stadium open and a huge international friendly is booked. Manchester United of England and Celtic of Scotland are coming to Seattle July 22, 2003 as part of the ChampionsWorld tour. Fourteen-time English champion Man United feature midfielder David Beckham, one of the world's most recognizable players. First & Goal will install grass over FieldTurf, the permanent playing surface at Seahawks Stadium.