He calls it “God’s sense of humor.” Others contend it’s coincidence. It’s objectively known as The 47 Factor, and it somehow figured into each of Seattle Pacific University’s five NCAA Championships under coach Cliff McCrath.
McCrath adopted his lucky number upon joining the Wheaton College soccer team in 1955. He was issued an old football jersey bearing the number 47. He went on to become a three-time All- American and wore a 47 on his shirts throughout his 38 seasons as men’s coach.
In 1978, the Falcons won their first NCAA Championship, scoring a huge upset over No. 1 Alabama A&M. The time of the deciding goal: 126:47. In 1983, Seattle Pacific captured a second title by toppling top-ranked Tampa. At the time McCrath was 47 years of age. SPU took home its third trophy in ’85 by clipping Florida International, 3-2. It marked McCrath’s 470th game as coach.
The 1986 NCAA Championship game was played in Seattle, situated on the 47th latitude. In front of their hometown fans, the Falcons beat Oakland for their second straight title and fourth overall. No wonder McCrath and many SPU followers felt good about the Falcons’ ability to hold an early 1-0 lead against Southern Connecticut in 1993. The goal came 9 minutes, 47 seconds into the match.
McCrath is not alone in celebrating 47. The 47 Society on Facebook continually tracks the 15th prime number and its plentiful appearances in news and culture.
College soccer in the Pacific Northwest had only just begun. The season was short, the coaches part-time and there was precious little fan support or media coverage. There were scores and standings and not much else. Yet, as for those latter two categories, unfashionable Western Washington State College’s men’s club program cast an outsized shadow.
Now, some 55 years later, let the record show that, a) it did happen, b) it was no fluke, and c) there is a story to tell of the small but mighty Vikings and their four-year rule over frustrated varsity foes who were confounded by a band of students who funded their own trips, lined their own fields and largely picked their own lineups.
While being high achievers, the Western men of yore were never accused of taking themselves too seriously or over-training. In fact, they won admiration from opponents and Western varsity athletes who recognized their qualities, both on and off the pitch. They were more than teammates; they were tightknit friends and remain so to this day. More than anything, that might’ve been the secret to their success.
A League of Their Own
As athletic director of the state’s most established and resourced men’s soccer program, Joe Kearney must have envisioned that the new conference he was founding would only fortify that status. The University of Washington could now adjust its sights on competing for national recognition.
Ahead of the 1968 season, Kearney, the Huskies’ AD, had cobbled together the four-school Western Washington Soccer Conference, the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. He also would serve as commissioner. Joining UW would be newly launched varsity programs at Seattle University and Seattle Pacific, plus the student-organized club from Western Washington.
Action from the 1969 season (Western Front archives)
All credit to Kearney, who unlike his successor, demonstrably cared about non-revenue-producing programs such as soccer. It had taken a couple years for the sport to reach critical mass to create a league. But back then, if anyone had asked Kearney or anyone else what they would predict for the formative first few years of the WWSC, it would’ve been Washington as overwhelmingly perennial favorite, with Seattle U. and Seattle Pacific to follow.
Instead, in reality, the boys from Bellingham would bolt out of the gate and turn the whole thing upside down. For the first four years of the league’s existence, Western Washington would either win outright or share the WWSC championship each year.
No Experience Needed
John Miles was Western’s assistant student activities director in 1968. He had played a little on the intramural fields as a grad student, so when students approached him about forming a club, he was receptive. A meeting was scheduled, and flyers posted; students of all abilities were welcome.
“No students came to Western to play soccer,” noted Miles. “When we practiced, you could see some who had the moves and the speed. They had come out of the woodwork and wanted to play. The American guys were more physical, if you will, and they learned from the other guys.”
Manfred Kuerstan and Glenn Hindin immediately stood out. Kuerstan, from West Germany, attacked from the wings. Hindin, who ventured down from Vancouver, operated at center forward. He came equipped with quick feet and a ferocious shot.
