Sounders Women fall short of reaching the W-League final four for the second year in a row, bowing out in the Western Conference title game at Burnaby, B.C. The Whitecaps Women win at home, 1-0, snapping Seattle's five-game win streak but not without a scare. Rachel Rodrick fires a 22-yard blast off goalkeeper Erin McLeod's hands and the crossbar in the 75th minute. Top scorer (10 goals) Brenda Mueller has another chance in the 77th minute but hits the post. Vancouver proceeds to win the W-League championship.

Seattle's Kyle Whittemore scores his record-breaking 21st goal, but it's not enough as San Diego State's late-season surge ends with a 3-1 loss at UNLV. Whittemore, a sophomore, had scored 20 times as a freshman. He scores six times during the Aztecs' five-game October win streak. Everett's Pat Henderson and Lynnwood's Rick Blubaugh are also key contributors for SDSU.

Eight Seattle men, ages 23-24 and most graduates of Garfield High School, reach Chicago for the World Cup's opening match. They have refitted a retired school bus with bunk beds, a kitchen and bathroom with a portable toilet. They will drive an estimated 10,000 miles, stopping at each of the nine tournament venues over six weeks before returning home. The bus, with 147,000 miles on its odometer, cost $2000 and another $2000 was invested in improvements.

Michelle Akers-Stahl is named 1990 Female Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Soccer Federation after scoring 14 goals in 11 matches with the national team. Akers-Stahl, 24, is the sixth recipient and second from Washington, joining Sharon McMurtry (1985). Because of injuries, this was the first summer she played with the national team in two years. She led the USWNT to wins over No. 1-ranked West Germany, England and Soviet Union and also scored five goals to lead the North to the Olympic Festival title.

A full house and plenty of fireworks on the attack as Ballard FC gets off to a roaring start in its inaugural USL League Two match. Before a capacity Interbay Stadium crowd of 1,200, Ballard earns a lopsided 5-1 victory over Oregon's Lane United. Declan McGlynn's free kick in the 34th minute sets everything in motion. Charlie Gaffney is chosen man of the match after assisting on Alex Mejia's goal just before halftime and then scoring early in the second period. BFC starts 6-0-2.

New Tacoma Stars coach Jimmy McAlister wins his first game in charge, 5-3 over the visiting LA Lazers, behind Peter Ward's hat trick. Steve Zungul scores one goal and assists on three before 10,191 in Tacoma Dome. At 30, McAlister is younger than both Ward (32) and Zungul (34). The Stars win their third straight and go 5-2 in McAlister's first seven games.