The North Carolina Tar Heel field hockey dynasty continues – under a history-making rookie head coach.
Erin Matson, who took over the Tar Heels program this season after winning four nationals championships as a player, won another one as a coach on Sunday as UNC defeated Northwestern 2-1 following a penalty shootout in the title game.
North Carolina also defeated Northwestern 2-1 in last year’s NCAA championship game, with Matson scoring the winning goal.
After two overtimes failed to break a 1-1 tie, Ryleigh Heck converted a penalty shot for the winning goal to lift UNC (18-3) to its fifth national title in six years and 11th overall in school history.
At age 23, Matson becomes NCAA’s youngest Divison I head coach to win a national championship. The three-time national player of the year took over for legendary coach Karen Shelton, who retired at the end of last season after 42 years at the helm.
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