Carolina won, lost, and won again the program’s 11th national championship. In front of a standing-room-only shootout at Karen Shelton Stadium, No. 1 UNC battled No. 2 Northwestern through regulation, two sudden-death overtimes and six rounds of penalty strokes to claim its second consecutive title and fifth in the last six seasons, 2-1.
UNC head coach Erin Matson has now won NCAA championships as a player and a head coach; five in total (four as a player, one as a coach). At 23 years old, she is the youngest coach in NCAA history to win a national title.
🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆
🏆 ELEVENTH 🏆 HEAVEN 🏆
🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆#GoHeels | #GDTBATH pic.twitter.com/eABl47336y— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 19, 2023
“I don’t know what more you would want in a national championship matchup,” Matson said afterward. “Tied at the end of regulation, two overtimes, sudden-death shootouts. Just a phenomenal atmosphere, game, everything.”
Ryleigh Heck scored the winning stroke for the Tar Heels in the shootout’s sixth round. It appeared unlikely the shootout would go that far, after UNC missed two of its first three strokes and Northwestern converted each of its first two. But Carolina goalie Maddie Kahn stopped each of the Wildcats’ next two tries, then sent the shootout to an extra round by stopping Northwestern’s fifth and final attempt. UNC’s Sanne Hak had missed Carolina’s fifth stroke after the Tar Heels had rallied to tie the shootout at 2-2.
“I was literally shaking,” Matson said. “[But] no matter what happens, this season would have been a success.”
In the extra frame, Northwestern’s Peyton Halsey, who’d scored the Wildcats’ only goal in regulation on a penalty stroke, could not find a way past Kahn, who registered her fourth save of the shootout. Heck stepped up with the championship on her stick, looking to atone for missing a championship-winning penalty stroke in the first overtime period. Heck made no mistake this time, sending the ball past the Wildcat goalie and winning the title for the Tar Heels.
“I love shootouts. It’s one of my favorite things,” Heck said. “The one thing Erin said to me, right when Maddie had that epic save, [was] ‘Just go win a national championship.’ And right then and there, my mind went blank. I don’t even remember spinning or scoring… one of the greatest feelings ever.”
ACC Freshman of the Year Charly Bruder scored UNC’s only goal of regulation early in the third quarter, before Halsey equalized late in the period. Kahn ended the day only credited with three saves before the shootout, but one of them came on a golden 2-on-1 breakaway for the Wildcats in the second overtime period. Kahn sprinted off her line to deny a free Northwestern runner to keep the game alive for the Tar Heels.
“I was just praying she was gonna shoot it, and it was gonna hit me, and it was gonna go out of the circle,” Kahn said, “which it did. I saw [midfielder] Sanne [Hak] come get the ball, and I think that was a real momentum swing. I felt good after that. I think we all had a good feeling after that.
“Moments like these,” she went on to say, “are why anyone comes to UNC for field hockey.”
The win extends UNC’s national record with its 11th NCAA title in field hockey. It’s the school’s 50th overall in team sports. Sunday was also the team’s 22nd appearance in the national championship game, and its third time hosting. Each of the previous two games went to overtime, with Carolina winning the most recent instance in 2021.
The Tar Heels end the season with an 18-3 record, having won their final seven games of the season.
“We’ve told these guys they’ve completely changed the game,” Matson said. “You see more people turning on a field hockey game when they’re out at a restaurant, and you’re like, ‘That’s not normal.’ You see ‘sold out’ in the same sentence as field hockey games, that’s also not normal… it’s because of what they’ve done, and what this entire program and staff has done. It’s just phenomenal. We’re lucky.”
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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