Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Play Their Best ... For Leslie
November 12, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 7, 2002
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - Bowling Green's soccer team celebrated Leslie Dawley's life Wednesday by playing the game she loved.
Dawley, an 18-year-old freshman on the Falcon soccer team, unexpectedly collapsed and died Tuesday afternoon during a Mid-American Conference quarterfinal match with Buffalo at Cochrane Field. The match was postponed after Dawley was taken from the field and resumed Wednesday morning.
The Falcons played Wednesday in their black uniform tops, shorts and socks wearing armbands with Dawley's No. 18 on them. Some team members also wrote the No. 18 on the tape used to hold their shin guards in place.
Team members, the coaching staff and the majority of the estimated 700 fans in attendance, wore yellow ribbons to remember Dawley.
"We just wanted to go out there and play for Leslie; do our best and try our hardest to win," said BG's Julie Trundle, a freshman who scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the second overtime. "She was a great person; we're all going to miss her.
"I think it was important to go out and show respect for Leslie," Trundle added. "She would want us to be out here. She wouldn't want us to not play today. It was real important for us to come out and play our best."
Included in the crowd were BGSU student-athletes, Falcon coaches, BGSU employees, relatives of the players and even a woman from Waterville, whose daughter plays on the Eastern Michigan soccer team. She didn't know Dawley, but said she felt she had to be there to lend support.
"This university is a wonderful university to be a part of and I think we've come through today and shown a lot of class from every single person who was present today," said BG head coach Andy Richards.
There were also several signs in the crowd, expressing their support, including one which read "Women's track loves Falcon soccer."
"We played for Leslie and it can't be any better," said BG's Erika Flanders, the team's goalkeeper and captain. "The girl always had a smile on her face. Every time she was on the field, she was laughing about something.
"She loved it here," Flanders continued. "During preseason she wanted to go home so bad, but we kept her here. There was not a day when she wasn't like, 'I'm so glad to be here now.'"
Before the game, Richards was presented with a planter of flowers from Buffalo coach Jean-A. Tassy. The planter was placed on the table at midfield where the substitutes report.
The Buffalo players then each gave a yellow rose to their BG counterpart and a moment of silence was held before the match started as players, coaches and the officials held hands at midfield.
"Our captains got together and decided that's what they wanted to do and I think it was appropriate," Tassy said of the roses.
"We decided also to do our warmup away from this space to give Bowling Green an opportunity to mourn."
The yellow roses were left by the Falcons in the center spot on the field after the game.
"We asked for pride, we asked for respect, we asked for dignity and I thought we got all that and more," Richards said. "We're pleased that we could honor Leslie's life and her success and her short period at Bowling Green by such a great, fantastic victory today.
"The game started off in a very strange atmosphere," Richards added. "But as each minute ticked by, I think we gradually got into the competition of it and so did Buffalo and it ended up being a tremendously exciting game."
The members of the Falcons' women's soccer family gathered at Richards' home Tuesday night, to remember Dawley.
At that time, the team was unsure of whether to continue the match. Richards relayed to the team it was the wish of Dawley's parents, Greg and Wendy, that the Falcons continue.
After meeting with Richards, it was a restless night for the players as they battled their emotions in an effort to get some rest.
"It was difficult to sleep," Trundle said. "Everybody was up basically all night, tossing and turning. We got a couple of hours of sleep, but not much though."
The lack of rest, the emotional trauma and stress associated with a teammate's death and all the pregame activity was draining for the Falcons.
"I thought after the first few minutes of the game, once we got over it was such a huge occasion, I thought they played tremendously well," Richards said. "All of these players just managed to find the heart because they wanted to do it in the memory of Leslie Dawley.
"I have never been a part of any athletic event that has been so emotional with so many twists and turns," Richards added.
"The whole game was just full of emotion. That's pretty much what we played on," Flanders said. "The girls were exhausted. Half of them had been up all night. We haven't really been eating very properly."
Buffalo scored first, but the Falcons were able to tie the score on Kristy Coppes' goal at 62:17. After scoring, Coppes touched the No. 18 armband as she ran to midfield to celebrate with her teammates.
The game was still tied at the end of regulation and remained that way through the first 15 minutes of overtime. After a foul was called in the box, Trundle was called upon to take the penalty kick.
A freshman classmate of Dawley, Trundle was able to calm her nerves and drill the ball into the back of the net to give her team a 2-1 win.
Bowling Green advances to play Miami Friday in the MAC semifinal at 2 p.m. The semifinal winner advances to Sunday's championship match.
"The fact that we have to go again and play on Friday, I think it gives them some structure that we really need right now," Richards said. "The (BG soccer) family is tight and it's a wonderful family to be a part of and I hope it continues for as long as possible."
Flanders said the team was taking the process, one day at a time. The team was headed to Miami today, with the tournament banquet scheduled for tonight.
Dawley's funeral is at Moreland Funeral Home in Westerville on Monday.
