Jodie Taylor bags her first brace on this side of the Atlantic to put Seattle Reign back into the NWSL playoffs. The Reign beats Houston, 2-0, on a night thick with haze from wildfires in British Columbia and California. Taylor strikes twice, three minutes apart, early in the second half. She has nine goals, including four during the current four-game unbeaten run.

Erik Gracey fuels Pacific Lutheran's fast start and second-half surge in a 5-3 defeat of George Fox at Newburg, Or. Gracey finds Mike Ferguson twice and then scores himself in the first 19 minutes. When the Lutes' lead is trimmed to 3-2, Gracey assists on a pair of goals during a three-minute span and his total of four ties a record. Ferguson finishes the year with 14 goals and ties the PLU career record of 49.

Booth Gardner, founder and coach of the Tacoma Cozars and past owner of NASL and ASL franchises, is elected the 19th Governor of Washington. Gardner, 48, defeats incumbent John Spellman by 56 percent. It is the most expensive race in state history, with a combined $4 million spent by the two candidates. Gardner, a moderate Democrat who previously served as Pierce County Executive, does so despite Ronald Reagan winning the U.S. Presidency in an Electoral College rout (525-13). He founded the Cozars as a girls' youth team in 1974, and it is now a national power at the senior level. Gardner first owned the ASL Tacoma Tides before becoming part of the NASL Colorado Caribous ownership.

Aaron Lewis resigns as Gonzaga men's coach after four seasons, having compiled a 20-40-11 record. Chris McGaughey, an assistant for two seasons, is named the interim head coach. The Bulldogs had started out 6-1-0 in 2024 following an upset of No. 9 Seattle University on Sept. 12. However, they went 0-9-2 the rest of the way, finishing in the WCC cellar for the second year in a row.

Chance Fry's two goals, one in each half, enable the Sounders to stay alive in their A-League championship series with a 3-0 win over Atlanta before 4,626 at Memorial Stadium. Seattle lost the series opener in a shootout but dominated throughout Game 2. Fry's opener in the 25th minute from Peter Hattrup's header proves to be the winner. The Ruckus play with 10 men after a 41st minute red card. Fry and Jason Dunn seal it with goals in the 84th and 86th minutes.

Walla Walla becomes the second collegiate four-year program to finish winless in back-to-back seasons, losing to Carroll College, 4-0, in Helena, Mt. the Wolves (0-13-0), who were 0-15-0 in 2015, did not manage to score a single goal and allowed 10 or more in four games. Their losing streak has reached 32 games, dating back to 2014.