A pair of Bill Smith strikes cements the Buchan Bakers' grip on the state league first-half championship by virtue of a 2-1 playoff defeat of defending champion Norselander at White Center Stadium. The two teams had finished the first half tied at 7-1-0 and split their two meetings. Chet Miller, back from the U.S. Marines, starts in goal for the Bakers. It's his first game action in several years. Smith starts his brace with a penalty kick and then converts a right-wing cross from Michael Conneely.

Daman Hagerott returns to coach the Whitworth women after 12 years away. Hagerott, who had coached the Pirates from 1993-96, winning two conference titles, replaces Sean Bushey, who wants to focus on coaching the Bucs men.

Highline Community College women’s team features a mother-daughter combination on the roster. 48-year-old Jean Wilcoxen is a freshman sweeper and mother to two of her teammates, Tracy and Farah Wilcoxen. HCC coach Shari Anderson claims Jean is one of the fastest players on the team if not the league. She has been playing since age 24. "I love playing soccer with my mother," says Farah. "It's an experience I will never forget."

Seattle Pacific's two-year reign as NCAA Division II men's champion is ended at the quarterfinal stage by top-ranked Cal State Northridge, 1-0, before a CSUN stadium-record crowd of 3,841. The Falcons silence 30-goal scorer Joey Kirk, but Juan Florez slices between defenders and evades onrushing SPU keeper Jeff Storrs for the game's only goal in the 27th minute. It snaps a 13-game unbeaten run, eight-game win streak and four national finals in a row. Seattle Pacific had beaten Northridge in the playoffs en route to its past two championships.

While they are committed to Qwest Field for 2006, the Sounders submit a lease proposal draft play home games at Thunderbird Stadium on the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in Bremerton. They averaged just 2,864 for 14 matches at Qwest in 2005, which has a capacity of 67,000. Thunderbird Stadium has 6,500 seats.

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.