Senior Spotlight: Leila Evans

In the final days of the 2018 season, as the top-ranked Tar Heels prepare to play in the NCAA semifinals on Friday and hopefully move on to the championship game on Sunday, GoHeels.com will spotlight the seniors ending their UNC careers this weekend. Read on for more on Leila Evans, a forward and business administration major from Charlotte, N.C.

Matt Penner
UNC Athletic Communications

            Though her family had come to Chapel Hill to watch a football game, Leila Evans ventured over to Henry Stadium to watch the field hockey team. She instantly fell in love with the sport.
            "I played field hockey but wasn't like super into it in like middle school," she says. "Went to a few games, and then started playing competitively."
            Because her mom attended UNC, Evans grew up a Carolina fan. She recalls knowing everything about Dean Smith. However, the day she saw her first Carolina field hockey game shifted her focus from being a fan to becoming a student-athlete.
            When Evans arrived at Carolina, she found herself playing a diminished role at Carolina compared to her high school days. In high school, she captained and starred in three sports, but as she points out, all of her UNC teammates were elite high school players. Playing time is not easy to come by at one of the nation's top programs.
            "Once I figured it out, I've so much more enjoyed it than trying to fit some role that's not me," she says. "The coaches have helped me realized that, and I've just kind of had to say, 'I've given it my all, but this is the role I need to play,' and that's being a leader beyond just the field."
            Evans keeps her teammates focused on the game from the sideline, pointing out things her teammates on the field may not see and keeping the bench in the game. She's a naturally vocal leader, helping her excel in her role.
            Evans redshirted her freshman year, but has seen action the last three years. Though she's a reserve, Evans has scored three goals in her career, two of them this season against Cal and Ball State.
            Regardless of her role, Evans admires her team's ability to set everything else in life aside to have fun on the field. She also points out the coaches "do such a great job of balancing each other out." But Shelton's motto that her players are "beautiful, strong, powerful women" stands out to Evans. Together, she believes the staff empowers them to win on game day and prepare for life after Carolina.
            Off the field, Evans is co-president of UNC's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, which represents the concerns of student-athletes to athletic department administrators and helps formulate solutions. She also serves on the UNC Honor Court and in the Kenan-Flagler Business School's finance society.
            "It's a lot of fun just to meet all types of people from all different organizations. I really enjoy it," she says.
Evans will graduate from Kenan-Flagler in May and go to work for Wells Fargo in New York City. She received a job offer this fall after interning there this summer. Her coaches and teammates all understood and supported her decision, though she will be leaving behind a year of eligibility.
"It was hard to give up one year of eligibility," she says, "but it was just the best decision for me to take that offer and start my career."

Players Mentioned

Leila Evans

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