The North Carolina Tar Heels’ hockey program is one of the best in the country. They’re still on track under a young head coach who knows a thing or two about winning.
In 1981, Olympic hockey player Karen Shelton became head coach and built the team into an annual championship contender. From 1981 to 2022, Shelton and the Tar Heels won 25 ACC championships and made 21 national championship appearances, winning 10 of them.
Shelton resigned after an undefeated season and a national championship in 2022. The Tar Heels didn’t look too far ahead in their search for her replacement, 22-year-old Erin Matson, who is just months away from graduation.
Mattson was one of the Tar Heels’ best players in the country during his college career. Now, she’s continuing that standard by winning another conference title in her first year at the helm.
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Erin Matson’s Incredible College Hockey Career
The Chadds Ford, Pa., native began his athletic career outside of hockey. Softball and basketball were her first sports before she started playing field hockey at age six. By the time she was a teenager, Marson regularly competed for the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team. A stellar career at Unionville High School helped her earn a spot on the Tar Heels in college.
As a freshman in 2018, Mattson led the Tar Heels to an undefeated season and ACC and national championships. That became a theme throughout his career in Chapel Hill.
Mattson led the nation with 81 points (33 goals, 15 assists) in 2019 and his accolades grew as the Tar Heels posted another undefeated national championship season. Masson won his first Honda Award as the nation’s top hockey player.
Mattson and the Tar Heels have won three straight games in the 2020 season. She once again led the nation in points, the Tar Heels became national champions and she won her second Honda Award.
During the 2021 season, the Tar Heels again won the conference championship but were eliminated in the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Mattson still leads the nation in goals (27) and total points (64). She returned for her fifth season in 2022, and the Tar Heels went on to win their fourth national championship in five years with a 21-0 season.
Mattson once again led the nation with 28 goals and 66 points, becoming only the second person to win three Honda Awards. first? Sheldon.
“The Michael Jordan of hockey” Sheldon talks about Mason. “There are other great players, but no scorer like Erin.”
2023 Tar Heels Hockey Season
Shelton retires after the 2022 season, leaving a lot of holes. She is the winningest field hockey coach in NCAA Division I history. For four decades, she set a standard that few programs can match.
So it makes sense to let one of Shelton’s best players take over the sideline duties.
“Erin is an outstanding leader with a deep and thorough knowledge of the game,” Tar Heels athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a press release announcing her hiring. “She knows how to Motivating, listening, teaching and winning – all of these qualities will” “Her presence on the sideline is great and make her an excellent head coach. We all look forward to serving her as she transitions and leads in this new role support.”
The news comes a month and a half after her graduation ceremony.
“I’m excited and honored to be the head coach of the University of North Carolina lacrosse program, and that’s an understatement — it’s a dream come true,” Masson said in the release.
The Tar Heels lost to Iowa 3-2 in overtime in their second game of the season. It was the team’s first loss since 2021, but they had won eight games in a row before that. A 12-3 regular season record led to a chance at the ACC Tournament.
A 3-2 victory over Virginia in the semifinals earned a spot in Friday night’s championship game against Duke. As she has done so many times on the court, but now on the sidelines, Mattson led the Tar Heels to their seventh consecutive ACC title.
“I think it’s special to celebrate on the turf and between the white lines and now to be able to see them celebrate something so deserved is completely indescribable,” Mattson said after the win.
She became the first coach in ACC hockey history to win the conference championship in her first season.
The Division I field hockey tournament will host its first round game on campus Wednesday, Nov. 8. The semifinals and championship game will be played at the Tar Heels’ home court: Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill.
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