Seattle, a bit unlucky to miss the playoffs last year, still has a solid roster and master coach Laura Harvey. “There was talk of getting [Franz] Beckenbauer to play in the States,” Roy said. They still managed to hold on to the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The smallest crowd – 4,725 – turned out at Soldier Field to watch the Spurs defeat the St Louis Stars 2-1; club officials claimed tornado warnings kept the numbers down.