Pat Garrett had never played a minute of soccer before arriving on campus. He had originally come to Western to play football, but a knee injury nixed that. Garrett, possessing good hands, big size (200 pounds) and the ability to throw far downfield, was encouraged to tryout and became one of the goalkeepers.
Manfred Kuerstan (l) advances on the Washington goal in 1970. (Western Front archives)
“It was amazing who came out,” recalled Miles, who held the title of head coach but was primarily focused on providing administrative support; the players largely coached themselves. “Western had more than doubled in size and had an agreement with neighboring states and B.C. that allowed their students to pay in-state tuition. We also had foreign students on campus – from Germany, Peru and Iran – who really knew how to play.”
Quickly Finding Their Feet
A couple weeks after forming the ‘68 team came the Vikings’ first test. They would venture down nearly-completed Interstate 5 to Seattle for a mid-morning game against Washington. It was at Husky Stadium and is thought to be the first collegiate soccer match played on artificial turf. Having grown accustomed to Astroturf following a few practices, the Huskies dashed out to a 3-1 lead by halftime and won, 5-1.
Western would find firmer footing in the weeks to come, surprising Seattle University with a 1-1 draw in the home opener at Sehome High School. Five weeks after losing to UW, the Vikings hosted the return game at Shuksan Junior High. They came from 2-nil down behind Hindin’s two second-half goals for a 3-2 victory, tying the Huskies for first place in the WWSC. Hindin would finish his first season with 10 goals in six outings.
Washington’s loss forced a playoff with Seattle U. three days later to determine the Northwest’s first representative in the NCAA tournament. Western, not being a sanctioned varsity program, was not eligible. It finished the 1968 campaign with an identical league record to UW, at 3-1-2. The Huskies’ reward for an overtime win against SU was a humiliating, 16-0 loss at San Francisco.
A Club with Few Perks
Garrett claimed players were content with foregoing postseason opportunities because club status made it possible to play year-round, both in fall and a spring B.C. league.
“We didn’t have all the eligibility rules that governed varsity schools,” noted Miles. “You just had to be a Western student.”
There would’ve been advantages to varsity, of course. Equipment, transportation, field space, to name a few.
Glenn Hindin of Western splits Seattle Pacific’s defense. (Western Front archives)
“We had no place to play,” disclosed Miles. “We had no equipment, no goals, no nets, no practice field. The university gave us no money.
“We built goals; students who welded put them together, and they were portable. We used city parks for practices and schools for games, and those fields were mud toward the end of the season. We ordered uniforms in Vancouver and snuck them through customs. It was all on a shoestring.”
For road games, players would cram into Miles’s VW van, with the rest driving their own cars and chipping in for gas. The hardships were worn as a badge of honor. No rules? No worries. Besides, the lack of oversight meant players could detour to a pub on the way back home.
The comradery extended to life beyond the field. Players rented rooms and houses together in Fairhaven. They held regular poker nights. Beyond partygoers, they loved the game and sought to share it with the surrounding community.
“We tried to get a youth program going in Bellingham,” said Miles. “The guys were willing to be coaches. We weren’t able to do it on our own, but a few years later it took off. We regarded ourselves as promoters of the game, and it’s satisfying how it turned out.”
The Canadian Connection
Western Washington would only grow stronger the next season. In autumn 1969, three freshmen from Vancouver’s Winston Churchill Secondary again took advantage of the tuition break to come across the border.
Bob Mills, Bobby Hansen and George Gray no sooner moved into their dorms when they heard about tryouts. “It was great, just a fabulous group of guys,” said Mills, who was attracted to the education program. “I wanted to be a teacher, and Western’s a great school for that. I loved it.”
On the U.S. side of the border, there was an added incentive to attending college. “A lot of the guys there were on student deferment,” said Mills, “so they didn’t have to go to the Vietnam war.”
Donn James was one of the few Americans arriving in Bellingham with any relative experience. His family had lived in West Germany, and he had played three years there. After an autumn with soccer, James planned to play varsity baseball at Western in the spring.
James was a defender with a knack for slide-tackling and he had the scraped limbs to show for it. According to Miles, the players’ tactical system was heavily tilted toward attacking formation.
