University of North Carolina Athletics
Matson, O'Connor Win 2022-23 Patterson Medals
June 23, 2023 | Field Hockey, General, Wrestling
CHAPEL HILL – The 100th class of Patterson Medal winners, awarded to the University of North Carolina's most outstanding student-athletes, includes three-time field hockey National Player of the Year Erin Matson and two-time wrestling national champion Austin O'Connor.
Patterson Medals are determined primarily on career athletic accomplishments. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Recipients must have competed in at least three seasons for the Tar Heels and concluded their collegiate eligibility. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered in selecting the awards.
Matson, who concluded her playing career with a fourth national championship in November, was named Carolina's head coach in January, succeeding Hall of Famer Karen Shelton, who won a record 10 NCAA titles.
Matson is the seventh field hockey player to win a Patterson Medal, the fifth in the last dozen years and third in the last five. Matson led UNC to national championships in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.
O'Connor is the fifth wrestler to win the award, the first since Rob Koll in 1988 and the third since 1955.
Matson is one of the greatest collegiate field hockey players ever and one of the most decorated individuals to compete for the University of North Carolina. In 2021, the ACC Network named Matson one of the 10 best female athletes in the history of the conference.
The Chadds Ford, Pa., native was the National Player of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2022 and is the only athlete to win ACC Player-of-the Year honors five times. She 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.
Matson started all 101 games in which she played and led UNC to a 95-6 record in those games (she missed three games due to U.S. National Team obligations in 2019 and three due to injury in 2021). 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.
She was the Most Valuable Player in the 2020 and 2021 ACC Tournaments and 2019, 2020 and 2022 NCAA Tournaments.
"Everyone who has been around Carolina for a while appreciates the great significance of the Patterson Medal – it's presented to the best of the best," says Shelton. "Erin set a new standard for our program and achieved so much success, in the form of both team championships and individual honors. She's a phenomenal talent but also an extremely driven person, and that made her great. I have so much appreciation for our UNC tradition, so it's thrilling for me to see her name on this list of our university's all-time greats, and she absolutely belongs there. Congratulations to Erin, and also to Austin, on this huge honor."
Matson is No. 3 all-time in collegiate field hockey 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 players with 300 or more points and one of only eight with even 200 points.
Her totals include 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.
It was her 34th game-winning goal and second in an NCAA title game – she also scored the championship-winner in overtime to defeat Michigan in 2020. She scored a goal in 82 of her 101 games, including 13 hat tricks and four games with four goals, including the 2019 national semifinals vs. Boston College.
Matson earned a degree in public relations and advertising, graduating last December. She was the ACC's Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year for field hockey in 2021 and earned four Academic All-ACC honors.
O'Connor won his first NCAA title in 2021 at 149 pounds and capped his 131-win career with a second title in 2023, this time at 157 pounds. He was the Tar Heels' first NCAA wrestling champion since three-time winner T.J. Jaworsky (1993-94-95), the only other multiple-time national champion in Carolina wrestling history.
"Austin has represented UNC, Carolina Athletics and our wrestling program at an exceptional level on the mat, as well as in the classroom and community," says head coach Coleman Scott. "We are proud and excited to see him win a Patterson Medal. People will remember Austin as one who helped changed the trajectory of our program for this generation, and he will rightly be remembered as our first five-time All-America and a two-time national champion."
O'Connor was selected ACC Wrestler of the Year in 2021 and 2023, becoming the seventh overall and second Tar Heel to win the award multiple times. He is Carolina's 10th three-time conference champion, and went 31-3 against ACC competition, including ACC Championship matches.
The Lockport, Ill., native finished third nationally at 149 pounds as a freshman in 2018, earning the first of his five trips to the podium at the NCAA Championships. He earned his second All-America award in 2020, when he was the No. 2 seed at the national meet which was subsequently canceled due to the pandemic.
His 2021 NCAA title capped an undefeated 13-0 season. He placed eighth the following season after suffering a knee injury, then returned to the top of the platform as the No. 1 seed in the bracket in 2023, defeating No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State, 6-2, in the championship bout.
A 2023 finalist for National Wrestler of the Year, O'Connor also earned two Scholar All-America awards from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He was graduated from UNC with a double major in exercise and sports science and communication studies and earned a Master of Arts in educational innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.
