Professional soccer arrives in Spokane. The Sounders play San Antonio in a preseason match before 4,400 at Joe Albi Stadium. Pepe Fernandez lashes a free kick from 25 yards but Seattle falls, 2-1. It's one of seven preseason matches played around the state. Games in Renton, Everett, Tacoma and Yakima each attracting 3,000 or more.

Nicolas Lodeiro, maestro to the top achievements in Sounders history, makes his departure official after seven-plus seasons. Lodeiro, 34, is a free agent following the expiration of his contract. He pulled the strings in midfield but also commanded respect and was a respected captain. During his tenure, Seattle played in four MLS Cup finals (winning two) and became the first MLS club to win the Concacaf Champions League. A month later, on Jan. 4, 2024, Lodeiro signs with Orlando City.

Game and training use by varsity and community teams at Peninsula High School's Roy Anderson Field has more than tripled since a $1.3 million improvement project was completed four months ago. Pierce County Parks and Recreation provided more than $1 million to install new artificial surfacing at the field. Youth soccer and football groups used the site for 300 hours from October through December, up from 60 hours for the same span in 2002. Soon, nearby Gig Harbor High School will undergo a $2.6 million expansion and lighting project, leaving the school with two soccer fields and two softball/youth baseball fields.

Two years of pressure from proponents in the U.S. and around the world result in the International Olympic Committee adding women's soccer to the Sumer Games, beginning in 1996 at Atlanta. The IOC votes in Monte Carlo to start with an 8-team tournament.

Hope Solo is named Best Player of Algarve Cup after allowing only one goal in four USWNT matches. In the tournament's 14 years, Solo becomes the first keeper to win the award. She had a clean sheet vs. Norway in the semifinals, preserving a 1-0 lead by tipping Ingvild Stensland's shot off the crossbar and over the goal in the 83rd minute. Sweden won the Mar. 11 final, 1-1, (4-3), in Faro, Portugal.

Neeku Purcell of Seattle posts her fourth tournament shutout as the United States wraps up the Concacaf U20 Women's Championship with a 2-0 win over Mexico in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Purcell pushes a dipping drive over the crossbar in the 86th minute for her most difficult stop of her four outings.