Tag: UNC Field Hockey

Ryleigh Heck captures well-deserved National Player of the Year honor

UNC Field Hockey sophomore Ryleigh Heck, who scored the winning shootout goal in the 2023 National Championship, is also Player of the Year.

If it weren’t for sophomore Ryleigh Heck, there’s a strong chance the UNC Field Hockey team wouldn’t be celebrating its 11th National Championship.

With the Tar Heels and Northwestern Wildcats failing to break a 1-1 tie in overtime, a shootout ensued. Carolina took a one-goal lead in the shootout, only for Northwestern to score two straight and grab that lead right back.

UNC tied the shootout at two on its next attempt, which then set up the visiting Wildcats for a sudden death conversion attempt. Tar Heels goalie Maddie Kahn saved Northwestern’s attempt, which then gave Heck a chance to win it all.

Heck did exactly that, drawing Wildcats goalie Annabelle Skubitz out of net. Heck spun around, put the ball on her stick, then blasted it into the goal and sent Chapel Hill into pandamonium.

As a result of her National Championship performance, which was just a microcosm of her successful Year Two as a collegiate field hockey player, Heck was tabbed the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s National Player of the Year.

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Heck ended her sophomore season with 13 goals, second-most on the Tar Heels behind freshman Charly Bruder, who started the title game scoring with a 33rd-minute tally. Heck and Bruder were the lone Tar Heels with double-digit goals, as Paityn Wirth was the next closest with seven goals.

With Heck expected to come back next year, barring a transfer, UNC should be a favorite to repeat and capture its 12th Natty.

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Ryleigh Heck’s shootout goals helps UNC capture 11th Field Hockey title

A Maddie Kahn save kept UNC in the NCAA Field Hockey National Championship, then a Ryleigh Heck shootout goal ended it.

If not for a desperation save by Maddie Kahn in the second overtime of Sunday’s NCAA Field Hockey National Championship game, UNC might not be standing where it is now.

Because of that sprawling save, which came on an odd-woman rush for Northwestern, the Tar Heels had a chance to win in a shootout.

That’s exactly what UNC did.

After falling behind by a goal in the overtime shootout, sophomore Ryleigh Heck completed the comeback with a goal of her own, giving the Tar Heels a 2-1 and helping them capture their 11th National Championship.

UNC took a 1-0 lead in the shootout, then missed on its next couple attempts. Northwestern took advantage of this, jumping ahead 2-1 (in the shootout) and needing just one Annabel Skubisz save, to capture its second title in three years.

Carolina tied things up on their next shot, then went into sudden-death shootout mode. Kahn came up with another clutch save, then Heck sent Chapel Hill into pandamonium with her game-winner.

UNC extended its record for most national championships, moving two ahead of Old Dominion and winning it all for the second straight year. What makes this year’s natty that much more impressive however, was that it came in Erin Matson’s first year as head coach.

Matson is arguably the greatest player in program history, plus one of the most decorated Tar Heels across all sports. She helped UNC win the ACC Championships in all five seasons as a player (2018-2022), in addition to four National Championships (2018-2020, 2022).

The fact that Carolina is already finding championship-level success, with a first-year head coach, bodes really well for the future.

But for now, the Tar Heels are going to bask in the glory of their new title.

UNC Women’s Field Hockey punches ticket to title game

The UNC Women’s Field Hockey team will play for the national championship on Sunday afternoon under Erin Matson.

Erin Matson had a historic playing career at the University of North Carolina leaving a legacy that will be tough to match. And now, in her first year as the head coach, Matson has the program back in the national championship.

With a 2-0 win on Friday over Virginia in the Final Four, Matson’s Tar Heels have punched their ticket to Sunday’s title game.

Ryleigh Heck’s goal was all UNC needed as she scored to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead over the Cavaliers. They added another goal in the third quarter with Sietske Brüning’s penalty score. That sealed the deal as the Tar Heels kept the Cavaliers from scoring.

With the win, UNC moves on to the title game and will play either Duke or Northwestern at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

UNC is looking for the program’s fifth tile in the previous six years, winning four since 2018. They have been in the title game in each of the last six years, with the only loss coming to Northwestern in 2021.

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Tar Heels play Cavaliers Friday for spot in Field Hockey title game

The UNC and UVA field hockey teams split their two matchups earlier this year. When they play Friday, it’ll be for a spot in the title game.

When it comes to consistent success in collegiate sports, there’s few teams better than the UNC field hockey squad.

The Tar Heels (16-3, 5-1) have 10 NCAA Championships, which is most all-time and one spot ahead of Old Dominion. They’ve won four out of the past five national titles, including last year, when they won all 21 games.

Carolina’s ( head coach is Erin Matson, who at 23 years old in her first season as head coach, is the youngest coach in ALL of Division-I sports. Matson is the ACC’s all-time leader in goals (137) and points (337) – a transition to coaching was natural for her.

Matson and the 2023 UNC fockey squad aren’t done yet. They play ACC rival UVA (14-6, 3-3) on Friday at 12 p.m. ET – this time in the NCAA Tourney Final Four – with home-field advantage almost sure to come at Karen Shelton Stadium.