Miles was confident the squad would be stronger. There was greater depth and, unlike the year before, spirited competition for positions. Hansen and Gray joined Hindin and Kuerstan to form a prolific front line. The Vikings scored nearly as many goals as UW and Seattle U combined, averaging 3.25 goals per game.
“Hindin was quick, good with either foot and fun to watch,” James said, “and didn’t take any crap.”
(Western Front archives)
“Usually, Glenn would take two touches and fire,” recalled Garrett. “He was quick and hit a brutal shot.”
“For me to score 11 goals and Hindin eight goals, we had a lot of skills,” said Gray. “I wasn’t big. I anticipated where the ball was going. A lot of anticipation, a lot of luck.”
The Huskies Vikings Rivalry
After outscoring teams 13-4 in the first four outings, Western hosted Washington at Shuksan and absorbed a 4-2 loss. Ten days later came the rematch at Husky Stadium.
After being held without goals by the Huskies, Gray scored twice, Hindin once, and Bruce McLeod had a hat trick in an emphatic, 6-2 victory. “That won the league for us,” said Garrett.
“We had a good team, we won and were pretty happy about it,” beamed Mills. “I mean, it’s U-Dub, a huge school, and they had all the bells and whistles, and we were this shitty little club. So, when we played and beat UW at their place, we were in seventh heaven.”
As it turned out, the Vikings still needed to avoid a loss in their final two games to clinch the conference crown outright. Hindin scored five goals in those games, a 2-2 draw at Seattle U. and a 4-2 home win over Seattle Pacific.
“Of all the teams we played, our games with Western were the most gut-wrenching, and Glenn was an incredible player,” said Joe Zavaglia, Seattle University’s star midfielder. “I always felt it was a bigger challenge to play Western than to play UW.
“Especially their Canadian guys, they were very focused, aggressive, and had excellent ball control,” noted Zavaglia. “Their midfield was tough. They just seemed to be well conditioned. No cheap shots, just a clean, hard game. And after the game, you talked with Western guys, and they were just great.”
Washington’s Mike Cvitkovic acknowledged that while most teams had international players, Western was the most cohesive. “Their biggest problem,” said Garrett of UW, “was communication. They had better skilled players, but they never really put it together.”
“Us Canadian guys pretty much knew each other and bonded,” said Mills. “We had all these guys who saw eye to eye on the field and as friends.”
“We got along very well and had a lot of fun playing,” said Gray. “We were a small university, but we were mighty. That made a difference.”
Despite Changes, Western Keeps Winning
Gray would leave school to return home to Vancouver in 1970. Hindin remained as an attacking focal point while Mills picked up much of the scoring slack, scoring six goals.
Washington was the only opponent to defeat Western, a 3-2 win in Seattle. However, the Vikings had already secured the title after going unbeaten through the first eight matches. The spectator turnouts remained very modest yet there was a growing respect among their peers.
“Most of the (Western) athletes were aware of us because we were a winning program, but the school in general wasn’t particularly aware of us,” said James. “I had to twist my girlfriend’s arm to watch a game.”
Players would still line their field, pump-up balls and fill the gas tank for road trips. “We were certainly the school’s stepchild,” said Miles. “We had nothing, and there was some resentment. But the guys were happy to have comradery, and it was cool to be a part of something special.”
A Last Hurrah
In 1971, off-field matters had a direct effect on the Canadian connection. Boeing, the state’s largest employer, failed to receive any domestic airline orders in 1970 and the supersonic jet program’s government support ended that same year. That took a toll on state finances. Suddenly, the favorable tuition program ended, and Hansen and Mills transferred back to B.C. when, Mills said, class fees increased by five-fold (resident tuition rose 24 percent).
Still, seniors Hindin and Kuerstan returned for their fourth and final year. Greg Wesslius and Hector Perazo, an Argentine, helped compensate for offensive losses, and a defense featuring ironman James (never substituted during his career), Bill Carr and Dave Asher once more provided a firm foundation.
