Category Archives: Washington Soccer

Early Days, Know Your History, NW Collegiate Soccer, Washington Soccer

The Whole Sixteen Goal Story (Part 1)

Soccer’s history is glutted with millions of matches where one, two or three goals are scored. So when perusing a local club’s all-time results, it reads much like binary code, with a few crooked numbers thrown in. But just when the eyelids are feeling very heavy, out of nowhere a whopper of a score line appears.

This is the story behind one such score line which, given contemporary conditions, seems inexplicable. Ah, but context is everything.

For the region, it’s about two intra-city rivals vying for a chance to make history. For Washington state’s most established men’s collegiate program, it’s a story of how a proud program can reach it’s then-zenith and nadir, all in the span of some 20 hours.

washington_huskies-logo1959It’s the tale of a shotgun playoff, bending the rules between friends, a critical yet costly play and the extenuating circumstances surrounding not only the University of Washington’s first excursion outside the Northwest, but also their initial invitation to the NCAA tournament.

Innocence Lost Continue reading The Whole Sixteen Goal Story (Part 1) →

Know Your History, USWNT, Washington Soccer

When National Team Was Made in Washington

Every four years there’s an expectation that the United States will win the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and that’s no different in 2015, especially after America’s advancement to the final.

That expectation, that belief, is very much grounded in history and the U.S. National Team’s conquests early on. The reason we truly believe we will win is because, early on, we did.

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Anson Dorrance, right, has made UNC women’s soccer the foremost collegiate sports dynasty with 22 national championships. (Courtesy UNC)

In 1991 Anson Dorrance took a young team to China and promptly won the first World Cup. A few years later they won the first Olympic Games and in 1999, of course, the USWNT doubled their number of World Cup stars at the Rose Bowl.

Continue reading When National Team Was Made in Washington →

Know Your History, MLS Sounders, US Soccer, Washington Soccer

Soccer Hall Beckons (And There’s room For More)

It’s probably a good thing that induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame is a byproduct of job well done rather than an objective from the outset. Otherwise, seeing what must be undertaken over years and years would seem overwhelming. Why, it would be enough for a coach to consider accounting.

In assessing the careers of Kasey Keller and Sigi Schmid it seems they should’ve locked-up an invitation to the Hall long ago. They appear to have what it takes in spades.

KaseybobbleFor Keller, he was tracking toward this day for more than 20 years,
beginning in 1989 when he shined at that U20 World Cup. By 2005 he’d been U.S. player of the year three times, made three World Cup rosters, broken new ground for Americans in Europe and blanked Brazil in a performance for the ages. Yet he kept on going for another six seasons, in the end coming home to remind those in MLS what we’d been missing all those years. Continue reading Soccer Hall Beckons (And There’s room For More) →

Know Your History, MLS Sounders, Washington Soccer

USMNT: Grown in Washington

So exactly when did DeAndre Yedlin become an old man? Answer: The moment this list of of the youngest capped homegrown Washingtonians was compiled.

Tuesday night in Dublin, Mercer Island native Jordan Morris became the ninth Evergreen State native to play for the US Men’s National Team while under the age of 21. In fact, at only 23 days past his 20th birthday, Morris is the second-youngest on the list, behind Everett native Chris Henderson. Now Sounders FC sporting director, Henderson (19 years, 119 days) is the only teen on the list.

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On Tuesday, Sounders FC Academy product Jordan Morris became the second-youngest Washington native to earn a full cap for the USMNT (Courtesy Sounders FC)

Morris is currently a Stanford sophomore and product of the Sounders FC Academy. In the U.S. loss to Ireland (4:1) he came on in the 76th minute for Timmy Chandler.

Continue reading USMNT: Grown in Washington →