Matson Records Hat Trick and Scores Game-Winner As UNC Field Hockey Downs No. 17 Virginia

Talk about closing the regular season in style.

Erin Matson made her return from injury count, notching a hat trick for the UNC field hockey team Friday night at No. 17 Virginia. Her third goal came in sudden-death overtime, and gave Carolina a thrilling 10th win of the season.

For UNC, it's the second game in a row with a 3-2 result in OT. This time the Tar Heels are on the right side of that score ⤵️#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/3vqLSLE9qC

— Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) October 29, 2021

Matson had missed the previous three games for Carolina with an injury, but made her mark immediately upon returning to the field.

Her first goal gave Carolina a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. Matson calmly dribbled through the Virginia defense and almost to the lip of the cage before firing her shot, a perfectly placed bullet into the far corner. She scored her second on a penalty corner in the second quarter, this one from farther out but no less deadly.

It appeared the Tar Heels may take a multiple-goal advantage into halftime, but a surge from the Cavaliers late in the quarter evened up the score before the break.

Defenses dominated in the second half, with neither team able to find the back of the cage. The 2-2 score held into overtime, with a key defensive play from Eva Smolenaars preventing a Virginia win. Smolenaars found herself alone in front of the cage with a Cavalier attacker, and got just enough of her stick on a crossing pass to deflect the ball away. Without Smolenaars’ intervention, Virginia would have had a wide-open shot.

Just two minutes later, Matson and Jasmina Smolenaars broke out on a two-on-two opportunity. After her defender fell down, Matson received a pass from Smolenaars in the circle, but stood with her back to the cage and the Virginia goalie wrapped around her feet. Matson was able to dislodge herself and fire a turnaround shot, which deflected off a Virginia defender. It caromed straight back to Matson, who this time converted a point-blank opportunity to conclude a breathless overtime period. Her third goal of her hat trick not only won the game, but also gave her the ACC’s all-time record in goals with 103.

“It was a great game by two good teams, hard-fought both ways,” said head coach Karen Shelton after the game. “I thought UVA had the better of us in the first half even though it was tied at halftime. But I thought our Heels fought hard, we turned on some aggression, and we gained an intercept mentality that was lacking in the first half.

“Of course, it’s great to have Erin Matson back,” she added.

With a 4-2 ACC record (10-6 overall), UNC is the No. 3 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament, to be played on the campus of Syracuse University. Carolina will play No. 6 seed Wake Forest in the opening round on Thursday, November 4. UNC defeated the Demon Deacons on the road 1-0 earlier this season.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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Matson Records Hat Trick and Scores Game-Winner As UNC Field Hockey Downs No. 17 Virginia

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