Western won its opener over an NCAA tournament-bound Seattle Pacific and lost only one of the first seven games, including a sweep of Washington for the first time. A brace from Wesslius helped rally the Vikings for a 3-1 win over UW in Seattle. In November, at Bloedel Donovan Park on Lake Whatcom, they pummeled the Huskies, 5-1. Carr’s long throws led to three of the goals, and Joe Peterson scored twice.
In what proved to be the final week of the Western Washington Soccer Conference’s existence, Western virtually clinched a fourth consecutive title with a scoreless draw at runner-up Seattle U. Following the season, the WWSC dissolved, to be replaced by the expanded Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference.
Lasting History, Lasting Bonds
While Western Washington would slip from contention in their remaining years as a club and the start of the varsity program in 1981, their feats from 1968-71 would be historic. In the combined, 26-year existence of the WWSC and NCSC, no other men’s program won four consecutive shared or outright championships.
Seattle University’s Zavaglia still holds great respect for his team’s adversary.
“They were a team that deserved recognition and probably never got it,” said Zavaglia. “There was a lot of admiration for Western. What I loved about them is they never gave up and had a great work ethic. I was in awe that they were so tough but great guys. You’d go drinking with them afterward.”
The bonds of those teams have held strong. There have been active, long-distance relationships between individuals and reunions. The latest reunion, organized by Gary Byron and held in Bellingham, came on the 50th anniversary of the fourth championship, in 2021. “A lot of beers drunk and lies told,” quipped Miles.
“What a great bunch of guys and really close, really tight,” said Mills, who went on to a 48-year career in radio broadcasting. “It was a tremendous atmosphere of friendship that remains to this day. We have a lot of fun, a really good time getting together, exchanging emails or texts. It brings back those days.”
Said Mills: “My two years playing for Western are still two of the best years of my life.”
Forever they will be known as the guys who refused to give up. They easily could’ve quit, well before even reaching the 1993 NCAA Championship game.
Instead they stood strong, stood together and, ultimately,
prevailed.
For the record, Seattle Pacific’s fifth national title was won in workmanlike fashion against reigning champion Southern Connecticut. But that match was anticlimactic in comparison to the epic semifinal two days earlier.
(Joanie Komura photo/Frank MacDonald Collection)
Seattle Pacific and top-ranked and undefeated Florida Tech played a game for the ages. The sleepy Space Coast city of Melbourne, Florida was forced to stay awake well past midnight to learn the outcome of the 4 hour, 7 minute marathon.
FIT followers firmly believed the Falcons had been put to bed early after the Panthers pulled ahead by two goals, 5-3, in overtime. But SPU refused to surrender, and went forward in numbers as All-America sweeper James Dunn pulled-on the keeper shirt to become an 11th attacker.
Travis Connell’s header closed the gap to 5-4 with 62 seconds left. Then in the dying moments a loose ball fell fortuitously to the feet of record-setting scorer Jason Dunn, James’s identical twin. From the right flank Dunn uncorked a low 25-yard drive which caromed into the net off a lunging defender – just as the clock expired.
The two teams played another 30 minutes of sudden-death overtime before finally settling matters in a gut-wrenching, 13-round penalty-kick shootout. James Dunn, still in goal, made two saves, Jason converted two kicks, and SPU won the tiebreaker, 10-9.
Although physically (an injured James Dunn was unable to play) and emotionally spent, some 44 hours later Seattle Pacific parlayed an early goal by Dominic Dickerson and clutch goalkeeping All-American Marcus Hahnemann (served red card suspension in semi) into a 1-0 result against Southern Connecticut.
During that off day, in between the semifinal and final, Jason Dunn was asked about those dying seconds of the overtime, when all hope seemed lost. Immediately after the goal was scored, Dunn whirled and ran, screaming, past the celebrating SPU bench. What was his cry? “That’s why you never give up!”
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It was a big game, for sure. A chance for the Little School by the Canal to once again burnish its image as a collegiate soccer upstart. Oh, yeah, and have witnesses coast-to-coast.
