Patterson Medal Winners
Matson, Erin
Erin Matson
- Induction:
- 2023
- Class:
- 2023
2023 – Erin Matson: Field Hockey (Chadds Ford, Pa.)
Led UNC to national championships in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. In 2021, the ACC Network named Matson one of the 10 best female athletes in the history of the ACC.
The National Player of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2022 and the only athlete in any sport to win ACC Player-of-the Year honors five times (granted an extra year to compete due to Covid-19). Earned first-team All-America and All-ACC honors in all five seasons and was the ACC Female Athlete of the Year for all sports in 2019. She is the first Carolina field hockey player to win National Player-of-the-Year honors in three seasons and was the Most Valuable Player in the 2020 and 2021 ACC Tournaments and 2019, 2020 and 2022 NCAA Tournaments.
Started all 101 games in which she played and led UNC to a 95-6 record in those games. That included a 46-0 record at home, a 12-0 mark with five titles in the ACC Tournament and a 15-1 record in the NCAA Tournament.
Matson finished her career No. 3 all-time in the NCAA in points and goals, the ACC’s all-time leader in points and goals and UNC’s career leader in points, goals and assists (tied). She compiled 137 goals and had 63 assists for 337 points, one of three collegiate players with 300 or more points and one of only eight with at least 200 points.
Her totals included a record 23 goals and 54 points in NCAA Tournament play, which she capped with the game-winning goal with 1:19 remaining in her final game in Carolina’s 2-1 win over Northwestern in the 2022 NCAA finals. She totaled six goals in four championship games, scoring at least one goal in all four.
She was named the head coach of the Tar Heels in 2023 following Karen Shelton’s retirement after 42 seasons.
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Led UNC to national championships in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. In 2021, the ACC Network named Matson one of the 10 best female athletes in the history of the ACC.
The National Player of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2022 and the only athlete in any sport to win ACC Player-of-the Year honors five times (granted an extra year to compete due to Covid-19). Earned first-team All-America and All-ACC honors in all five seasons and was the ACC Female Athlete of the Year for all sports in 2019. She is the first Carolina field hockey player to win National Player-of-the-Year honors in three seasons and was the Most Valuable Player in the 2020 and 2021 ACC Tournaments and 2019, 2020 and 2022 NCAA Tournaments.
Started all 101 games in which she played and led UNC to a 95-6 record in those games. That included a 46-0 record at home, a 12-0 mark with five titles in the ACC Tournament and a 15-1 record in the NCAA Tournament.
Matson finished her career No. 3 all-time in the NCAA in points and goals, the ACC’s all-time leader in points and goals and UNC’s career leader in points, goals and assists (tied). She compiled 137 goals and had 63 assists for 337 points, one of three collegiate players with 300 or more points and one of only eight with at least 200 points.
Her totals included a record 23 goals and 54 points in NCAA Tournament play, which she capped with the game-winning goal with 1:19 remaining in her final game in Carolina’s 2-1 win over Northwestern in the 2022 NCAA finals. She totaled six goals in four championship games, scoring at least one goal in all four.
She was named the head coach of the Tar Heels in 2023 following Karen Shelton’s retirement after 42 seasons.
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