100 Years of Patterson Medal Winners
1924— Monk McDonald (men's basketball, football, baseball)
1925— M.D. Bonner (football)
1926— Jack Cobb (men's basketball)
1927— Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928— Galen Elliott (men's track and field)
1929— Henry Satterfield (men's basketball)
1930— Ray Farris Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)
1931— Henry House (football, baseball)
1932— Staton McIver (football)
1933— Stuart Chandler (football)
1934— Virgil Weathers (men's basketball)
1935— Harry Williamson (men's track and field)
1936— Harry Montgomery (football)
1937— R.D. Buck (football)
1938— Andy Bershak (football, men's basketball)
1939— George Nethercutt (baseball)
1940— George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)
1941— Paul Severin (football, men's basketball)
1942— Bobby Gersten (men's basketball, baseball)
1943— Carlyle Thomas Mangum (men's track and field)
1944— Denny Hammond (men's swimming)
1945— E.B. Schulz (men's track and field)
1946— Jim Jordan (men's basketball)
1947— Walt Pupa (football)
1948— Jim Camp (football)
1949— Vic Seixas (men's tennis)
1950— Charlie Justice (football)
1951— Jimmy Thomas (men's swimming)
1952— Cecil Milton (men's swimming, men's tennis)
1953— Chalmers Port (baseball, football)
1954— Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)
1955— Albert Long Jr. (baseball, football, men's basketball, men's track and field)
1956— Jerry Vayda (men's basketball)
1957— Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)
1958— Buddy Payne (football)
1959— Dave Scurlock (men's track and field)
1960— Jack Cummings (football)
1961— Rip Hawkins (football)
1962— Ray Farris Jr. (football)
1963— Joe Craver (football)
1964— Bill Haywood (baseball, men's soccer)
1965— Harrison Merrill (men's swimming)
1966— John Shaw (baseball)
1967— Danny Talbott (football, baseball)
1968— Larry Miller (men's basketball)
1969— Bill Bunting (men's basketball)
1970— Charlie Scott (men's basketball)
1971— Don McCauley (football)
1972— Dennis Wuycik (men's basketball)
1973— George Karl (men's basketball)
1974— Tony Waldrop (men's track and field)
1975— Charles Waddell (football, men's track and field, men's basketball)
1976— Mitch Kupchak (men's basketball)
1977— Walter Davis (men's basketball)
1978— Phil Ford (men's basketball)
1979— Greg Norris (baseball)
1980— Bonny Brown (women's swimming)
1981— Lawrence Taylor (football), Al Wood (men's basketball)
1982— C.D. Mock (wrestling)
1983— David Drechsler (football)
1984— Sue Walsh (women's swimming)
1985— Ethan Horton (football)
1986— Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)
1987— Kenny Smith (men's basketball)
1988— Rob Koll (wrestling)
1989— Jeff Lebo (men's basketball)
1990— Shannon Higgins (women's soccer)
1991— Sharon Couch (women's track and field)
1992— Dwight Hollier (football)
1993— Kristine Lilly (women's soccer)
1994— Mia Hamm (women's soccer)
1995— Tisha Venturini (women's soccer)
1996— Marcus Jones (football)
1997— Debbie Keller (women's soccer)
1998— Antawn Jamison (men's basketball), Cindy Werley (field hockey)
1999— Ebenezer Ekuban (football), Cindy Parlow (women's soccer)
2000— Lorrie Fair (women's soccer), Tripp Phillips (men's tennis)
2001— Meredith Florance (women's soccer), Brendan Haywood (men's basketball)
2002— Katie Hathaway (women's swimming), Danny Jackson (men's soccer)
2003— Matt Crawford (men's soccer), Laura Greene (volleyball)
2004— Shalane Flanagan (women's track and field and cross country), Nicholas Monroe (men's tennis), Catherine Reddick (women's soccer)
2005— Jed Prossner (men's lacrosse), Alice Schmidt (women's track and field and cross country)
2006— Laura Gerraughty (women's track and field), Andrew Miller (baseball)
2007— Ivory Latta (women's basketball), Heather O'Reilly (women's soccer), Robert Woodard (baseball)
2008— Rachel Dawson (field hockey), Chad Flack (baseball)
2009— Dustin Ackley (baseball), Yael Averbuch (women's soccer), Tyler Hansbrough (men's basketball)
2010— Whitney Engen (women's soccer), Casey Nogueira (women's soccer), Chip Peterson (men's swimming)
2011— Corey Donohoe (women's lacrosse), Mateo Sossah (men's track and field), T.J. Yates (football)
2012— Katelyn Falgowksi (field hockey), Tyler Zeller (men's basketball)
