Fewer than three weeks before North Carolina field hockey’s season opener, Erin Matson looks out from her perch inside the facilities at Karen Shelton Stadium and onto the field. It’s not quite 9 a.m., and players are already warming up—and Matson is caught in wonder.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am to do this,” Matson says. “It hits you. I can’t believe this is my job. This is what I get to do. My boyfriend and I will be on FaceTime and I’ll say, ‘I can’t believe I’m the head coach of UNC.’”
Courtesy of Jeffrey A. Camarati/UNC Athletic Communications
Following the retirement of Karen Shelton—who guided the Tarheels to 10 national titles in 42 seasons at the helm—North Carolina announced Matson as coach. She graduated fewer than two months before taking over and will be one of the youngest head coaches in Division I at just 23 years old when the Tar Heels start their season Friday. She came off an accolade-studded career in Chapel Hill: Matson was a four-time national champion, three-time national field hockey player of the year and North Carolina’s all-time leading scorer.
Now, call her coach. It’s a slightly different title than captain. Matson was teammates with 21 out of the 28 players on North Carolina’s current roster, not to mention the players she is friends with and lived with, too. Already, Matson has had to pare back social activities and avoid jumping into scrimmages with her team.
Those existing relationships, though, have also been a strength. Matson was upfront and honest with the team when she thought about applying for the position.
“They were just like, Let’s do it. We’re behind you.” says Matson. “They’ve had that same attitude ever since. We have that foundation of a relationship. So, then it’s, ‘O.K., I'm not taking time to check in on how you’re doing because I don’t know. I’m taking time to check in on how you’re doing because I know who you are as a person, and I can read the situation and I’m here for you.’ It's a different relationship.
“I know they have my back, and they know I have theirs. I think their attitude every day—how much they want to succeed themselves but also do it together—is really empowering.”
The X’s and O’s will shift by necessity as the team changes from one led by Matson’s talent to one guided by her leadership. Without Matson driving the Tar Heels’ attack, the front line will rebuild in part through 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year Ryleigh Heck and freshman Charly Bruder. Both helped Team USA’s U-21 squad win gold at the Junior Pan American Championships and were named to the ’23 Women’s Junior World Cup roster. North Carolina will also have to recoup defensive losses left by the graduation of ’22 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Meredith Sholder and back Madison Orobono, and they’ll navigate the season under new captains Katie Dixon and Romea Riccardo.
Courtesy of Jeffrey A. Camarati/UNC Athletic Communications
In the interim, Matson has waded through the name, image and likeness–centered recruiting landscape, one that perhaps no coach is better equipped to face. She launched her own personal brand—ONE, named after the number she wore in college—in 2021, developed and coaches her own summer clinics and negotiated partnerships with other companies.
“It’s only going to become more and more prominent,” Matson says. “To be able to say I’m the only head coach who’s actually gone through it as a player is definitely a draw. It’s not like we’re at the level of football and basketball—which I’m grateful for—but it’s figuring out that balance and then using it as an advantage when we’re having recruiting conversations.”
And then there’s the off-field minutiae. Matson’s first contribution to the program as coach? Purchasing trash cans for the locker room. Matson receives updates as she makes her rounds of Karen Shelton Stadium. On this morning weeks before the season, she gets word that the carpet has been cleaned and checks it while she walks around.
As Shelton has told her, this is Matson’s program now. It’s her time. But Matson isn’t on her own. Shelton can still be seen at practices and offers advice when she notices something. Matson hasn’t been afraid to text the North Carolina coaching legend a quick question, either, or hop on the phone or grab breakfast together to spitball ideas.
Matson’s journey mirrors Shelton’s own. Shelton was a three-time national field hockey player of the year (as was Matson) and was hired by UNC following her collegiate career in 1981 at 23 years old (Matson will be about four months younger in her coaching debut). Shelton was part time when she joined North Carolina so that she could continue playing with the U.S. national team … and that’s where their paths will diverge.
Matson has put those dreams on hold, even with the 2024 Paris Olympics fast approaching.
Courtesy of Jeffrey A. Camarati/UNC Athletic Communications
“I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to Carolina if I gave 75% of my effort here and trained for 25%, and then also it wouldn’t be fair to my play for the U.S.,” says Matson. “This place deserves my energy, attention, everything. In a distant world, if the stars really align, there’s a rainbow arrow pointing me in that direction, then we’ll see. My gut says 2024 is probably way too soon for that. It’s going to take one full year of the cycle of what we do spring, fall, winter, summer, and it’s going to take me a couple of years to really feel like I have a total grasp on everything.”
For now, Matson will focus on what’s directly ahead. On Friday night, North Carolina will host Michigan in its season opener.
“It’s something I’ve laid in bed thinking about,” Matson says. “I’ve gone through the thought process of like, it’s going to be amazing. I'm going to look around, take it all in, see the girls running over to the bench and just be proud of them. But then I’m also like, Erin, you’re going to be focusing on winning a game.
“I don’t know what's going to happen, but it’s going to be special.”
