In 1985, George Mason opened the season with a 3-3 tie against North Carolina and finished the regular season with a 14-2-1 record. The Patriots opened the NCAA Tournament defeating William & Mary 3-2 on penalty kicks, advancing to face Cortland State. After Mason defeated Cortland State 1-0, the Patriots blanked Massachusetts 3-0 to reach the Championship game against North Carolina on Nov. 24. Mason hosted both the semi-final and championship games and in front of a stadium crowd of 4,500 and millions in the first nationally televised NCAA Championship game, George Mason topped three-time defending champion North Carolina 2-0 to claim the title.
As the 30th Anniversary of the George Mason Women's Soccer 1985 National Championship approaches, GoMason.com will catch up with several members of the 1985 squad. Up next is Meg Romaine, a senior midfielder on the team from Brick, N.J. Romaine started all four tournament games for the Patriots, helping lead the team to a National Championship. George Mason will celebrate the Anniversary of the Championship and host Alumni Weekend this season, October 24-25 when the Patriots host George Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Meg Romaine Ashley lives in Centreville, Va. with her husband of 24 years, Kent who was a member of the George Mason baseball team that was the first team to qualify for the NCAA Regionals in 1985.
Can you catch us up on what you are doing now?
I taught physical education for seven years in the Fairfax County Public School system, the last four of which I worked with severely, profoundly disabled and MMR students. My main career has always been coaching, though. I have at various points coached junior varsity and varsity basketball and soccer at several local schools. I've also coached local travel teams throughout the years and for several teams in the Virginia State Olympic Development Program. I have also been the head coach for the girls' varsity soccer program at Paul VI Catholic High School for the past 26 years. I was just recently elected to the school's Hall of Fame and feel very honored for the privilege!
Mason shutout three opponents to win the National Championship. How did the backline help the team to victory?
The backline was amazing, as always! Sheryl (Walters) Hellmuth, Sis (Koskinen) Lowry, Kim Crabbe and Betsey Drambour were the best defenders in the country! I remember, as a tri-captain along with Sis and Pam (Baughman) Cornell, attending a pre-tournament press conference. The first question they asked us was about UMass, who was undefeated at the time, and was going to be our opponent in the semi-finals. The question was how we were going to handle their potent offense and extremely fast front runners. I guess considering that they were ranked #1 at the time, we were the underdogs going into that game. But I feel like the question disrespected our team and defense, like we were supposed to be scared and worried about playing them. So my response was, “Well we have a couple of fast defenders of our own. I'm sure we'll just man mark them and let the chips fall where they may.”
What transpired: we completely shut them down; we held them without a goal, and I'm not sure their vaunted offense ever even crossed midfield! And we beat them 3-0, scoring more goals on them in one game, in one half, than they'd given up all year. Enough said!
What did it feel like when you took the field against North Carolina for the championship game? What were your emotions?
Oh my gosh! I was so nervous! I always get butterflies before a game, even to this day when I'm coaching. But that day, wow! I really felt nauseous! There was so much at stake! My fellow seniors and I were so close to our goal of winning a National Championship, we could all taste it! I don't know if it showed, but I felt like I was shaking during warm-ups. Without a doubt, it was the biggest game of my life! The first thing I decided to do was to seek and destroy on the first 50/50 ball I could find! I needed the physical contact because it allowed me to focus and settle into the normal flow of the game!
What did you do when the clock hit 00:00 and you won the National Championship?
I cried! LOL! Like a baby! It was such a release of so many memories, emotions and feelings that I hadn't even realized had accumulated and built up leading to the last weekend of my career. I jumped around into the arms of so many of my teammates in glorious celebration! My favorite moment was when they handed me, Sis and Pam the trophy! I gave it a big, wet, sloppy kiss!
The National Championship game had a record crowd of 4,500 people. What do you remember about the crowd?
That it was BIG!!!!
To a player, none of us had ever played in front of a crowd like that; it was ridiculous! There were people everywhere, ringing around the fence around the field! That was one of the reasons I was so nervous. Our pregame routine was to get ready in the Field House and then come down the walkway together as a team. As we were descending down to the stadium, I'll never forget the sight of all those people. It was so awesome and amazing! To have so much support from not only the community of Northern Virginia, but from so many fellow Mason student groups, teams and administrators was so incredible, heartwarming and inspiring. And then the butterflies began rumbling…
The final game was nationally televised…how did that impact the team? Did you ever watch it? And if so, what was your reaction to watching the game on TV?
Well, we were absolutely excited that we were going to be on TV, that's for sure! It was the first time ever that a women's championship game of any kind was televised! It was tape delayed, and of course, because we won, I watched and taped it (remember VHS tapes?) so I could re-watch it over and over! It's not every day that you beat your biggest arch rival for the first-time ever in the national championship, on TV no less! It was also the first time UNC failed to win the championship. So having it on TV for the world to witness was delicious! ESPN had placed an advertisement banner on the fence, which I snagged after the game. And I still have it hanging on a wall in our office at home to commemorate the occasion!
Also, the color analyst for the game was Seamus Malin. I grew up in New Jersey and was a big fan of the old New York Cosmos of the defunct NASL. I grew up watching him provide commentary for all those games. And during the broadcast of our championship, he made a small, but very complimentary comment about an off the ball run I had made at one point of the game. When I was watching the game afterwards and heard it, I was absolutely stoked!! I couldn't believe that Seamus Malin mentioned me! Sweet icing on the cake!
Any memorable quotes Coach gave you leading up to the tournament? Or the final game?
My memory has faded a bit in the 30 years since that magical moment. So I enlisted the help of some of my bff's for some input and Sue Vodicka reminded me of a poem by Guillaume Apollinaire that Hank quote right before we went out to the field that helped fire everyone up:
“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can't, we're afraid!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can't, We will fall!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
And so they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.”
