By: Margo Rawlings

Sports Editor

After winning her 10th national championship last season, legendary University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Field Hockey coach, Karen Shelton, announced her retirement. The Tar Heels found their new head coach, a recent UNC field hockey graduate, Erin Matson, soon after. Matson, dubbed the Michael Jordan of field hockey, won four national championships as a Tar Heel, captaining the team for two years. She is the most decorated NCAA field hockey athlete in franchise history. 

The Tar Heels finished their regular season 12-3, earning a bye to the semi-finals of the NCAA National Tournament. There they faced the University of Virginia, winning 3-2. UNC took an early lead, putting two goals on the board in the first quarter. In the second quarter UVA constantly pressured UNC’s defense, drawing four consecutive short corners, leading to a UVA goal. The third quarter remained scoreless, but in the fourth quarter, UVA pulled their goalie to add another field player, leaving their cage open to the Tar Heel attack, resulting in a third goal. UVA scored a final goal before regular time ended, but fell short to the Tar Heels. 

UNC advanced to the finals against the Northwestern Wildcats. There was no score going into the third quarter, until UNC freshman Charly Bruder scored off a short corner. Northwestern quickly retaliated, with Peyton Halsey scoring off a penalty stroke within ten minutes. Neither team scored during double overtime, leading to a penalty shootout. In the end, North Carolina outshot Northwestern 14-8, winning their 11th national championship. 

Matson became both the first college coach to win a national championship in her first year of coaching, and the youngest head coach to win a NCAA title. When reflecting on her first championship win, Matson said it felt “insane. It still does not feel real…it’s just been a blur, a whirlwind, but beautiful. [I’m] so proud. It’s been quite the season, and there’s no group that’s more deserving.” When asked how she felt on the sideline throughout the final minutes of the game, she responded, “I used to never get nervous as a player…[But now I’m] giving the control away. I can motivate and prepare them, but once the whistle blows, they’re the ones doing it. And we have total belief in them every single day, every single game, but the nail-biters are definitely a lot more intense and the emotions are way higher.” 

Matson reflected on both teams’ performances in the final, explaining, “I don’t know what more you’d want in a national championship matchup than tied at the end of regulation, two overtimes, sudden death shootout, just a phenomenal atmosphere…Northwestern gave it their all. It was a great game, so props to them.”

(Source: NCAA, PBS News, UNC, USA Today)