2013— Kara Cannizzaro (women's lacrosse), Jonathan Cooper (football)
2014— Crystal Dunn (women's soccer), Eric Ebron (football)
2015— Caroline Price (women's tennis), Joey Sankey (men's lacrosse)
2016— Kristen Brown (softball), Marcus Paige (men's basketball), Emily Wold (field hockey)
2017— Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball), Ryan Switzer (football)
2018— Joel Berry II (men's basketball), Marie McCool (women's lacrosse), Kenny Selmon (men's track and field)
2019– Ashley Hoffman (field hockey), Luke Maye (men's basketball)
2020– William Blumberg (men's tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey)
2021 — Michael Carter (football), Sara Daavettila (women's tennis), Katie Hoeg (women's lacrosse)
2022 — Chris Gray (men's lacrosse), Sam Howell (football), Jamie Ortega (women's lacrosse)
2023 — Erin Matson (field hockey), Austin O'Connor (wrestling)
Recipients by Sport: Football 38, Men's Basketball 32, Baseball 16, Women's Soccer 14, Men's Track and Field 10, Field Hockey 7, Women's Lacrosse 5, Men's Swimming and Diving 5, Men's Tennis 5, Wrestling 5, Women's Track and Field 4, Men's Lacrosse 3, Men's Soccer 3, Women's Swimming and Diving 3, Women's Tennis 3, Boxing 2, Women's Basketball 1, Softball 1, Volleyball 1
Patterson Medals are determined primarily on career athletic accomplishments. Dr. Joseph Patterson first presented the medal in 1924 to honor the memory of his brother, John Durand Patterson.
Recipients must have competed in at least three seasons for the Tar Heels and concluded their collegiate eligibility. Sportsmanship and leadership are also considered in selecting the awards.
Matson, who concluded her playing career with a fourth national championship in November, was named Carolina's head coach in January, succeeding Hall of Famer Karen Shelton, who won a record 10 NCAA titles.
Matson is the seventh field hockey player to win a Patterson Medal, the fifth in the last dozen years and third in the last five. Matson led UNC to national championships in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.
O'Connor is the fifth wrestler to win the award, the first since Rob Koll in 1988 and the third since 1955.
Matson is one of the greatest collegiate field hockey players ever and one of the most decorated individuals to compete for the University of North Carolina. In 2021, the ACC Network named Matson one of the 10 best female athletes in the history of the conference.
The Chadds Ford, Pa., native was the National Player of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2022 and is the only athlete to win ACC Player-of-the Year honors five times. She 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.
Matson started all 101 games in which she played and led UNC to a 95-6 record in those games (she missed three games due to U.S. National Team obligations in 2019 and three due to injury in 2021). 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.
She was the Most Valuable Player in the 2020 and 2021 ACC Tournaments and 2019, 2020 and 2022 NCAA Tournaments.
"Everyone who has been around Carolina for a while appreciates the great significance of the Patterson Medal – it's presented to the best of the best," says Shelton. "Erin set a new standard for our program and achieved so much success, in the form of both team championships and individual honors. She's a phenomenal talent but also an extremely driven person, and that made her great. I have so much appreciation for our UNC tradition, so it's thrilling for me to see her name on this list of our university's all-time greats, and she absolutely belongs there. Congratulations to Erin, and also to Austin, on this huge honor."
Matson is No. 3 all-time in collegiate field hockey 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 players with 300 or more points and one of only eight with even 200 points.
Her totals include 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.
It was her 34th game-winning goal and second in an NCAA title game – she also scored the championship-winner in overtime to defeat Michigan in 2020. She scored a goal in 82 of her 101 games, including 13 hat tricks and four games with four goals, including the 2019 national semifinals vs. Boston College.
