Fairfax, Va. -- George Mason women's soccer alumnus Meg Ashley (formerly Romaine, pictured right side) reminisced on winning the 1985 national championship in an interview recently. She was instrumental in GMU's efforts in taking down the powerhouse University of North Carolina, 2-0. After many setbacks and hardships, Ashley and the Green and Gold were able to climb to the pinnacle of women's collegiate soccer, just three years after being founded as a club sport in Ashley's freshman year.
When asked what the national title meant to her, Ashley stated that "the desire to win the championship was stronger than ever after coming up short the previous years. Being able to fulfill that dream of finally defeating North Carolina meant the world... to not only the rest of the seniors and myself, but to the younger players... who rallied behind us and bought into the one goal we all shared, winning a national championship".
Ashley was "incredibly lucky that the assistant athletic director at the time had the foresight to bid on hosting the NCAA tournament. It brought the whole campus together, strangers were coming up to us in the week leading up to the championship match and wishing us luck". The tournament drew crowds of unprecedented volume, a record 4,500 people were in attendance for the showdown between the Patriots and Tar Heels. "It was the most incredible atmosphere" said Ashley, "I had never played in front of more than 100 or 200 people... seeing my family and friends in that sea of spectators fired us up even more".
When speaking to being coached by Hank Leung, Ashley remembered "he was a visionary who was my first real coach... everything I know about soccer, I learned from Hank". She first met Coach Leung at a US regional soccer camp, which served as a pipeline for the national team. Ashley remembers he was "emotional, colorful, and most of all, motivating". Ashley recalled a story about birds taking their first flight, and she recalls that "it fired the whole team up, we were ready to take on anyone at that point".
Meg Ashley realized early on in the season that her squad was going to accomplish something special that season. In a game against UNC early on in the season Ashley and the Patriots found themselves down 3-1 at the half. She recalls that "nobody on the team was afraid or backing down. That spirit told me that we had a real chance to accomplish our goal of winning a national championship". George Mason went on to score two unanswered goals to leave Chapel Hill with a 3-3 tie. "That was huge for our team spirit and morale", Ashley said. "The adversity we overcame in the second 45 minutes taught us all that we can bounce back stronger from a setback such as that one".
Ashley has remained close to soccer since graduating from George Mason University. She went on to become the head coach of the Paul VI girl's varsity soccer team for 26 years, being elected to the school's Hall of Fame, a very high honor. Ashley also coached various travel teams throughout the years, spending several years in the Virginia State Olympic Development Program. Additionally, she taught physical education in the Fairfax County Public School system, working with disabled and MMR students.
George Mason Athletics is looking forward to honoring Meg Ashley, along with the rest of the 1985 National Championship team, on Saturday, September 20 at 6 p.m. The Patriots will be taking on conference opponent George Washington at George Mason Stadium.
