Matson Hits Milestone As Tar Heels Top Duke

Friday, October 8

Chapel Hill

7 PM

North Carolina

(8-4, 2-1ACC)

Duke

(4-8, 0-4ACC)

Duke

North Carolina

The Tar Heels celebrated a 4-1 win over Duke and Erin Matson's 100th career goal on Friday.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 8, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Senior Erin Matson scored three goals – including the 100^th of her career – to lead the ninth-ranked North Carolina field hockey team to a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over visiting Duke Friday evening. In front of a packed house under the lights at Karen Shelton Stadium, the Tar Heels scored four in a row to earn the win after trailing the No. 22 Blue Devils early.

UNC, which hosts No. 10 Liberty on Sunday, improved to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Duke fell to 4-8 (0-4 ACC).

"I'm really proud of the team," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I thought we were hesitant in the first quarter and allowed Duke to dictate the game – they were beating us to balls and intercepting and really putting pressure on our team. We played a little bit better in the second quarter and then at halftime we could really talk about the things we needed to do in the second half. I'm proud of the team for executing and getting the goals when we needed them. We started to gain some confidence and string passes together, and of course Erin Matson was just incredible."

What a night! 🤩 A comeback win over Duke and a milestone hat trick for @erinmatsonn 💯 Check out the highlights here ⤵️#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/2QdFbelwdy
— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) October 9, 2021

The Blue Devils took an early lead, scoring on a penalty corner in the eighth minute of play. The home team trailed until just 1:42 remained before halftime, when Carolina drew its only penalty corner of the second quarter and third of the game. Paityn Wirth had the insert and Romea Riccardo the stickstop to provide the assists on Erin Matson's shot and tie the game up 1-1 at halftime.

After six shots total in the first half (Duke had seven), the Tar Heels exploded for 10 in the third quarter alone, scoring on two of them. In the 41^st minute of play, Matson stole the ball from a Blue Devil at the far sideline and carried it into the circle. Just inside the arc she sent a hard shot into the far corner of the cage for a 2-1 Tar Heel lead and her second goal of the night.

Just over two minutes later, Carolina added another. On a penalty corner, senior Cassie Sumfest took the shot and freshman Jasmina Smolenaars got her stick on the ball to deflect it past Duke keeper Piper Hampsch and into the cage. "Jasmina had a nice deflection," Shelton said. "I'm proud of her – she played a very good game."

Leading 3-1 in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels were awarded a penalty stroke after Hampsch fouled UNC's Wirth. Matson got the call and sent a shot just inside the right post for a 4-1 Tar Heel lead, a hat trick on the evening, and the 100^th goal of her career.

Matson left the game in the closing minutes with an injury to her right pinky finger. After a quick postgame celebration with her teammates, she received medical treatment from the UNC Sports Medicine staff.

"She's a very special player and I'm proud of her for achieving this milestone," Shelton said. "Of course, many more to come. She's exciting to watch and she works so hard to create her attack. She doesn't just wait for the ball to be delivered to her – she earns it back, she defends, she tackles and creates offense. And she's unselfish and gives up the ball when somebody else is in a better position."

Matson is the 13^th player in NCAA Division I history and the third in ACC history to score 100 goals. She already holds the program record for goals and is now one away from tying the conference mark, held by Virginia's Meridith Thorpe, who scored 101 for the Cavaliers between 1995-98.

No. 9 UNC 4, No. 22 Duke 1
Scoring: DU – Eva Nunnink (Lily Posternak, Lexi Davidson), 7:23; UNC – Erin Matson (Paityn Wirth, Romea Riccardo), 28:18; UNC – Matson, 40:44; UNC – Jasmina Smolenaars (Cassie Sumfest), 42:54; UNC – Matson (penalty stroke), 47:24
Shots: UNC 19 (3/3/10/3), DU 16 (3/4/3/6)
Penalty corners: UNC 6 (2/1/3/0), DU 10 (3/3/2/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 6 (Abigail Taylor, 60:00, 1 goal allowed, 6 saves); DU 8 (Piper Hampsch, 55:01, 4 goals allowed, 8 saves; Team, 4:59, 0 goals allowed, 0 saves)
Records: UNC 8-4 (2-1 ACC), Duke 4-8 (0-4 ACC)