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‘Michael Jordan of field hockey’: legendary player wins ACC title as 23-year-old coach
Matson filled massive shoes left by field hockey coaching legend Karen Shelton at North Carolina
Ayrton Ostly
USA TODAY
The UNC Tar Heels Field Hockey team won its seventh consecutive ACC championship in Charlottesville, VA on Friday, Nov. 3.
The North Carolina Tar Heels’ field hockey program is one of the best in the country. They are still on track with their young head coach who knows a little something about winning.
In 1981, Olympic field hockey player Karen Shelton became head coach and built the team into an annual title contender. From 1981 to 2022, Shelton and the Tar Heels won 25 ACC titles and made the national championship game 21 times, winning 10 of them.
Shelton stepped down following an undefeated season and national championship in 2022. The Tar Heels didn’t look far for her successor in 22-year-old Erin Matson who was just months removed from graduation..
Matson was one of the best players in the country for the Tar Heels in her collegiate career. Now, she’s continued the standard with another conference title in her first year at the helm.
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Erin Matson’s incredible college field hockey career
The Chadds Ford, Pa., native started her athletic career outside of field hockey. Softball and basketball were her first sports before she picked up field hockey at age six. By the time she was a teenager, Matson was regularly appearing for U.S. Women’s National Teams in field hockey. A standout career with Unionville High School helped her secure a spot with the Tar Heels in college.
As a freshman in 2018, Matson led the Tar Heels to an undefeated season en route to an ACC and national title. That’d become a theme throughout her career in Chapel Hill.
In 2019, Matson led the country with 81 points (33 goals, 15 assists) and the accolades grew as the Tar Heels enjoyed another undefeated, national title-winning season. Matson earned her first Honda Award as the nation’s best field hockey player.
Erin Matson (right) competed for Team USA in the FIH Womens Hockey World Cup in 2018.
Matson and the Tar Heels made it three in a row in the 2020 season. She led the nation in points again, the Tar Heels were national champions, and she earned her second Honda Award.
The 2021 season saw the Tar Heels win another conference title but were knocked out in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Matson still led the country in goals (27) and total points (64). She returned for a fifth season in 2022 and the Tar Heels earned their fourth national championship in five years with a 21-0 season.
Matson’s 28 goals and 66 points led the country again and she became just the second person to win three Honda Awards. The first? Shelton.
“The Michael Jordan of field hockey,” Shelton said of Matson. “There have been other great players but there’s not been a scorer like Erin.”
The 2023 Tar Heels field hockey season
Shelton’s retirement after the 2022 season left big shoes to fill; she’s the winningest field hockey coach in NCAA Division I history. For four decades she set a standard few programs could match.
So it made sense to call upon one of Shelton’s best players to take over on the sidelines.
“Erin is an outstanding leader who has a deep and thorough knowledge of the game,” Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a release announcing her hire. “She knows how to inspire, listen, teach and win – all qualities that that will translate well to the sidelines and make her a terrific head coach. We all look forward to supporting her as she transitions and leads in this this new role.”
The announcement came just a month and a half after her graduation ceremony.
“To say I’m excited and honored to be the head coach of the UNC field hockey program is an understatement – this is a dream come true,” Matson said in the release.
The Tar Heels fell 3-2 in overtime to Iowa in their second game of the season. It marked the team’s first loss since 2021 but preceded an eight-game winning streak. A 12-3 regular season earned a bye to start the ACC tournament.
A 3-2 win over Virginia in the semifinals earned a spot in the championship game Friday night against Duke. As she did many times on the field but now on the sideline, Matson led the Tar Heels to victory for their seventh consecutive ACC title.
“I thought it was special celebrating on the turf and between the white lines and now being able to watch them celebrate something that is so well-deserved, it’s totally indescribable,” Matson said after the win.
She becomes the first coach in ACC field hockey history to win a conference title in her first season.
The Division I field hockey championship starts Wednesday, Nov. 8 with opening rounds at campus sites. The semifinal and championship games will be played at the Tar Heels’ home turf: Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill.
