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 an ESPN 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. First up is Pam Baughman, a senior forward on the team from Fairfax, Va. Baughman netted Mason's first goal over North Carolina in the championship game on November 24, 1985 and was voted Overall MVP of the 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.
Pam Baughman Cornell currently lives in Front Royal with her husband, Glenn and their two children, Nicholas and Brian, both of whom have graduated college and are off exploring the country. Last month, Cornell completed a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail, trekking from Georgia to Maine - 2,189 miles in 161 days – and called it a great adventure!
Can you catch us up on what you are doing now?
I coach soccer for SYA in Centreville, Va., and currently work in the academy program for the U6, U7 and U8. I still love soccer. I love being on the field, I love playing and I love coaching, especially little kids. I also work at a local winery in the tasting room and in the vineyard. I enjoy sharing my love of wine with others and I enjoy being outside working in the vineyard.
After Mason beat UMass to advance to the championship game against North Carolina, what was the feeling from the team knowing they were going to play the national powerhouse UNC?
We definitely were not intimidated by UNC. We had tied them a couple of times and really believed it was our time to win. We were super excited to be in the finals, but we were calm and completely focused.
You scored the first goal for Mason against North Carolina in the 30th minute. What do you remember about the goal?
Lisa Gmitter crossed the ball from the right side of the field. One of the UNC defenders tried to clear it with her head, it was a poor clearance and the ball came out to about the top of the penalty box. I was making a run into the box and the ball fell right in front of me. I took a touch to settle it and then put it in the back of the net. I was pretty excited about the goal, but it was still pretty early and I knew we had a lot of game to go before we would be able to claim the championship.
As the 30th Anniversary of the Championship approaches, what do you remember when the clock hit 00:00, realizing you beat North Carolina and won the National Championship?
We won! I was just so happy. It was so awesome to see how happy everyone was - teammates, coaches, training staff, fans, family, students, the Athletic Department. It felt so good to watch everyone celebrate. I remember seeing my mom, dad and Glenn celebrating, it was awesome!
You were named the Overall MVP of the Championship. What did that mean to you?
It was cool to be the MVP. I really worked hard to become a good player, so it was a nice reward, but I was the MVP because of my teammates and my coaches.
What was the funniest or weirdest memory from the 1985 season that you remember?
Hank [Head Coach Hank Leung] having us do relaxations/deep breathing exercises and many of us simply falling asleep. Don't let college students lay down and close their eyes, they will fall asleep.
What life lessons did you learn from playing women's soccer at George Mason that you've been able to apply in your life?
I learned the true meaning of teamwork. We were a group of pretty good soccer players. We had a couple of superstars, but mostly we were good, hard working players. Our coach, Hang Leung, had a vision. He had in mind a certain way he wanted us to play and things were not really going our way until we decided to all get on the same page as our coach. We had all come from different soccer backgrounds and had different ideas about the way to play. There are many ways to play the game, but in order to be successful, you have to all play the same way. Life lesson learned; have a clear vision of how you are going to be successful.
There was also a second teamwork lesson learned. When working as a team, want success, not only for yourself, but more importantly for your teammates. I wanted to win the championship, but I really wanted my teammates and my coaches to be champions and they all deserved it. This was my motivation to work hard in training and to play my best in the games. I wanted to win the championship for Hank and the rest of the coaching staff because they all worked so hard and because they wanted it so badly. I wanted to win for Lisa Gmitter, Kim Maslin, Chris Tomek and Betsy Drambour because they were outstanding players and should be champions. I wanted to win for Sue Vodicka and Andrea Baines because they were our former captains and they had the most amazing attitudes, they deserved to be champs. On the final game day, I wanted to win for those teammates that didn't get into the game, because they were just as important to our team even though they didn't get to play that day. I wanted to win for every single one of my teammates. Life lesson learned; Want success, not only for yourself, but for those around you.
