Nicole Cauzillo’s first glimpse of life in Ethiopia came from the back seat of a van as it swerved through the streets of the capital city, Addis Ababa.

Long after dark, drivers honked and jockeyed for position in Addis Ababa’s chaotic traffic. Children played in the streets. Cauzillo, a Northville, Mich., senior, sat back in her seat, taking it all in.

Hours earlier, Cauzillo and the rest of the Charlotte Eagles, a women’s semi-pro soccer team made up of former college standouts, had been greeted by local media and members of their sister team — the Addis Ababa Eagles — almost immediately after stepping off the plane.

It was the beginning of a whirlwind 15 days, from April 1-16, spent using soccer to introduce the word of God, perform mission work and support Ethiopia’s fledgling women’s professional league and its players. In the process, the Eagles overcame the Ethiopian women’s national team 3-2 behind two Cauzillo goals, all while battling the withering heat and struggling to adapt to an altitude of more than 7,000 feet.

“We got tired when we first got there just bringing our bags up the stairs,” Cauzillo said of the draining conditions.

Cauzillo said she quickly learned soccer in Ethiopia was completely different than the game she played in the United States. Mountains and a picturesque lake dominated by a herd of hippos flanked the team’s training camp outside Addis Ababa at Lake Lagano. The fields were more dirt than grass, and the grounds crew consisted of dedicated herds of cattle that self-fertilized and occasionally interrupted play.

But the players and love for the game? No different. Cauzillo said it was inspiring to see the hope and excitement the game of soccer brought the women and children she met during her two weeks in Ethiopia.

“There is so much poverty, hard work and all these things that take their joy away,” she said. “Soccer is one thing that really gives them joy.”

After completing her career at Kansas by leading the team with 5 goals last fall, Cauzillo said she was looking for an opportunity to continue playing when then Kansas volunteer assistant coach Jenny Anderson-Hammond, a former Eagles player, approached her with an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Eagles’ coach Sam Casey was looking for a player to fill out his roster for the team’s trip to Ethiopia. Cauzillo was offered the spot. She said the opportunity to combine her love of soccer and religious beliefs through mission work in Africa was impossible to pass up. Cauzillo said she had always wanted to perform mission work in Africa, but she never would have expected the effect the people there would have on her.

“I went to Ethiopia thinking ‘I have so much to give these people. I’m really excited to change their lives and fill up their lives,’” she said. “But I left being completely changed by them.”

Casey said although Cauzillo joined the group late, the team welcomed her with open arms. He said her enthusiasm, compassion for helping others and megawatt smile was contagious.

“She loves people,” Casey said. “I felt like every person she met, every kid she met, she was just so excited to meet them and speak with them. She always had a smile on her face.”

Cauzillo said she would remember the countless friendships she made among the women she played with and against for the rest of her life. None more so than the friendship that developed between herself and 19-year-old Ethiopian women’s national team prodigy and Addis Ababa Eagle, Birtukan.

“She is the Michael Jordan of women’s soccer there,” Cauzillo said.

After spending nearly two weeks training and playing together in Addis and at Lake Lagano, the two went head to head in the Eagles’ final game of the trip in front of a raucous crowd at the Ethiopian national stadium in Addis.

Following Cauzillo and the Eagles’ dramatic victory against Birtukan and the Ethiopian national team, the two swapped jerseys, a traditional sign of respect between players. Cauzillo said after the game Birtukan brought her to her home and introduced her to her family, an experience she will treasure the rest of her life.

In fact, Cauzillo promised to travel back to Ethiopia in December for a week to visit. She is even considering an offer to return in the summer of 2009 to play for the Addis Ababa Eagles in Ethiopia’s women’s league.

While Cauzillo plans on returning to Ethiopia, Birtukan may get the opportunity to make the trip to the U.S. Casey said the Eagles had already begun the process of getting Birtukan a visa to play in Charlotte this summer.

As for Cauzillo, she said she was counting the days until she can return to Ethiopia. After all, she made a promise.

“They remember promises,” Cauzillo said. “If they say they’re going to do something, they do it. I have to go back in December. I’ve left a part of my heart there.”

— Edited by Jared Duncan