In her final regular-season home game as a Tar Heel, Erin Matson had plenty to celebrate. Matson and five other seniors on the No. 1 UNC field hockey team were honored on their Senior Day Sunday against No. 9 Saint Joseph’s in Chapel Hill. After the ceremonies, though, Carolina was all business. The Tar Heels picked up another decisive win, moving to 14-0 on the year with one regular-season game to go.

Freshman Ryleigh Heck stole the show from her senior counterparts, scoring three goals for her second hat trick in three games. Matson scored a goal and dished out three assists to extend her ACC points record, and also moved into second place in career assists in school history. Senior Paityn Wirth and sophomore Kennedy Cliggett also got on the scoresheet with a goal each.

Heck and Matson got to work immediately, as each scored within the first eight minutes of the game to stake Carolina to an early 2-0 lead. Cliggett struck off a Matson assist less than five minutes later, and Wirth’s goal came less than three minutes into the second period. In about 18 minutes of game time, the Tar Heels had already completely buried the Hawks.

Heck waited until the second half to score her final two goals (both assists from Matson), and she now sits at 13 on the year. Heck and Matson have scored 43 of Carolina’s 62 goals this season.

Defensively, Carolina pitched yet another shutout, its seventh of the season and second in the last four games. Kylie Walbert and Abigail Taylor split goalie duties for the Tar Heels.

“I was really pleased with the entire group, and so happy that all of our seniors could play,” said head coach Karen Shelton. “To honor the seniors and have everybody get the chance to play and contribute is a nice feeling. We’ve had some wins that haven’t felt like wins, but this one felt like a win.”

UNC has already clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament, and will look to complete a perfect regular season Saturday at Duke. That game will start at noon.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Field Hockey Falls to Northwestern in Overtime in NCAA Final Four
Northwestern scored 9:23 into sudden-victory overtime to cap off a comeback win and beat UNC 4-3 at the NCAA Final Four in Durham Friday afternoon. The Wildcats hadn’t led all day, as Carolina raced out to a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes thanks to goals from sisters Ryleigh and Kara Heck. Though Northwestern closed the […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Duke in Overtime to Advance to Final Four
Sanne Hak scored the game-winning goal off a penalty corner in sudden-victory overtime against Duke to send UNC through to the Final Four Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium. The 2-1 win is Carolina’s third against the Blue Devils this season, two of which have come in overtime. THREE TIMES DOWNING THE DEVILS!! AND WE'RE HEADED […]
UNC Field Hockey Escapes Saint Joseph's in NCAA Tournament 1st Round
Despite a spirited effort from underdog Saint Joseph’s, UNC escaped with a 2-1 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels are now through to Sunday’s second round, where they will await the winner of Iowa and Duke. Won the battle. More war to come!#GoHeels […]
UNC Field Hockey Earns No. 1 Overall Seed in 2025 NCAA Tournament
Carolina is once again the No. 1 team in the country entering the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels earned the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Sunday night for the fourth consecutive year. Top seed. Not satisfied. The Heels host the NCAA First & Second Rounds once again. pic.twitter.com/Xer4W9IYtK — Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 10, […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Virginia to Win 9th Consecutive ACC Tournament Title
Dani Mendez scored two goals to haunt her former team and lead UNC to a 4-1 win against Virginia in the ACC Tournament title game in Louisville Friday. The win is Carolina’s ninth straight conference championship and 28th overall. It’s also the 300th ACC title overall for UNC programs. 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Duke, Advances to ACC Tournament Final
Three second-half goals powered UNC to a 5-2 win against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals in Louisville Thursday afternoon. The win was Carolina’s second against the Blue Devils in the last six days. Doesn't matter where we go, we 𝙤𝙬𝙣 Tobacco Road 🐏#GoHeels | #GDTBATH pic.twitter.com/D7D1jnIrXH — Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 6, 2025 […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Louisville in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
UNC’s Isabel Boere scored a tiebreaking goal with 7:23 remaining in the fourth quarter to help the Tar Heels beat Louisville 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Field Hockey Tournament Tuesday. The Cardinals are hosting the tournament, making Tuesday’s contest a true road game for Carolina. Round one. Round won.#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/HCZ7aIkPTc — […]
UNC Sports: Field Hockey Beats No. 8 Duke in Overtime, Volleyball Upsets No. 7 SMU
On a frenzied Friday night in Chapel Hill, the UNC field hockey and volleyball teams each picked up thrilling ranked wins. At Karen Shelton Stadium, the top-ranked Tar Heels hosted No. 8 Duke in the regular-season finale for both teams. But the Blue Devils threatened the steal the thunder early, opening the scoring midway through […]
UNC Field Hockey Blows Out Richmond, Extends Winning Streak to 7 Games
A hat trick from Ryleigh Heck and a pair of goals from Dani Mendez helped Carolina crush visiting Richmond 6-1 at Karen Shelton Stadium Friday evening. The Tar Heels have now won seven consecutive games. Stomped the Spiders 🙅‍♀️#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/1mfcOj8dgh — Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) October 24, 2025 Mendez scored both of her […]
UNC Field Hockey Overcomes Deficit, Scores in Final Minute to Beat No. 9 Syracuse
No. 2 UNC overcame a 3-1 deficit and scored the game-winning goal with just 19 seconds remaining to win at No. 9 Syracuse Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels have now won five consecutive games since their only loss of the season. Cardiac Carolina comes all the way back!! 🤯#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/QV8bNPeSKQ — Carolina […]
›