Such was the set-up 40 years ago, when Seattle Pacific met Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the second game of the 1979 season. The Falcons were defending NCAA Division II champion and SIUE arrived in Seattle ranked No. 4 in all the land, having reached the Div. I quarterfinals the previous season. And a new cable network, hungry for live content, saw fit to televise it.
SPU coach Cliff McCrath, left, next to opening goal-scorer Mark Metzger.
The yellowed newspaper clippings reference the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Before long, it would become known by its acronym, ESPN.
“We were told, and we believe it was the first soccer game televised by ESPN,” says Cliff McCrath, the legendary SPU coach. ESPN had only been on the air for four days by September 11. Cable TV was relatively new and not available in many neighborhoods in Seattle, so in some ways the broadcast was no big deal at the time.
Only 20 million U.S. homes had cable at the time, and just 1 million carried ESPN. In Puget Sound, Viacom and Teleprompter cable systems served 73,000 homes, though not all had – or were aware that they had – the new all-sports station whose first live game broadcast was from the Slow-Pitch Softball World Series.
It’s been well over 30 years yet Peter Hattrup remembers rolling into a September 1983 practice.
Hattrup was a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University, and the Falcons were in Atlanta, wrapping up another extended early-season road trip. Having come directly from the airport to Georgia State’s training field, the players and coaches emptied out of their fleet of five shiny, black Lincoln Town Cars.
Trudging off the field following their own practice session, the Georgia State players were slack-jawed, to say the least.
From 1979 to 2000, Seattle Pacific regularly crisscrossed the country in search of games to satisfy NCAA standards.
“One guy said, ‘Damn, you guys travel in style. I thought it was the mafia pulling up,’” recalls Hattrup. “He asked how long we drove; I said we flew. Then he asked where we were staying; I said Peachtree Plaza. He said, ‘S***. You guys fly here and stay at the Plaza!?”
Indeed, for more than two decades SPU was easily the most traveled college soccer program on the planet. In an era when even the biggest D-1 powers were largely confined to the gas tank capacity of a school-issued van, the Falcons regularly crisscrossed the continent at 30,000 feet and drove the interstates in style.
This was no anomaly, no gimmick. Upon his hiring, coach Cliff McCrath was asked to create a national-class program in an area isolated geographically from soccer bastions. Furthermore, McCrath’s program was without a true home field for the first 29 seasons. To become the best requires rigorous tests. So, Seattle Pacific hit the road.
Up, Up and Away
An early season ritual, at first the road trip consisted of a handful of West Coast games. Soon enough, the Falcons took flight and eight dates became the norm, with destinations far, far away. Although 2,700 miles away, Miami was a frequent terminus.
Lincoln’s Town Car was synonymous with Seattle Pacific’s life on the road.
Even in this contemporary age where air travel has become an afterthought, only two in-state programs are slated to step foot inside the Eastern time zone this autumn. Combined, the Washington and Eastern Washington women will play four times. By comparison, during between 1981-94, five times SPU played four or more ET games on a single trip, not to mention other locales.
Wanted: Someone to supervise 300 kids 24/7 during summer, take 22 rowdy college boys cross-country to win a soccer championship in the fall, marry a couple on Saturday, christen a newborn on Sunday, keynote a corporate speech to hundreds first thing Monday and pull votes for a stadium initiative on Tuesday. Ten fingers not necessary. Sense of humor a must.
Unless your name happens to be Charles Clifford McCrath, there’s no need to apply.
Cliff McCrath often shares company with soccer’s royalty, in this instance Pelé.
On Saturday, Feb. 11, a true treasure of Seattle and soccer, Cliff McCrath, will be inducted into Seattle Pacific University’s Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. McCrath knows the drill. After all, it’s his 10th such enshrinement around the country.
Unlike the others, however, this will be celebrated on his turf, where since arriving 47 years ago he grew to be an outsized figure capable of accomplishing amazing feats for a sport that, at times, struggled to take hold.
When Seattle Pacific soccer alumni of a certain age inevitably gather, there’s no shortage of stories.