Matson earned a degree in public relations and advertising, graduating last December. She was the ACC's Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year for field hockey in 2021 and earned four Academic All-ACC honors.
O'Connor won his first NCAA title in 2021 at 149 pounds and capped his 131-win career with a second title in 2023, this time at 157 pounds. He was the Tar Heels' first NCAA wrestling champion since three-time winner T.J. Jaworsky (1993-94-95), the only other multiple-time national champion in Carolina wrestling history.
"Austin has represented UNC, Carolina Athletics and our wrestling program at an exceptional level on the mat, as well as in the classroom and community," says head coach Coleman Scott. "We are proud and excited to see him win a Patterson Medal. People will remember Austin as one who helped changed the trajectory of our program for this generation, and he will rightly be remembered as our first five-time All-America and a two-time national champion."
O'Connor was selected ACC Wrestler of the Year in 2021 and 2023, becoming the seventh overall and second Tar Heel to win the award multiple times. He is Carolina's 10th three-time conference champion, and went 31-3 against ACC competition, including ACC Championship matches.
The Lockport, Ill., native finished third nationally at 149 pounds as a freshman in 2018, earning the first of his five trips to the podium at the NCAA Championships. He earned his second All-America award in 2020, when he was the No. 2 seed at the national meet which was subsequently canceled due to the pandemic.
His 2021 NCAA title capped an undefeated 13-0 season. He placed eighth the following season after suffering a knee injury, then returned to the top of the platform as the No. 1 seed in the bracket in 2023, defeating No. 2 Levi Haines of Penn State, 6-2, in the championship bout.
A 2023 finalist for National Wrestler of the Year, O'Connor also earned two Scholar All-America awards from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He was graduated from UNC with a double major in exercise and sports science and communication studies and earned a Master of Arts in educational innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.
100 Years of Patterson Medal Winners
1924— Monk McDonald (men's basketball, football, baseball)
1925— M.D. Bonner (football)
1926— Jack Cobb (men's basketball)
1927— Ad Warren (football, boxing, wrestling)
1928— Galen Elliott (men's track and field)
1929— Henry Satterfield (men's basketball)
1930— Ray Farris Sr. (football, boxing, baseball)
1931— Henry House (football, baseball)
1932— Staton McIver (football)
1933— Stuart Chandler (football)
1934— Virgil Weathers (men's basketball)
1935— Harry Williamson (men's track and field)
1936— Harry Montgomery (football)
1937— R.D. Buck (football)
1938— Andy Bershak (football, men's basketball)
1939— George Nethercutt (baseball)
1940— George Stirnweiss (football, baseball)
1941— Paul Severin (football, men's basketball)
1942— Bobby Gersten (men's basketball, baseball)
1943— Carlyle Thomas Mangum (men's track and field)
1944— Denny Hammond (men's swimming)
1945— E.B. Schulz (men's track and field)
1946— Jim Jordan (men's basketball)
1947— Walt Pupa (football)
1948— Jim Camp (football)
1949— Vic Seixas (men's tennis)
1950— Charlie Justice (football)
1951— Jimmy Thomas (men's swimming)
1952— Cecil Milton (men's swimming, men's tennis)
1953— Chalmers Port (baseball, football)
1954— Miles Gregory (football, wrestling)
1955— Albert Long Jr. (baseball, football, men's basketball, men's track and field)
1956— Jerry Vayda (men's basketball)
1957— Lennie Rosenbluth (men's basketball)
1958— Buddy Payne (football)
1959— Dave Scurlock (men's track and field)
1960— Jack Cummings (football)
1961— Rip Hawkins (football)
1962— Ray Farris Jr. (football)
1963— Joe Craver (football)
1964— Bill Haywood (baseball, men's soccer)
