Field hockey royalty: UNC earns 11th NCAA title and second straight in shootout thriller

CHAPEL HILL — For the 11th time in North Carolina program history and the second year in a row, the Tar Heels are NCAA field hockey national champions. In UNC’s first season under 23-year-old head coach Erin Matson, sophomore forward Ryleigh Heck buried a stroke in the sixth round to propel UNC to win the shootout 3–2 and the game 2–1 over Northwestern, after 80 minutes and two overtimes, before a standing-room-only crowd at Karen Shelton Stadium.

UNC blanks Cavs, win away from 11th NCAA field hockey title, second straight

In Erin Matson’s first season as the youngest Division I head coach in any sport, North Carolina is one win away from its 11th NCAA title and the Tar Heels’ second in a row. The No. 1 Tar Heels advanced with a 2–0 victory over No. 5-ranked Virginia in the NCAA tournament semifinals at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill after the teams split a pair of earlier meetings.

UNC field hockey back at No. 1, giving Heels three top-ranked teams

Coach Erin Matson’s Carolina field hockey team is back on top. The Tar Heels (8–1, 1–0 ACC) were the preseason No. 1 team, but Iowa supplanted them after the Hawkeyes’ 3–2 overtime win over UNC on Aug. 27. That gives Carolina three teams currently ranked No. 1, with Coach Anson Dorrance’s women’s soccer team and Coach Andrew DiBitetto’s men’s golf team also top-ranked. In addition, the football team is No. 14 and the men’s soccer team is No. 18.

Tar Heels fall out of top ranking in field hockey poll; Riccardo earns ACC honor

In the first Top 20 NFHCA poll since North Carolina garnered the top preseason ranking, the Tar Heels fell to No. 2 in the poll released Tuesday morning. The Tar Heels rebounded from a 3–2 Aug. 27 home overtime loss to Iowa, their first setback since 2021, to sweep a pair of games last weekend at the ACC-Ivy Challenge in Philadelphia. UNC beat Penn 4–0, then knocked off Princeton 2–1 in overtime, dropping the Tigers from No. 10 to No. 15.

Matson coaching era starts much like her playing career: with an impressive win

CHAPEL HILL — The transition from Erin Matson, one the best college field hockey players in the sport’s history, to Coach Erin is complete. As she leads many of her former teammates — including one who is older — the team calls the 23-year-old first-year head coach Erin. But there’s plenty of respect for Matson, whose top-ranked team beat No. 4 Michigan 3–2 Friday night in her coaching debut at Karen Shelton Stadium in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before a record crowd.