By R.L. Bynum
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.
“I was just trying to stay as calm as possible,” Matson said of her emotions before the game. “Everyone was like, ‘Erin, you’re calm,’ and I’m like ‘I’m just faking it until I make it,’ and taking it slow.”
Matson was glad that her family was there to give her a lot of distractions, and she kept busy, even wiping down tables on the balcony, in an attempt to keep her emotions in check.
“I just wanted it so badly for them,” Matson said of her players. “So, the nerves were honestly amplified. But it paid off and it was great. It’s a good feeling.”
Although one player called her Coach Erin at one point, no players call her Coach Matson.
“Most of them call me Erin,” Matson said. “The recruits call me Coach Matson, Coach Erin. It will just be one of those things that play out. We’ll see.”
Junior Lisa Slinkert scored two first-half goals to help make the start of the Matson Era memorable as fans packed the grassy banks to watch the historic evening. The crowd of more than 1,700 was the largest in stadium history.
“The atmosphere here tonight with the fans and under the lights and the energy the team brought? It was just incredible,” said Matson, who compared the atmosphere to the 2020-21 national championship victory over Michigan, in its last visit to Chapel Hill. “You’re not going to find this in America.”
Matson showed the same passion on the sideline that she did on the field, screaming at one point at the referees when they didn’t issue a card to a Wolverines player who took down one of her players and celebrating goals.
“I’m passionate,” she said. “Everybody knows that. They know how bad I want it for them. They want it just as much and they responded to my voice. They’ve heard it for five years on the field, you know, so it’s no different than coming from the sideline.”
After the game, Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham presented her with a jersey commemorating the first victory.
After scoring the game-winning goal to beat Northwestern to cap an undefeated national championship season a year ago, Matson is showing that she’ll do all she can to continue the extended success led by legendary retired coach Karen Shelton.
Shelton coached the Tar Heels to 10 national championships, and the Matson era has begun with win No. 1. If her team makes the Final Four in her first season, an extra perk is that Shelton Stadium will host the event.
She’s drawn rare preseason media attention for a UNC program other than the football and the basketball teams, which generally only The Daily Tar Heel (or this website) covers. Even though this is a program with rich tradition, it’s never drawn media coverage like this.
“When she was on the team she was already like a coach,” Slinkert said. “She talked to us a lot and she took a leadership role so not a lot changed, honestly.”
Michigan grabbed the lead when Juliette Manzur backhanded a shot past UNC goalkeeper Abigail Taylor in the 13th minute.
It didn’t take long for UNC to get the equalizer. As Michigan goalkeeper Caylie McMahon went to challenge senior Katie Dixon on a transition opportunity, the ball got tapped to the left, and Slinkert fired it into the net in the 17th minute.
Carolina seized control with two quick goals off corners late in the second quarter.
Senior midfielder Kiersten Thomassey pounced on a deflected crossing pass inches from the left part of the goal and scored. Slinkert — who scored seven goals last season — then rocketed a shot high into the goal 101 seconds later in the 27th minute.
Senior co-captain Romea Riccardo, the player older than Matson at age 24, assisted on the second of those two fast scores.
“I’m always nervous. But I feel like this game, I was more nervous than normal,” Slinkert said. “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it was Erin’s first game. Maybe it was just because there was such a big crowd. I think that played a big role, too.”
Those were UNC’s only conversion on nine corners in the game, but the Heels outshot the Wolverines 12–6.
“Corner execution will always be a focus of ours,” Matson said. “Tonight, our shots were a little off on the timing of things. It’s just the final details. They’ll get there, they know it. We’ll work on it all week and we’ll just continue to work on stuff.”
Midfielder Anouk Veen scored off a corner in the 57th minute to pull within a goal but couldn’t get off another shot.
Taylor went the whole way in goal for UNC to get the win.
NOTES — Carolina plays in the final game of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN3) against No. 7 Iowa, which beat No. 12 Wake Forest 4–0 in Friday’s first game. Michigan faces the Deacons at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. … Forward/midfielder Ashley Sessa, a second-team All-ACC pick last season as a UNC freshman, is on an Olympic waiver and has left the program. … This was the 20th time UNC and Michigan have played in the season opener in 22 seasons, with the Wolverines only winning three times. … UNC has five freshmen and two graduate transfers.
No. 1 UNC 3, No. 4 Michigan 2
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Location | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ACC/Big Ten Challenge | ||||
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–2 | No. 16 Michigan | Home | 1–0 |
| 27 | Sunday | L, 3–2 (OT) | No. 8 Iowa | Home | 1–1 |
| September | ACC/Ivy Challenge | ||||
| 1 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Penn | Philadelphia | 2–1 |
| 3 | Sunday | W, 2–1 (OT) | Princeton | Philadelphia | 3–1 |
| —————————— | |||||
| 10 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | No. 17 Old Dominion | Norfolk, Va. | 4–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 2–0 | No. 10 Louisville | Home | 5–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 22 | Friday | W, 3–0 | Wake Forest | Winston-Salem | 6–1, 2–0 ACC |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 6–1 | Appalachian State | Home | 7–1 |
| October | |||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 4–1 | No. 13 Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia | 8–1 |
| 6 | Friday | W, 3–1 | No. 14 Boston College | Home | 9–1, 3–0 ACC |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 2–1 (OT) | No. 7 Liberty | Home | 9–2 |
| 13 | Friday | W, 4–1 | No. 11 Syracuse | Syracuse | 10–2, 4–1 ACC |
| 15 | Sunday | W, 4–3 | No. 18 Albany | Albany, N.Y. | 11–2 |
| 20 | Friday | L, 3–2 | No. 5 Virginia | Charlottesville | 11–3, 4–1 ACC |
| 27 | Friday | W, 2–1 | No. 3 Duke | Home | 12–3, 5–1 ACC |
| November | ACC tournament | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | W, 3–2 | Semifinals: No. 4 Virginia | Charlottesville | 13–3 |
| 4 | Friday | W, 2–0 | Final: No. 3 Duke | Charlottesville | 14–3 |
| NCAA tournament Link to bracket | |||||
| 10 | Friday | W, 6–1 | First round: William & Mary | Chapel Hill | 15–3 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 4–2 | Second round: No. 9 Harvard | Chapel Hill | 16–3 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 2–0 | National semifinal: No. 5 Virginia | Chapel Hill | 17–3 |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 2–1, 2 OTs (UNC wins shootout 3–2) | Championship: No. 2 Northwestern | Chapel Hill | 18–3 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics Communication
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