1965— Harrison Merrill (men's swimming)
1966— John Shaw (baseball)
1967— Danny Talbott (football, baseball)
1968— Larry Miller (men's basketball)
1969— Bill Bunting (men's basketball)
1970— Charlie Scott (men's basketball)
1971— Don McCauley (football)
1972— Dennis Wuycik (men's basketball)
1973— George Karl (men's basketball)
1974— Tony Waldrop (men's track and field)
1975— Charles Waddell (football, men's track and field, men's basketball)
1976— Mitch Kupchak (men's basketball)
1977— Walter Davis (men's basketball)
1978— Phil Ford (men's basketball)
1979— Greg Norris (baseball)
1980— Bonny Brown (women's swimming)
1981— Lawrence Taylor (football), Al Wood (men's basketball)
1982— C.D. Mock (wrestling)
1983— David Drechsler (football)
1984— Sue Walsh (women's swimming)
1985— Ethan Horton (football)
1986— Brad Daugherty (men's basketball)
1987— Kenny Smith (men's basketball)
1988— Rob Koll (wrestling)
1989— Jeff Lebo (men's basketball)
1990— Shannon Higgins (women's soccer)
1991— Sharon Couch (women's track and field)
1992— Dwight Hollier (football)
1993— Kristine Lilly (women's soccer)
1994— Mia Hamm (women's soccer)
1995— Tisha Venturini (women's soccer)
1996— Marcus Jones (football)
1997— Debbie Keller (women's soccer)
1998— Antawn Jamison (men's basketball), Cindy Werley (field hockey)
1999— Ebenezer Ekuban (football), Cindy Parlow (women's soccer)
2000— Lorrie Fair (women's soccer), Tripp Phillips (men's tennis)
2001— Meredith Florance (women's soccer), Brendan Haywood (men's basketball)
2002— Katie Hathaway (women's swimming), Danny Jackson (men's soccer)
2003— Matt Crawford (men's soccer), Laura Greene (volleyball)
2004— Shalane Flanagan (women's track and field and cross country), Nicholas Monroe (men's tennis), Catherine Reddick (women's soccer)
2005— Jed Prossner (men's lacrosse), Alice Schmidt (women's track and field and cross country)
2006— Laura Gerraughty (women's track and field), Andrew Miller (baseball)
2007— Ivory Latta (women's basketball), Heather O'Reilly (women's soccer), Robert Woodard (baseball)
2008— Rachel Dawson (field hockey), Chad Flack (baseball)
2009— Dustin Ackley (baseball), Yael Averbuch (women's soccer), Tyler Hansbrough (men's basketball)
2010— Whitney Engen (women's soccer), Casey Nogueira (women's soccer), Chip Peterson (men's swimming)
2011— Corey Donohoe (women's lacrosse), Mateo Sossah (men's track and field), T.J. Yates (football)
2012— Katelyn Falgowksi (field hockey), Tyler Zeller (men's basketball)
2013— Kara Cannizzaro (women's lacrosse), Jonathan Cooper (football)
2014— Crystal Dunn (women's soccer), Eric Ebron (football)
2015— Caroline Price (women's tennis), Joey Sankey (men's lacrosse)
2016— Kristen Brown (softball), Marcus Paige (men's basketball), Emily Wold (field hockey)
2017— Hayley Carter (women's tennis), Justin Jackson (men's basketball), Ryan Switzer (football)
2018— Joel Berry II (men's basketball), Marie McCool (women's lacrosse), Kenny Selmon (men's track and field)
2019– Ashley Hoffman (field hockey), Luke Maye (men's basketball)
2020– William Blumberg (men's tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey)
2021 — Michael Carter (football), Sara Daavettila (women's tennis), Katie Hoeg (women's lacrosse)
2022 — Chris Gray (men's lacrosse), Sam Howell (football), Jamie Ortega (women's lacrosse)
2023 — Erin Matson (field hockey), Austin O'Connor (wrestling)
Recipients by Sport: Football 38, Men's Basketball 32, Baseball 16, Women's Soccer 14, Men's Track and Field 10, Field Hockey 7, Women's Lacrosse 5, Men's Swimming and Diving 5, Men's Tennis 5, Wrestling 5, Women's Track and Field 4, Men's Lacrosse 3, Men's Soccer 3, Women's Swimming and Diving 3, Women's Tennis 3, Boxing 2, Women's Basketball 1, Softball 1, Volleyball 1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
Midfield/Back
/ Field Hockey
Forward
/ Field Hockey
/ Wrestling
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