Erin Matson began her second act at Carolina with a flourish on Friday night.

Matson earned the first win of her head coaching career as the top-ranked UNC field hockey team defeated No. 4 Michigan in front of a record crowd of more than 1,700 fans at Karen Shelton Stadium.

All three of Carolina’s goals came in the decisive second quarter, when the Tar Heels turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 halftime lead. Junior Lisa Slinkert accounted for two of the goals, and senior Kiersten Thomassey scored the other. The offensive explosion came after Carolina didn’t post a single shot in the first quarter. Despite that slow start, the Tar Heels still doubled up the Wolverines on shots for the evening, 12-6, and earned nine penalty corners to Michigan’s three.

Michigan’s final penalty corner of the night led to its second goal with 3:51 remaining on the clock, but the visitors weren’t able to get off another shot before time ran out.

The night marked Michigan’s first visit to Karen Shelton Stadium since the national championship game in the spring of 2021. The winning goal that evening was scored by the woman now patrolling the sidelines for Carolina: Matson. The superstar player turned rookie head coach is now a perfect 1-0 in her career, her 1.000 winning percentage shattering that of her predecessor Shelton.

Whether that will stand up over the rest of UNC’s schedule is another question. The Tar Heels will be back for the second game of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill on Sunday, when they host No. 7 Iowa at 1 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Field Hockey on Twitter

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