Carolina downed 9-seed Harvard pretty comfortably on Friday, Nov. 10, defeating the Crimson by a 4-2 mark. UVA did the same on Friday, blanking 4-seed Maryland by a 4-0 score.

The Tar Heels and Cavaliers split their two matchups this season – a 3-2, regular-season Cavs win in Charlottesville on Friday, Oct. 20, then a 3-2 Heels victory in the ACC Tourney Semifinals – also in Charlottesville.

The stakes are a little higher this time, with the winner playing in Chapel Hill on Sunday for the National Championship, at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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Erin Matson leads Tar Heels to seventh-straight ACC Field Hockey title

Erin Matson is the greatest field hockey player to come through UNC. She just led Carolina to its seventh-straight ACC title as head coach.

Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm and Andrew Miller are just a few of many great athletes to come through UNC.

MJ is widely-regarded as the greatest basketball player of all-time, Mia Hamm is considered the greatest women’s soccer player to walk this earth, while Andrew Miller is arguably the best baseball player to ever don a Tar Heel uniform.

How about 4-time national champion Erin Matson, Carolina’s head field hockey coach, who is the youngest in all of Division-I sports?

Matson won ACC titles in every season as a field hockey player (2018-2022), plus NCAA crowns in four of five years (2018-2020, 2022).

She just led the Tar Heels to their seventh-consecutive ACC title, as they downed archrival Duke, 2-0, on Friday night in Charlottesville, Va.

What Matson did as a player is nonetheless impressive. It might be the greatest collegiate career among a Tar Heel – and that’s really saying something, with all the All-Star athletes to play in Chapel Hill.

What Matson’s done as a coach is just as impressive, if not more than her playing career.

Think of all the Carolina sports you’ve watched over the years. How many coaches come in, especially at the young age Matson (23) is, and find immediate success?

UNC sits at 14-3 heading into NCAA Tournament play, as it’ll play again on Friday, Nov. 10. The Tar Heels went all of September without a loss, winning eight straight games.

Who will Matson coach against next? Find out on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. ET, when the NCAA Field Hockey tournament brackets are released.

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Tar Heels squeak by Monarchs in field hockey thriller

The UNC field hockey program, under the guidance of former player and first-year head coach Erin Matson, sits at 4-1 after Sunday’s victory.

The post-Karen Shelton era for UNC field hockey is off to a solid start.

After 42 years leading a program with the most championships all-time, Shelton turned things over to Erin Matson, who helped the Tar Heels win four national championships. Shelton collected 745 wins in her time as UNC head coach, making her shoes extremely difficult to feel.

If there’s anyone that can continue leading the Heels to victories, it’s Matson.

So far, in her first year as head coach, Matson is doing a stellar job.

On Sunday afternoon in Norfolk, Va., UNC raced out to a 2-goal lead and held on for a tightly-contested, 2-1 victory over Old Dominion University.

The host Monarchs are second all-time in championships with nine, dominating the 1980’s and 90’s but not appearing in a single NCAA Tournament since 2013.

Paityn Wirth scored Carolina’s first goal just under four minutes in, deking out ODU goalie Suus Broers and finding the back corner of the net. Charly Bruder extended the Heels’ lead to 2-0 with a one-timer in the fourth quarter, only to be followed by a Monarch goal moments later.

Sitting at 4-1 with its only loss to top-ranked Iowa, the UNC field hockey program is in good hands.

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UNC Field Hockey captures 10th national championship

The UNC Women’s field hockey team captured its 10th national championship by beating Northwestern on Sunday.

The University of North Carolina captured another national championship on Sunday afternoon and it sent off [autotag]

Erin Matson on top.

 

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With Matson’s career over, the Tar Heels captured the program’s 10th national championship beating Northwestern 2-1. The Tar Heels got on the board first with a 1-0 lead on a penalty goal and held that was deflected in by Ryleigh Heck.

Northwestern would tie the game up at 1-1 with just under two minutes left in regulation. But Matson, doing what she does, came up with the clutch goal at the 1:19 mark to give UNC the 2-1 lead for good and the title.

UNC’s defense stimied the Wildcats, not allowing a shot until the fourth quarter of the game. After UNC got the early lead, they controlled the game before that late goal.

The win helped the Tar Heels finish the year 21-0, completing the perfect season. It’s also the fourth title for the Tar Heels in the past five seasons.

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Tar Heels field hockey punches ticket to national title game

Erin Matson helped the UNC field hockey team punch its ticket to the national championship game on Friday.

The legacy of Erin Matson continues on for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Matson scored two goals and had an assist in Friday’s 3-0 win over Penn State in the NCAA Tournament semi-finals to send the Tar Heels to the national championship game this weekend. And it extended her career by one more game as well.

Matson scored early on in the 22nd minute to give UNC a 1-0 lead and then added another at the 41-minute mark. She then assisted on Paityn Wirth’s goal in the 49th minute. The Tar Heels defense had no trouble with Penn State, shutting them out behind Abigail Taylor in goal.

It was a big win for the Tar Heels who had control after Matson’s first goal of the game.

The 20-0 Tar Heels will look to win its 10th national championship and will face off against the winner of Maryland and Northwestern on Sunday.

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