Curated by the Washington State Legends of Soccer, providing information and history of the Beautiful Game in Washington State. Just as the game evolves, so will this site. We continuously add new content, so be sure to return often.
Brothers Gene and Merle Mjelde score three goals apiece in Seattle Soccer Club’s seventh straight league win, 6-1 win over Black Diamond.
The Big Ten era for Washington begins with the UW men traveling to Michigan State for their conference opener. It's the first of four regular season games to be played in the eastern time zone. In all the Huskies play in four different time zones before the NCAA tournament. The women's team travels to Maryland and Rutgers (NJ) the following week but has three former Pac-12 opponents in Oregon, USC and UCLA.
Early-season collegiate tournaments provide opportunities for teams to play out-of-state teams yet they are also a test of depth and fitness. The Evergreen State College conducts an invitational men's tourney in Olympia with teams playing twice on the first day, then a third match the following day before cost-conscious visitors return home. The Far West Classic, which has rotated between Washington and California since 1973, involves eight teams playing single games over three consecutive days of Labor Day weekend, often in high heat.
Bellevue’s Brandon Schmidt scores and Chris Stiles of Spokane gets an assist in Santa Clara’s 3-0 NCAA second round home win over Fresno State. The Broncos, co-champions in 1989, advance two more rounds before meeting Virginia in the national title game Dec. 8, where the Cavaliers prevail in a shootout, 0-0 (3-1). Schmidt and Redmond's Bruce Broughton start in the NCAA final.
Former Sounders star sweeper Bruce Rioch is named head coach of FC Seattle, which will pay players $3,000-5,000 for 12 summer exhibitions after going amateur in its inaugural season. Jimmy Gabriel had served as coaching director and Tommy Jenkins as coach in 1984. Since leaving Seattle in 1981, Rioch has managed England’s Torquay for three seasons.
University of Puget Sound senior defender Bridget Stolee scores two goals, the first coming during the first minute of play, and the Loggers proceed to beat Messiah College (Pa.), 3-0, in the NCAA Division III semifinal at Greensboro, N.C. Stolee first strikes at 41 seconds, heading in Katie Wullbrandt's long free kick into the box. Freshman Adrienne Folsom gets her 12th goal of the season in the 26th minute, and another Stolee header makes it 3-nil at 30:46. Erin Williams notches her record 15th shutout of the year.