From tales of seemingly endless cross-country road trips to innumerable narratives regarding their leader, Uncle Nubby, there is plenty of fodder. And while hundreds of alums experienced final fours and dozens contributed to the Falcons’ five championships, there’s a certain reverence for those who did it first.
Two overtimes? Actually it was three.
By winning the 1978 NCAA Division II championship, SPU set in motion a Puget Sound tidal surge that would extend for more than 15 years and, some would argue, unceasingly to this date.
Upon returning home from Miami in early December of ‘78, Falcons coach Cliff McCrath, a.k.a. Nubby, took fast action on two counts. The first remains the most sensational and storied publicity stunt in our soccer community’s long and distinguished history. The second was to affirm the source of bounty McCrath molded into champions.
It was plain to see that Seattle Pacific was the beneficiary of leadership and coaching throughout Washington youth soccer, so he immediately drafted a letter to the statewide association.
“Eight of the starters came from the area,” McCrath notes. “Effectively, this national championship belonged to them; it was dedicated to them because these were their players.”
Many will dream, some will endeavor, but only one can be the first.
While the Sounders may now place a star above their crest, the side that first planted a flag at the summit in the name of Seattle is now about to be celebrated all over again.
On Feb. 11 Seattle Pacific University will induct the team that not only ushered in an era when the Falcons became the Northwest’s most decorated collegiate program but, more importantly, established a beacon, a belief, that teams from Puget Sound could be the best in the nation.
Wearing mesh jerseys McCrath purchased the night prior, SPU poses with its first treasure.
For nearly the first hundred years of soccer’s existence in Washington, it was a wilderness. Try as they might, to the rest of the land teams from these parts were unfashionable wannabes: Competitive within the region, yet not championship material. In 1978, SPU changed all that.
Simply put, in one muggy, arduous afternoon under a scorching Miami sun, a bunch of shaggy-haired boys under the direction of a seven-fingered coach blazed a trail into the future of Seattle area soccer that generations have followed ever since.
A Formidable Foe
Now as then, the opposition is oft-referenced as the Nigerian junior national team. In truth, Alabama A&M’s roster was only about half-Nigerian. But most of them started and the balance were largely Jamaican. The Bulldogs were defending NCAA Division II champion and ranked No. 7 among all divisions nationally. They would retake the mantle in 1979 and two years later, in 1981, AA&M would be Div. I runners-up.
As daylight dwindles on 2015 and we seal this calendar’s time capsule, why not thumb through the best team performances, and determine which will best prevail against the test of time.
Some Washington sides made some remarkable accomplishments in the past year, and here are the best of the best:
Seattle United B98 Copa – In April they defeated Crossfire Premier to become the state’s first Dallas Cup champion, and the boys just kept going, winning the state and regional titles before reaching the USYSA U16 final match in July
Seattle Reign – First professional club to win back-to-back regular season league championships, going 13-3-4 in NWSL despite losing Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe to national team duty for the better part of three months
Puget Sound women – Despite being eliminated in the Division III second round, the Loggers allowed only three (3) goals in 22 matches and became the state’s first unbeaten (17-0-5) women’s collegiate program Continue reading Washington’s 2015 Top Team Performances→
One the morning of Nov. 20, 1985, planes departed from the Midwest, Southern California and the East Coast carrying teams to Tacoma, Wash., for the NAIA Women’s Soccer Championships. They were all flying into what would become the strangest and one of the most controversial national finals in collegiate annals.
It was Thanksgiving Eve and by nightfall over a foot of snow would cover the grass of Baker Stadium on the University of Puget Sound campus. Semifinal games were slated to be played on that field two days later, posing a problem for Mike Jennings.
NAIA sponsored the first small-college championships for women’s soccer, beginning in 1984. Courtesy Mike Jennings.
It’s not as if Jennings needed more on his plate that Thanksgiving. He was the father of newborn twins earning around $3,000 as the Loggers’ coach. His role as tournament director was voluntary. He was also enrolled in the university’s physical therapy program.
