Aug. 30, 2005

Twenty years ago today the 1985 women's soccer team began their memorable journey with a 3-3 tie at North Carolina in the first regular season match of the season. Twenty games later something historic happened in Fairfax. A group of 23 women from seven different states came together to achieve an extraordinary goal. Just four years after having played its first-ever varsity match, the George Mason women's soccer team claimed the school's first National Championship on November 24.

A year earlier, George Mason had won the right to host the NCAA Final Four in women's soccer, hoping that the Patriots would be one of those elite teams. When the Final Four began in late November, Mason found itself still alive after a 3-2 win on penalty kicks over William & Mary in the opening round and a 1-0 win over Cortland in the quarterfinals. Mason was, at best, an underdog heading into the Final Four. While the Patriots had defeated Colorado College in the regular season, the other two teams at the championship had weighty credentials. There was North Carolina, which had tied Mason 3-3 in the season opener and was the most respected program in the nation. The Tar Heels had won all three previous national championships. UMass, meanwhile, was 16-0, had allowed just two goals all season while outscoring the opposition 68-2, and had downed UNC 2-0 earlier in the year.

November 23, 1985 was a sunny Saturday in Fairfax and 4,000 people showed up to see George Mason take on top-ranked UMass as the Minutewomen were looking for their 17th-straight win.After sitting through a scoreless first half, the fans finally got to see what so many of them had come for - a Mason goal. At the 56:40 mark, Chris Tomek took her only shot of the day, a 5-yarder that deflected into the net to put the Patriots ahead. Buoyed by the lead, Mason needed less than six minutes to add to it, as Cathy Moon connected on a 7-yarder from the left corner to put Mason ahead, 2-0. Mason added an insurance goal with less than a minute to play when Dana Hedin made a 10-yarder from the corner. The Patriots had scored more goals in one game against UMass then the Minutewomen had allowed all year. Lisa Gmitter finished the day with two assists while Tomek had a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Kim Maslin had her third straight shutout.

Sunday, November 24, was also a sunny day. This time, a then-NCAA record 4,500 people showed up to see if the Patriots could deny North Carolina its fourth-straight NCAA women's soccer title. The Tar Heels were 18-1-1, with a loss to UMass and a tie at the hands of George Mason. But UNC had championship experience. The Tar Heels entered the match 10-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament while Mason was 4-3. Accompanying Mason out on to the field were the bad memories of two years earlier, when Mason had lost to UNC in the national finals, 4-0. In the previous three championship matches, the Tar Heels had not allowed a goal.

That string of dominance in the finals ended less than 30 minutes into the 1985 championship match. Pam Baughman, a senior from Fairfax, scored the biggest goal in George Mason history, a 10-yard blast from the left corner past goalie Kathleen O'Dell. The goal raised the tension on the field, as for the next hour, the Patriots fought to hold off each UNC charge while the Tar Heels desperately looked for a chink in Mason's armor.

No weakness was ever exposed as Gmitter iced the game on a pass from Baughman with fewer than five minutes to play, sealing the national title with a 2-0 win.

Baughman was named the tournament's MVP while junior Betsy Drambour earned Defensive MVP honors. Also earning all-tournament honors for Mason were Maslin, Gmitter and Kim Crabbe.

How historic was the victory for Mason? Considering that the program was only four years old, that Mason had never won a national championship in any sport, and that North Carolina went on to win nine straight national titles beginning that historic streak the following season, it's fair to say that Mason's 1985 women's soccer national championship was one for the record books.